Matt York / Evening Sky

(rock music) (crowd cheering) - [Announcer] "Ocean State Sessions" features performances by local musicians and brings you the stories behind the songs.

Coming up tonight... ♪ I feel like you go 100 miles an hour ♪ ♪ I feel like you're gonna crash right through that wall ♪ ♪ You say I'm not angry, I'm not angry ♪ ♪ Anymore ♪ (jam music) (acoustic guitar playing) ♪ There's time when she used to dance in Reno ♪ ♪ And she'd brag like some minor leaguer might ♪ ♪ But she knew her last catcall had been a while before ♪ ♪ So she thought I could be her something new ♪ ♪ One more dance then this whole thing is over ♪ ♪ One more lie then you'll see that I am true ♪ ♪ One black eye, another thing she'll justify ♪ ♪ She said let's wait 'til the morning ♪ ♪ I gotta see my other baby tonight ♪ ♪ Gently used like an old dress you borrowed ♪ ♪ Gently used like some lady's Subaru ♪ ♪ Not amused by anything that I can do ♪ ♪ She said let's wait 'til the morning ♪ ♪ I gotta see my other baby tonight ♪ ♪ She said let's wait 'til the morning ♪ ♪ I gotta see my other baby tonight ♪ (instrumental break) ♪ Gently used, pushing love right out the window ♪ ♪ And she felt the responsibility ♪ ♪ But she dreamed of something she won't ever be ♪ ♪ She said let's wait 'til the morning ♪ ♪ I got to see my other baby tonight ♪ ♪ She said let's 'til the morning ♪ ♪ I gotta see my other baby tonight ♪ ♪ She said let's wait 'til the morning ♪ ♪ I gotta see my other baby tonight ♪ ♪ Tonight ♪ - My name is Matt York.

I grew up in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is kind of between Providence and Boston, so I was always traveling back and forth 'cause I've been a music fanatic my whole life and I've been performing all over the clubs since I was about a 15-year-old kid and I've traveled all over the country just doing my music and that's what I do.

I just write in the abstract.

I really don't write about specific events usually.

I started writing songs when I was 12 years old and they were all about bad love and divorce.

(laughing) So it's just something I've done my whole life for some reason.

(acoustic guitar playing) ♪ At first it just felt like a drop of rain ♪ ♪ That ain't the hope that kills you, it's the pain ♪ ♪ Me, I got a bottle and some thoughts ♪ ♪ Rolling around my head ♪ ♪ And I don't know exactly what was said ♪ ♪ I feel like you go a hundred miles an hour ♪ ♪ I feel like you're going to crash through that wall ♪ ♪ You say, I'm not angry, I'm not angry anymore ♪ ♪ Then you don't seem to say a thing at all ♪ ♪ Once upon a time she smelled like spring ♪ ♪ Then she said she's thinking of ending things ♪ ♪ Then she said, I'm sorry that I dragged you all around ♪ ♪ Sure feels like I'm headed to fall down ♪ ♪ I don't really know how I could love you ♪ ♪ I don't really know what's going down ♪ ♪ You say I'm not angry, I'm not angry, anymore ♪ ♪ Then you don't seem to say a thing at all ♪ (vocalizing) ♪ She said I don't love you anymore ♪ ♪ She said I don't love you anymore ♪ ♪ She said I don't love you anymore ♪ (vocalizing) ♪ I feel like you go a hundred miles an hour ♪ ♪ I feel like you are going to crash out through that wall ♪ ♪ You say, I'm not angry, I'm not angry anymore ♪ ♪ Then you don't seem to say a thing at all ♪ (vocalizing) ♪ She said I don't love you anymore ♪ ♪ She said I don't love you anymore ♪ ♪ She said I don't love you anymore ♪ (vocalizing) - My touchstones are Willie Nelson and folks like that.

This year in 2022, I'm in the process of going to 120 different cities and towns across Massachusetts, playing the songs of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.

So a bunch of cultural council grants in Massachusetts have been given to me to go, and so I'm going to the tiniest little towns up in Western Mass and, you know, music festivals all over the state, playing their songs, and those are the folks that most inspire me.

(acoustic guitar playing) ♪ I'll leave when the rent's due ♪ ♪ And I'll let myself out ♪ ♪ If you are looking for love ♪ ♪ You'll be leaving in doubt ♪ ♪ But I'll leave when the rent's due ♪ ♪ I won't lie or deny ♪ ♪ I won't ease any worries ♪ ♪ I'll look you dead in the eye ♪ ♪ I'm attainable fire ♪ ♪ You can feel it and you'll see ♪ ♪ I might ease your desire ♪ ♪ But you'll never dream about me ♪ ♪ I'm attainable fire ♪ ♪ You can feel it and you'll see ♪ ♪ If you'll looking for love ♪ ♪ I'll just love on the cheap ♪ ♪ I'll leave when the rent's due ♪ ♪ Yeah you won't see me around ♪ ♪ Remember the future, it puts us all underground ♪ ♪ If you're looking for love ♪ ♪ That ain't no thing I can bring ♪ ♪ If you think I'm the answer ♪ ♪ You about to learn you some things ♪ ♪ I'm attainable fire ♪ ♪ You can feel it and you'll see ♪ ♪ I might ease some desire ♪ ♪ But you'll never dream about me ♪ ♪ I'm attainable fire ♪ ♪ You can grab a hold of me ♪ ♪ If you're looking for love ♪ ♪ I'm just love on the cheap ♪ ♪ If you're looking for love ♪ ♪ I'm just love on the cheap ♪ - "Snake Oil" is a funk tune and definitely inspired by the band Little Feet and the way they develop their grooves.

It is from an album called "One Mic, Two Weekends."

We recorded that live, just one microphone, kind of like we did today.

Hoping we get the tune right, hit all the right notes and chords and chords and still keep some verve and some grease in the groove to keep it alive.

It's a blues, but we're trying to make it like a funky, nasty.

We wanna be Little Feet on this one.

Let's be honest, we want to be Little Feet.

Who doesn't?

(funk music playing) (bass guitar lick) (bass guitar lick) (slide guitar solo) (band jamming) (guitar lick) (guitar lick) (band jamming) (bass guitar solo) (band jamming) "Where the Sea meets the Stars" was a tune written by Gino Rosati, one of a few ballads he's written.

We adapted it from a previous version to a quartet version where Gino states the melody and the object there is for us to kind of drop down behind him and let that stand out.

Eric Hastings, our drummer, has a whole lot to do with setting the dynamics and the grooves in the band as the tune develops, so while one person may write the tune, like Gino wrote this one, it becomes something a lot more different and involved when the band gets a hold of it, particularly Eric.

(laid back jam music) (laid back jam music) (laid back jam music) The pandemic actually was, you know, after taking some time to make sure everybody was safe, we began to gather, masked of course, in Eric's studio and just developed more ideas.

We had nothing but time and no other playing to do so we put all the effort into that.

Gino went on a tear and wrote a ton of material.

I had a tune in there, Chris Brooks wrote a tune, Eric has a couple of tunes in the book.

They'll usually become something pretty different than what's on paper once the band gets a hold of it.

As a matter of fact, there's a couple of tunes that Gino wrote that were just sketches and he brought them in and he gave 'em to the rhythm section and said you guys gotta do something with this.

It's a lot of fun the way that that develops with the band.

It's not a static thing.

There's no one leader, there's no one main composer.

Everybody has their hand in the mix.

(upbeat jam music) (upbeat jam music) (upbeat jam music) (bass lick) (rock music) - [Announcer] Go online to hear more music, meet the artists and more; visit RIPBS.org.

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