Above The Basement - Boston Music and Conversation

WBCN legend Charles Laquidara and also the infamous Dwayne Ingalls Glasscock joined us for a conversation at the recently opened Woods Hill Pier 4 in Boston. This just a week before Charles as well as Red Sox Hall of Fame pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee take the stage at The Wilbur Theater in Boston on Tuesday, December 10.  So many of us listened to WBCN on our morning commute joining Charles on his program The Big Mattress. Charles was part of a family of DJ’s and personalities at BCN that created the radio renaissance in Boston with their groundbreaking irreverence and general hilarity that accompanied so many of us on our radios.It was so great to sit with Charles and our only regret is that we only got an hour. But we discovered that Charles is as raw and honest as ever. We had so many questions and topics we wanted to cover. But fortunately, we really didn’t get to any of them.Charles didn’t skip a beat. It was like listening to The Big Mattress all over again. We just let him riff, tell us some non PC ‘not for live radio’ stories, recall a regret or two, give a few anecdotes and even offer a haiku.

Chuck Clough  0:00  Hello, this is Chuck from Above the Basement Boston music and conversation. Hey, we have missed you all so much and hope to get back on a regular schedule. We are still working out some new projects and we will tell you about those very soon. But one thing we can tell you about something we are honored and excited to announce we have been nominated for a Boston Music Award for the 2019 Podcast of the Year and since I have personally never won a thing in my life, never mind a cool trophy. We would love for you to vote for us, or honestly whatever podcast you like and support as well as for you to vote for one of the many talented Boston artists nominated in their categories. Go to Boston Music Awards. com forward slash vote to make your choices. And thank you as always for supporting the Boston music community. This time around we finally got a chance to talk with singer songwriter and Boston native Matt York. Matt has been in the Boston music scene for quite a while now after stepping away from music to become aSecret Agent and family man Matt jumped back into music and has been quite prolific hitting the road often to perform and also released a few critically acclaimed albums, including Boston, Texas Between The Bars and just this month, his latest album Bruisable Heart. Right before we got a chance to see him play at lizard lounge and Cambridge with his talented wife on base for his CD release, we sat with him at Adelita's, his restaurant in West Concord, Massachusetts for a chat while the commuter rail would occasionally scream by us. We talked about his new album, his influences, the Boston music scene, and the dangers of mosquitoes. So here is our conversation with Matt York, recorded at Adelitas in West Concord, Massachusetts. They made bottled water illegal in Concord. It was like a big deal they have Matt York  1:55  Is Concord the town where they were talking about repealing it after they do cuz everybody saw like what a pain in the ass it was? Chuck Clough  2:02  I don't know maybe Matt York  2:03  it was a town do that I was just reading about in the Globe those that's trying to undo what they did because I Chuck Clough  2:09  look I'm all for not using plastic bottle but you can't make it illegal to use something a total legal product way they should have done is done a PSA to get people to get the stores to use give them the incentive to use this instead of making it illegal. . And you can have plastic bottles for Coke and Pepsi Yeah, it's just water bottled water. But you know, I mean, you know, we got over the hump and it's not really that big a deal anymore. And Matt York  2:39  I'll try to stop talking about this. But I'm not there yet.  what is it what is a what is a box of water cost? Chuck Clough  2:47  This was like $1 75 or something. Matt York  2:50  So my town they just got rid of plastic bags at the supermarket. And if I had a memory if I had the ability to remember to bring the ones that I have in the back of my car every time like The reusable ones. Yeah, it would be fine. But I just end up buying more and more and more reusable. That's what Chuck Clough  3:06  I was leaving the car and then Matt York  3:10  I'm all for the idea of it. Chuck Clough  3:11  So am I. But now I mean now that look it's it's, it's Ronnie  3:15  it looks like milk. Chuck Clough  3:18  Here comes a train. Box, a water box water is better. Ronnie  3:21  So, take it. You're from a town that doesn't care about box water. Matt York  3:27  I live in Pembroke Massachusetts. Yes. So Pembroke is the land locked town next to Duxbury and Marshfield on the South Shore? Ronnie  3:34  Really? You ever run into Steven Tyler when you go through there and I Matt York  3:37  No but I saw the drummer at breakfast maybe a year or two ago and he has like a Lamborghini or Ferrari or whatever. And we're like we're eating in Marshfield. And I like sound like they can only be a couple of guys in Marshfield that own that car. Chuck Clough  3:50  Well, you know it's also moving out there is Ari Hest you know already he's a great singer songwriter you interviewed him over the winter we have to wait fort the train to go by. His wife's family's out there and he's I guess he's moving out there now. He's fantastic. Ronnie  4:10  And Steve Carell was there too. Matt York  4:12  Yep. I actually he was he just came to visit. He owns a general store there. Yeah. And so he like once a year, he does this little thing where you can meet and meet him and he just raises money for something. Chuck Clough  4:24  We try to get him on the show. I was all right, just for the hell of it. And you never get back to me. There was Ronnie  4:30  Oh, you emailed him. I didn't know that. Chuck Clough  4:31  I emailed his sister. Yeah. Who runs the general store. Ronnie  4:38  He's from Acton. I know. His dad lives in Acton. We could go to his house .  We did that with Gary Pihl So Gary peel. He is a guitarist for Boston. The band Boston. So he was a guitarist for them since 85. He lives in my neighborhood, And so I drove I sat in his driveway, He was drive because I was going out to, you know, to the front door to knock on his door. I go in the car and he he pulls in slowly next to me he was out doing something.  I rolled down the window. And I'm like, you're probably wondering why I'm here. And you know, it was a little awkward. He humored us and came on. He came on one of our first like, first guest, I think, yeah, Chuck Clough  5:22  well, no, ever first, but he was in the first 50. I think he's very nice guy. Matt York  5:28  When did you start doing this? 2016? Chuck Clough  5:30  Yes, very good. Okay. Can you reached out to us pretty close to when we started Matt York  5:34  After after the globe article? When I saw the article on the globe, and then I started listening to it, Chuck  5:39  to be honest, you you're one of the first people to actually reach out to us to come on. . And so you've been on our list for forever. Yeah. And it's been like, I've been like, kind of putting, like all the people that we've been meaning that you have on there, like starred. You've been starred forever. So I'm so glad we finally got you, especially since we had booked Couple weeks ago and then I had some stuff to deal with and yeah so we did we can so I'm glad we it wasn't like another year so so it's happening right the sites have it's happening you've been started by Chuck more than once you were started here I am Here you are and we don't have enough you know white male singer songwriter zones yeah no that's that's a real major problem for us But but thank you for coming on and thank you for taking the trip I you know, I didn't realize you were from Pembroke that's a long Matt York  6:32  Yeah, no, I do a lot of driving my friends so let's Chuck Clough  6:35  I guess you used to it Ronnie  6:36  Want some bug spray stuff. I might put it right on your neck Chuck Clough  6:39  you guys getting a bit you get your hates that no, so far. I'm good. I'm not I saw a song right there but it's not gonna bite. Yeah, yeah, they're friendly around here. These are Concord mosquitoes. Unknown Speaker  6:50  The Sudbury mosquitoes only have to worry about with or with a AAA. Ronnie  6:55  AAA is bad.Have you ever heard of AAA? Chuck Clough  6:59  You can get sick from them but they're also change your tire. Matt York  7:02  So in our town like it all the other towns around us, they're all like banning swipe. Yeah, it's a sport like our town. It's like that hasn't reached that level. So they're still allowing it. Chuck Clough  7:13  Yeah, I think this is this is rock and roll right here. We are here. We're live surrounded by deadly mosquitoes. Okay, so let's actually talk about you. So well first of all you have your beautiful heart. Yeah, just came out. Yep. And you have a CD release coming up at the end of this month. Right? Correct. 28thof the lizard lounge. Right? Yeah, my favorite places to go. Matt York  7:40  Yeah, me too. It is. Yeah, I'm excited about it. My my wife and I actually met there 18 years ago. She wasn't musician and she's playing bass with me on the 28th Chuck Clough  7:50  what is what is her name? Her name is Beth. Her last name is York as well She's playing bass with me that night. We 18 years ago. We played a show together in a club in Worcester. I saw her and I was like, She's cute. I should invite her to open up for us at the lizard lounge. She came and did so. And we met that night. And, like, literally that weekend is the 18th anniversary of our first date. Ronnie  8:17  And what does she play other than she's now playing bass to play guitar before she blows us out? Matt York  8:22  Yes, she played bass years ago and, and she hadn't played in forever and I play probably 95% more than that of my shows just solo. I joke that it's too expensive to have her play bass because we have to get a babysitter every time. You know. Chuck Clough  8:40  It's it's sadly it's cheaper to get a bass player than it is to get a babysitter. Matt York  8:44  That's Amen. So do that every day. Yeah. So it'll be a rich Chuck Clough  8:49  it's a sad state of affairs. Yep. But at least you have a cute bass player that Matt York  8:52  that part is huge and and we get along Chuck Clough  8:55  How long you been playing in the Boston area for now. Matt York  8:57  So Chuck, this might be an interesting story. So I, I don't know if you know a guy named by the name of Rick Berlin who has been around forever. He was in a band called Berlin airlift. And yeah, I know that. I know the name of that. But yeah, so you had a hand in here recently many, many hands studio. Yeah. So I did an album with Dave and he did a bunch of Rick's albums and kind of back then in the 80s, late 80s and stuff Rick and Dave were in a lot of this that same circle. Rick wasn't really a punk though. He was more like talking heads. Lou Reed type world. Yeah. So I met him when I was in high school, and I started playing the clubs when I was a young kid, really young kid like 15. That's what many handed us playing when he was like, 15-16. Yep. So like places like the rat in the channel and been rowdies right when they were closing down. Yeah, I was like, the high school kid play in those places and played in a band called White Iris that was a popular indie punk band in the late 90s. For five or six years, we had a pretty good run. We played all over the East Coast, andAnd then I stopped forever. I stopped for 12 years. Yeah. And oh, and then I started back up four years ago. And I really didn't plan on doing much of anything more than just kind of recording and plan a couple songs in the studio. And this has been the third album now in four years. And I think I've played something like 13 states this year. So yeah, it's definitely not what I intended on doing. Yeah. But it kind of just took off. And really, when I was really young, my dad was just a huge, like, Lou Reed Bowie guy. And so I started off with that when I was like, seven, eight years old. And, you know, when I was a teenage kid, he was the one driving me to these clubs and, you know, unloaded my amp and stuff. And so he turned 70 a few years ago, and, you know, I think he was always a little bit bummed that I stopped doing music and so I really went in there to kind of record a couple songs for his birthday, and it just kind of happens, you know? Ronnie  11:00  It's very heartfelt to hear. And you could tell that that's important to you. And it's rare. My parents when it came to music were they're always supportive of music. But I think that getting back into it would have been tough, a tough sell. That's pretty noble that he feels that he wants you to be involved in that. Matt York  11:19  Yeah. And I think I mean, I, you know, I kind of went, I got away from music and was able to kind of, I have a regular job and I have a wife and kids and I have a mortgage and you know, I mean, I'm able to kind of balance the two things by not sleeping a hell of a lot, I guess. Chuck Clough  11:35  But what do you do for Matt York  11:36  it's a complicated job Chuck, but I worked for sprint.I worked for sprint, but I work I work in a fraud investigator. So I will stay companies that sell our product and try to defraud us and try to identify that and take action. Chuck Clough  11:53  That's pretty cool Matt York  11:55  Yeah, and I work from home so I'm able to kind of sit on my couch and do that and Chuck  12:00  Do undercover stuff and like, you know, it's more finance driven and kind of it's more spreadsheets and Chuck Clough  12:09  you know, I have a friend I went I grew up with actually he works for the FBI. Is that right? Yeah. Matt York  12:15  A few years ago, I was a licensed private investigator, but I let it lapse. So really, yeah, like somehow if you had been an investigator as long as I've been you qualified, and I went, and it was like so lame. I thought it was gonna be like a badge and they gave me like this Xerox piece of paper. Yeah, it was like faded and Chuck Clough  12:31  did you ever get into the the Spencer for hire books or ever be part? Matt York  12:34  Yeah, so I grew up like I loved Hawk. Chuck Clough  12:36  Yeah. And those are my books. I love I read every single one of those books. Yep. You read those books? No, Robert be Parker. Spencer for hire him a TV show. Ronnie  12:46  That's all I remember. Chuck  12:47  Based upon those books. Yeah, but the books were better. Yes. Ronnie  12:51  Maybe they can sponsor this podcast. This is this is Matt York  12:55  Yeah, we're merging with T Mobile. So Amanda, where are you? Really? Yeah. Chuck Clough  12:59  Is that Is that inside information? No, no, that's like, really? Matt York  13:06  I'm not smart enough to know, Ronnie  13:08  what type of fraud we talking about. Chuck Clough  13:09  And have you written a song about this? Ronnie  13:11  Let me answer the first question first. So yeah, is there a song about it? No, Chuck  13:16  my question was much better about it, right? Yes. But that my question was much better than your question. What would I say? You asked him. I like him about what he does for Ronnie  13:25  Well, I think it's interesting. I mean, like, I've never met anybody that does it. But your songs are a little deeper than that. They are. They're not just about iPhone fraud. No, you know, what i what i was taken by was some of the recent stuff you did the addiction song. It's not called that and you're going to tell me in a second what that is. But there's a few on the album, but I lost my baby to the needle to the needle, right? Yep. you put a couple stats on there that are very sobering not to give upon, but that 72,000 people died in 2017. Yeah, we had actually talked about that on an episode we did write music and recovery Matt York  14:32  somebody I think, in fact, I think that's how we reconnected because I forget who it was that you had on was the Maureen Cavenaugh, Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. The woman that's in the video for the last Yeah. She's very close with Maureen and really very responsible for Ronnie  14:46  because they're real people. Matt York  14:47  Yeah, so the people in the video are in both in recovery and they both run sober homes and there are a couple themselves now to me. Ronnie  14:55  That's amazing, because I think I saw it in Jed's article or was it Jed Gottlieb or something? Nobody wrote an article on you. Yep, that was really interesting. Because, you know, you can have these messages that are like really poignant. Yeah, about something as powerful as opiates and addiction, but at the same time, like you always think they're actors. And yeah, these people are like, a real real going through this real start how therapeutic it might, it must have been. I don't know. It was in the middle of that. Matt York  15:22  So a couple things is it was really funny because we literally met them in front of an Nantasket , the beach there. It was, like November. It's freezing cold in the morning. We met them in a parking lot. We spent maybe an hour and a half with them, and we've never seen them again. But we suddenly kind of created this thing together and that's evergreen. Yeah, totally. And you know, I sent them the song I actually just like put like a Craigslist I sent it a couple different spots trying to find people. And she the girl in the videos sent me the email saying listen, this I'm the person to do this. She had no acting experience. Right and I don't drink but my dad joined a when I was about eight, nine years old and, and he would take me to a meetings. So when I was like eight or nine I'd be hearing these people get up and tell these stories that I was like holy shit like Drinking crazy, right. And so I was kind of always aware of it. And, you know, I drank a little bit when I was in my 20s. But I was never a big drinker and ever, but I was, you know, if you do music long enough, you see this stuff, you know, you see addiction in all different forms. So the album that I put out before this was really about alcoholism, and just kind of having been away from the clubs for so long. And then going back in like, Oh, my God, like, I forgot how crazy this? Yes, yeah, every day, we recorded probably seven or eight songs that are really about addiction in that world. It's not a happy album by any stretch. But Chuck Clough  16:48  no, but I mean, you know, the thing is when you write when you go out to write songs about such a powerful topic, it can sometimes be contrived.You know, it's like the trying too hard to be, you know, to make this story into this song. I make one. Matt York  17:07  Just say one thing you said about how contrived. So I spent a lot of years away from music and literally years where I didn't pick up a guitar at all. Yeah. And my wife and kids and I were at the finish line during the marathon bombing. Yeah, we were able to kind of get out of there. And our kids were young, and whatever. That was six, six years ago.Again, and I remember, like, I went home, and like, within two or three days, I had a song about it like it all of a sudden, it just came out, you know, and it was such an interesting thing. And I had been away from music and Randy, who runs at woods and used to run TT to bears years ago. She was running Johnny DS at the time, and I was like, Listen, Randy, I don't do music anymore. I see you're doing a benefit. And I'd love to just come and play a couple. I want to play this song. So she was awesome. And let me do it. You know, it's kind of like the one time I started that I kind of came out and played in it. You know, I've never released it or recorded it or anything, butWas it made me realize I could still do it if I wanted to? Yeah. And Ronnie  18:05  so that was the trigger actually that part of it rushed back into music. Yep. Well, that's a powerful terrible thing that you know, it's always amazing to hear some of the little the silver lining come out of some of these awful things. Yeah, you know what I like about Matt's music is also the the harmonies that are double in some of the doubling that you do in the production of it. But I love the effect. I've always loved the effect in rock and and pop and others, similar genres. You connect the same melody and unison. Yeah. And the effect that that gives is really, it could be haunting, but it could also just be very cerebral and is very soothing. Is that something that you experimented with one day and said You liked it? Or have you always come from? Matt York  18:52  Well, it's funny because when I was younger, and I had a noisier band, we were just a three piece. There was no one else in my band that could sing So there really weren't harmonies in it. And then when I came back and started doing this, I didn't have anybody else to sing them. You know, like I was in the studio there was nobody else with me I was pretty much doing all the instruments. So I just kind of experimented with doing it myself and I would have preferred honestly to have had someone else do it. The album I did before this one I did with Dave Brophy, who's will Bailey's drummer and the Ruby Rose Fox album and he's done a bunch of stuff and so he and I have worked together on some of the harmonies I think, I can't remember he may have sang some of them actually, I love doing it and this is double though to you don't just do harmonies? Yeah, it's double vocal us in a lot of times. I'll split the harmony in parts. Yeah, yeah. No. And then it comes back to a unison Yeah, right. And then it's funny when I do them live because when I just have the one voice like it's, it's almost like you have two different melodies to choose from. Chuck Clough  19:49  So depending on how strong your voices at night, you can choose the lower one. Matt York  19:51  Yeah, exactly. I'm on the fourth night in a row then I'm going love the feeling. Chuck Clough  19:56  Yeah, you know, I always love to do this, but the whole Oh you sound like so and so. But and especially with I need my can reduce my readers. Ronnie  20:08  Those new again. Chuck Clough  20:09  Do you like them? Ronnie  20:10  You get new glasses every week? Chuck  20:11  Oh no cause I lose them. That's why I lose them and I Ronnie  20:15  just lost the $80 pair that you paid last night Chuck Clough  20:17  I lost these exact pair. Ronnie  20:19  No, they were tortoise shell type. Chuck Clough  20:21  That's what I have. I have those still. Ronnie  20:24  Those are great. Those last ones. Yeah. Glad you didn't lose those. Chuck Clough  20:27  I have those. Ronnie  20:28  But I really liked those and you look good in them. Chuck Clough  20:30  You don't like these? Ronnie  20:31  No. Chuck Clough  20:31  Why not? Ronnie  20:32  I don't like it as much as the other ones. Those are okay. Chuck Clough  20:35  Well, this is my Clark Kent. What do you think, Joe? No. Matt, what do you think? Matt York  20:40  I thought they looked fun. I'm not gonna lie. Ronnie  20:43  I think you're fine too. But the other ones he's he looks great. Like, yeah, Chuck Clough  20:47  so the Ronnie  20:49  know who he sounds like. Chuck Clough  20:51  Steve Earle, man, you've got that, especially especially that song a Permanent Crush. I really heard Steve It's almost sounds like a first take of whatever song you saying. It's just very natural True, which is what I reminds me of Steve. Oh, it's very raw that Matt York  22:03  Yeah, so I had never listened to him when I was younger. And then I found him maybe 20 years ago. And I was like, wait, well, how did I miss? Yeah, I know I missed on. I didn't get into late recently to like that I missed him. Chuck  22:15  But it's not even. It's not even just the voice which you know, you can kind of get that low register voice too. But it's also the guitar playing it's the entire song. And not only that, there was also the other side actually in a previous album on my own. Yeah. Was it was it Boston, Texas. Is that the one or no? No. Between the Bars between the bar Yeah, yep. That was like a little little Elliott Smith in there, too. I don't know if you know Elliott Smith. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, but yeah, between the bars.Between the bars, Michael, I wonder if you did a cover. Matt York  22:44  I thought it was so clever. And then Chuck Clough  22:47  afterwards, but no, no, you know, Elliott Smith. Yeah, yeah. So I'm not well, he's a song calledbetween the bars, I guess you would say so I thought there was a reference to that bus. Different reference. Matt York  22:58  Yeah, it was just coincidence though, that I stole it by accident. Chuck Clough  23:01  He was such an influence on me. Yeah, he died. He was such a frickin talent. Yeah. Such a talent. Ronnie  23:13  So what is the story with Boston, Texas? So I'm just curious if it's not a town in Texas, right? Yeah, there is. Matt York  23:19  There is a tiny little town called Austin, Texas. But so when I was a kid, when I was about 10, we moved to Texas. We've grown up in Boston, and we moved to Texas as a family for about a year when I was down there briefly, I kind of got hints of, you know, back then there was no rock'n'roll music down there. And there was no country music back here. So, you know, I would start to hear like Willie and Waylon and people who I was, I was too young to know, but I just kind of would hear these influences. And then so as I got older and started writing, I kind of found that Boston music was was what I love the most. But I kept coming back to these kind of texts, influences kept kind of pulling on my songwriting like Steve Earle. And you know Townes, Van Zandt. People like that Billy Joe shaver so the songs that on that first album that Boston tech Selma really just kind of a mishmash. Yeah, Boston and Texas in Ronnie  24:08  that town is kind of very indicative of like that your whole experience with this song. September, Matt York  24:15  September is coming soon. Yep. Ronnie  25:00  It's one it's my it's my favorite month it's a tough month is some deaths in our in our my friends and family. But there's also some birthdays and some amazing celebrations too. Yep. So September is the start of school and just something about the, like just coming to America. Yeah. And actually I'm Jewish. So it's like, you know, Russia, China is the new year of September in October. Yep. And you celebrate the new year for that. Matt York  25:23  I feel like I'm a pretty normal person. Like I'm not a depressed person. I'm not an alcoholic. I don't have any of these types of issues. But I write about those things September's coming soon to me, just always many people are affected by the summer ending, especially here in New England, where you just prepare for kind of shutting down, you know, being stuck in the indoors for a few months. And Ronnie  25:45  I think it's a rebirth. Yeah, I like the weather too. Yep. I don't think his summer is that great. I mean, I think it's sometimes too hot. You know, like Chuck, don't you like like that make it start making that fire. Chuck  25:55  If I go on vacation in the summer, even if it's like for three days, like June I'm done. I'm done. I'm ready for fall so yeah falls in lov e the smell of like, yeah the smell the wood burning and and you wrote a song about that bring on the winter I did Yes, yes. Ronnie  26:13  he went past September and he wrote a song about bringing on the winter so you want Chuck Clough  26:17  I mean, I liked the winter but that was just really kind of I was looking for something that rhymed with splinter. I don't know. Ronnie  26:26  Sorry to Bring up the weather. But you know, I just like that freakin song. Chuck Clough  26:29  When you got back into playing music Did you get back into playing solo and doing acoustic guitar not getting back into a band? for a specific reason? Was it literally just now it's just gonna be easier to play by me. That's what I did. I mean, it was easier for me to play by myself. Pick up an acoustic guitar and try and get a band back together with two small kids, right? Matt York  26:46  Yeah, almost all of them I play solo. And if I had a bunch of guys that I was friends with that could just at the drop of a hat, play for next to nothing and just show up and be awesome. I would do that. I just don't you know, and so I mean, I Live on the south shore, my drummer lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, you know, so it's like, we're lucky to have a rehearsal before we play a gig. And I like to travel and obviously traveling on the road when you know, you're probably gonna lose money anyway. Yeah, to bring a band just ensures that you're not only going to lose money, but you're going to be very uncomfortable probably on the road, Chuck Clough  27:21  getting back into, or even starting for the first time being a solo artist. Yep. What was the most challenging thing for you? Because I started doing it myself. It was a learning experience trying to figure out where my strengths were. Yep. What did you do improve on, and plus my voice. And playing has changed since I was a kid, and especially my voice. Matt York  27:39  I don't have the higher range that I have when I was younger. But I was a big smoker when I was younger, and I don't smoke. So like I was just down in Nashville last week, and I did like four nights in a row. But that fourth night, I feel a little pull on my voice. But I feel like almost every time now I can go out and I'm going to give the same level of performance every time. So control to Ronnie  28:00  I've always been a piano player mostly and it's like I'm not going to lug around a piano and do a solo thing but I've always envied someone with it, you know a good command of their guitar and then they match their vocal to the chord the rhythm they're reading off the audience and Matt York  28:16  that's the biggest thing showing up in playing gigs and not knowing exactly what the audience is going to be especially like I opened up for a lot of national Acts where I joke all the time when I do that that I'm like there to just be like a good appetizer right you know like I'm if I'm a quality like clam chowder a buffalo wings to them then great right they're not there to see me they're there to have steak sometimes I'll come out and just based on the audience I can feel like you know I can do the kind of the listening room tender sad songs thing or they want more of an upbeat warm up and yeah, warm up the evening the ability to kind of just be solo and change on like, I don't write setlist I just will go out there and transition if I yeah. Ronnie  28:56  Well, do you find that like there's a part of you thatfeels that if someone's getting filled up on their clam chowder, they're going to taste it. It's going to be good. But if they if they find that they're like they don't need as much steak, because they filled up on the clam chowder, that's a goal of yours. Chuck Clough  29:13  This is right up Ron's alley. This whole food analogy. Yeah, he does this. Yes. With the ingredients. And the recipe. You're all you do all that. Ronnie  29:22  I think the fact that Matt came up with that analogy, Chuck Clough  29:25  I'm just saying it's right up your alley. You dont have to get defensive Ronnie  29:28  No, no, I'm not am I? Matt York  30:16  Well, you had Carissa Johnson on here at one point. We did yeah, rocks, man. She's insane. So we did the rumble together a few years ago and we played a few gigs together. That was when she won a couple years ago. I was in my band was in it that year. So I did the rumble in 2000. I did it in 2017. And oh, wow, really crazy. And Jed Gottlieb actually wrote this article with me and two or three others that had had this giant gap. Yeah, and yeah, what was crazy to me is when I think back, I was probably 20, early 20s. When I did it back then, the entire club was not only packed but it was packed with people in their early 20s. Oh, yeah. When I played it two years ago. Chuck Clough  30:57  These with you? Yeah. Matt York  31:00  like none you know and and even Krista who is that age? Yeah her fans Aren't you know i mean the show but they're telling that's it yeah they're people that love that Boston punk music that CO yeah she she's doing what we love, but it's not like you know a club full of 22 year olds You know, Chuck Clough  31:18  you're excited about your CD release I am and this came out just what August 4, right? It's just released. Matt York  31:24  Yeah. Yeah went up on Spotify. I think right around the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do for an actual release and that kind of fell in place to do the lizard Okay. Oh, Chuck  31:33  who's opening for you? Matt York  31:34  So we're actually starting the night because all of my friends are so old that I was like put us on early because Okay, the band old jack does they do a residency the last Saturday of every month so you opening for them? So they Yeah, they're playing in the middle slot and in a band called The I want your headline? The I want you I like those guys. Yeah, so that's good. That's cool. That's great. I ain't going to be my high school. 30th Reunion. Chuck Clough  31:56  Are you allowed back Ronnie  31:58  What's it? Yes, I am loud. Butyou're gonna have your CDs out. And like an actual CD release physical artifact, I will give you a physical CD. And then do you do you have like downloads and stuff like that or how does that work? Yeah, so usually Chuck Clough  32:13  you new to this music business right now Ronnie  32:15  I'm wondering what Matt is, Matt York  32:17  what I usually do is, uh, you know, I sell t shirts and then I'll give a download code or I'll give a CD and I'm gonna download card with it. So I sell more t shirts Chuck Clough  32:26  Do you ever do  vinyl. Matt York  32:27  I just don't have enough people I care about the make it I can't justify the upfront costs, Chuck Clough  32:34  you know, we have an album that we're waiting to get out for dead. And I want even if I do like, hundred pressing Yeah. So you thinking you want to do vinyl? Well, just like 100 friends you're having to be expensive, but it'll just be something to have. I'm never going to put an album out like IL So why don't we do that? We should. Ronnie  32:52  Alright, so back to Matt. So Matt York  32:53  So can I just get one final thing? Yeah, so I was not this last time but one of the times I was down in Nashville, I went into jack White's thing. Unknown Speaker  33:00  Man, he's got that that that little like phone booth where you can record in and then it automatically produces a vinyl. Right? Neil Young made an album that way and stuff. little teeny vinyl. Within like an hour. Like no was like within five minutes like what just makes it it presses i Chuck  33:16  is it? 33 and a half 33 1/3? Matt York  33:18  No, it's like it's like a 4045 not a Ronnie  33:21  45 but the Chuck Clough  33:21  78? Matt York  33:23  I don't even know what it is. Ronnie  33:24  It's a 62 Chuck  33:26  Well, it's got to be either 4578 or 33. Matt York  33:28  So I will send you I will text Ronnie  33:31  because you got to play it in your variable, but it's actually it's just it's a record. Yeah, Chuck  33:35  but you want to be able to listen to it so that Matt York  33:37  so I haven't been able to figure out how to listen to it on my record player, but I have friends. That is funny. No one can listen. No, Chuck Clough  33:43  but that's it's got to be one of those three. He wouldn't just make up. Yeah, Matt York  33:47  I'm sure it is. I just don't remember but well, we actually do young jack white went on I think Jimmy Fallon or Kimball and they brought the machine on the Ronnie  34:00  Fallon that's a Fallon thing. Matt York  34:01  Yeah, I'll send you the link to it. I have watched it but you have like two minutes and 20 seconds and then the machine shuts off. Like Chuck Clough  34:09  there's only one side to it. Yep. Unknown Speaker  34:11  That's so cool, man. Thank you for doing this. Chuck Clough  34:15  With us, and you play us a couple songs would be happening right. Cool. Hold on a second for a second. Yeah Unknown Speaker  40:07  We would like to thank Matt for his support of ATB over the years and for sitting with us you can check out Matt's music and get his latest album at Matt York music. com You should also check out the great food at Adelaide is in West Concord, Massachusetts Adelina is an organic and authentic Mexican restaurant brought to you from the team behind Woods Hill table much like their sister restaurant Adelina is pastured a plate serving only grass fed and organic meats from their own farm, the farm at Woods Hill for more information and for reservations, go to Adelaide a conquered.com. And one last plug for you to vote for a TB podcast of the year at the Boston Music Awards. Please go to Boston Music Awards. com forward slash vote and make your voice heard. Thank you very much. Finally, please go to above the basement calm where you can sign up for our newsletter. Listen and subscribe to our podcast later.\our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and look at all the nice pictures we post on Instagram. We are everywhere. On behalf of Ronnie and myself. Thanks for listening. Tell your friends and remember Boston music like its history is unique. Transcribed by https://otter.ai 

recorded August 04, 2019published September 15, 2019Chuck and guest host Kristina Latino sat with Lori before her recent show celebrating the 15th anniversary of her album Return To Bittertown at Cary Memorial Hall in Lexington, MA.The Stoughton, MA native is a multi grammy-winning singer songwriter and the first woman ever to win the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year two years running as well as Academy of Country Music’s first female Songwriter of the Year. In addition to her own songs, she has written for Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Tim McGraw to name just a few.And just this past week we were all able to watch her on the Americana Music Honors and Awards show where she, well as former ATB guest Mark Erelli were each nominated for Song of the Year.Along with her incredible songwriting chops and beautiful voice, we discovered that Lori is truly one of the most down to earth and nicest person you could ever meet.www.abovethebasement.comwww.cornerscape.comwww.lorimckenna.comwww.careyhalllexington.comhttps://www.instagram.com/abovetheb/