Here’s a really cool new song from Land Of Talk off of their new EP, Fun and Laughter. The band seems to be expanding its sound a bit and it makes you wish there were more than 4 new songs!
Fun And Laughter , which includes four brand new songs, and three videos, will be available in CD and digital formats. The CD version features screen printed art designed by the band in a special edition package, and will only be available from select indie retailers, saddle-creek.com, landoftalk.com, and at venues on the road.
Track Listing:
Sixteen Asterisk
May You Never
As Me
A Series Of Small Flames
The Man Who Breaks Things (Dark Shuffle) - Video
Troubled - Video
Some Are Lakes - Video
Tour Dates:
Tue-Oct-27, San Diego, CA, Casbah
Thu-Oct-29, Los Angeles, CA, Spaceland
Fri-Oct-30, Visalia, CA, Cellar Dooor
Mon-Nov-02, San Francisco, CA, Cafe Du Nord
Wed-Nov-04, Portland, OR, Doug Fir Lounge
Thu-Nov-05, Seattle, WA, High Dive
Fri-Nov-06, Bellingham, WA, Nightlight
Sat-Nov-07, Vancouver, BC, Biltmore Cabaret
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WatchMojo NewsletterWe had a chance to speak with acoustic rock singer-songwriter Matt Lowell on his new EP, touring with the greats and what he’s been up to! Check it out below.
What can fans expect when listening to the “Second Storm EP”?
I think on this EP I focused much more on the songwriting and lyrics then on any of my other work. Crit Harmon and I spent a long time making sure these songs had the emotion both in the lyrics and the tracks. I think, or at least I hope from a fan prospective that they can get inside these songs and feel each one emotionally on the same level or from the same place I wrote them. If they are familiar with my “First Taste EP” this is definitely a much more lyrically and emotionally crafted EP.
What is your favorite track off the EP and why?
I think it is a tie between “Second Storm” and “No Regrets”. “Second Storm” was really the last tune I wrote for this EP and it just seemed to come together very naturally and organically. The lyrics and the music kind of wrote themselves if that makes any sense? That tune also pointed my songwriting chops in a new direction and I said to myself “Wait I have to top this now, bring it on”. “No Regrets” had almost the exact same easiness to it, but that song just seems to resonate with me, it’s probably the most open and honest I’ve been. I think loving someone with “No Regrets” is an incredible feeling, and no matter how the relationship ends up you can at least leave it knowing at one point there wasn’t a grey area, only honesty. I try to live my life with that “No Regrets” attitude. We all know Love is a very strong emotion.
I heard you worked with Crit Harmon, what was that like?
Crit and I met a couple of years ago and I approached him because I loved his work with Marty Sexton. He came to a show and decided he would produce my “First Taste EP” along with co-writing a few of the tracks. Since that time we have become very close friends and writing partners and it just made complete sense for us to write and produce the “Second Storm EP”. He is incredibly talented, probably the best writer I’ve ever met or worked with, and I owe a lot of my musical growth and direction after Berklee to him. He is now a great friend and I know always will be.
Your songs have great emotion, is there a certain setting or mood you have to be in to write?
Thanks for noticing or thinking that; I think that is my job as a writer. I would be lying to you if I said I was crying over the sheets of paper as I am writing my tunes, BUT I will say every emotion was felt at one time. While I was happy or down I definitely wrote some of those feelings on a pad and eventually they turn into songs. Lyrics take a little while for me, I think they need to marinate, although tunes like “Second Storm” and “No Regrets” were easy, the idea was sitting in my head for a little while before a light went off and the melody and lyrics worked as one.
You have opened for some great acts such as Eve6, Martin Sexton and Will Dailey, what has been your favorite show to play so far?
I don’t have a favorite, and when I think about some of the artists I have played with it is awesome to me. I saw Eve6 open for Bon Jovi at Giants Stadium in ‘01 and now I get to hang with them, its pretty freaking cool. Marty Sexton has always been an inspiration to me, and when Crit took me to a show to meet him it was pretty amazing. It was the first time an artist I looked up to was seeing me as another artist. After that Marty asked me to open for him and it was incredible. He is the best solo acoustic live performer I have ever seen. Will Dailey is a great writer and was very big in the Boston scene while I was at Berklee. His new record is incredible and he is a great guy. So a long-winded answer but I don’t have a favorite show, it is an absolute blessing to be able to share the stage with other artists. That’s what music is all about for me, and I hope this list grows
What can fans expect from a live show?
I have always put a ton of emphasis into my live shows. I love to improvise and went to a lot of shows and still do. I take what I like from artists and try to adapt it into my own shows. The solo acoustic shows have been a challenge for me, but I really try to bring something more to the songs that you just can’t get from listening to the record in the car or on headphones. I always want more when I go to a show, so why shouldn’t I bring more?
What kind of music were you listening to growing up? What was your first concert?
My very first concert was Billy Joel and Elton John at Nassua Colliseum. I was very young and my grandparents took me. I distinctly remember falling asleep and we were probably 5th row. I also remember my grandfather telling the man in front of us to “put out his marijuana cigarette” hahaha great times, I had no idea what that was. I must say my dad and sister were the hip musical influences on me. My dad and I spent a lot of early mornings in the car driving to hockey practice, and he always had a new record to show me. He played the first Coldplay “Trouble”, the first Dave Matthews Band, but there was always a ton of Paul Simon and the other classics. Dad just had a way of “discovering” bands, he used to say “this band is going to be huge” and no one knew them at the time. I still wonder how he did it, because he was always right! Maybe a record label will read this and make him head of A&R I think he would have pretty good things to say about me hahaha. My sister always had the pop hits blasting from her room (She is nine years older) so NKOTB and Madonna, Michael Jackson. Music was always on in my house so there were so many others.
Was there a certain point in your life when you knew that music was going to be a career for you?
At the end of my sophomore year in high school I knew I was going to pursue music. I had played a lot of hockey up to that point, went to school for it played all through out the summer, and devoted my entire life to it. I had always been a drummer, but sophomore year of high school I picked up the guitar and wrote a song about 9/11. That was the point I knew I wanted to write, which is pretty ironic because it is 9/11 as I type this. I went to a boarding school called Pomfret School in CT and Mr. Bill Pratt, my high school music teacher guided me and gave me the tools I needed to pursue music. Hockey started to take a back seat to music, and by my senior year I knew I was going to go to Berklee, and try making music my career. Music and performing had completely taken over my life. That senior year happened to be the best hockey season of my life knowing it would be my last, I still draw from all those experiences. It was a relief to give up my first passion for this new burning desire to play music. I almost think of it as the start of a new life, its weird for me to think about it.
If you weren’t playing music, what would you be doing?
Wow that’s a crazy question. Well since I decided to pursue music I never ever thought about a Plan B, BUT now that you mention it! I think it would be sick to be a professional athlete. I am a huge sports fan, of course my first choice would be an NHL player and I have a lot of friends that are just that. Although a back-up or bullpen catcher for the Mets would be awesome. I say back up or bullpen because I am an awful baseball player.
What’s next for Matt Lowell?
Right now I am working on some new material and a new direction in the studio. I am working on another batch of songs with my good friend John Davis in Brooklyn. He is a genius, and I am excited for these tunes to be released. Also I am very excited to be joining Josh Hoge and Tony Lucca on their upcoming November and December tour. They are both awesome singer/songwriters and I am so happy they are having me out.
For more on Matt visit:
http://www.mattlowell.com
http://www.myspace.com/mattlowell
