Matt O’Donnell

You know this one is going to be a rant. I couldn’t even lie in bed while I was thinking about this. I needed to get up and tell you.

We live in a world where Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr. are the “gatekeepers” of standard repertoire singers with big bands behind them. Lots of young people are lucky if the gatekeepers pay their proper respects out loud to Sinatra, Dino, Sammy, and the other no-brainers.

I worry about the one man who, to me, is an even bigger no brainer than Sinatra. Yeah, that’s right. I said it. Better than Sinatra. Bobby Darin.

Bobby Darin had a smooth voice, an irresistable grin, a broader stage presence, a hell of a performance swagger, and he could actually play instruments (VIBES.SERIOUSLY.) Bobby’s recordings of “Dream Lover” and “Splish Splash” are the ones that caused just that, a splash, with the people who come up with what legacies are, but it’s really the tunes like “Mack The Knife” (does anyone even THINK about Mackie anymore?!) and “Beyond The Sea” where he tore it up. Just check out this video, then meet me on the other side….

I know, right? Take a second and shake that one off. There’s an equally as good performance there too (Click here.), but it’s only required after the one I embedded here. My god friend Quinn Carson once said to me that it’s unfair to compare Bobby D to Sinatra or Dino because they sang different books. Yeah, except Bobby knew his own book, and THEN knew Sinatra’s whole book! I encourage you to check out the Kevin Spacy bio graphical movie on Bobby, although it’s a little warped chronologically.

Seriously. Bobby Darin. Takin’ him to the grave.

Oh what, you want one more? Yeah, yeah you do. This is one of my favorites. Ever.

Hey friends,

First off, God bless wifi in the Charlotte airport. I know I haven’t written anything of substance in a while. That will change soon. I have a lot of things brewing up in my head. But for now, I want to let you all know about a few more shows I’ll be a part of that are happening very soon. A couple Flinn Pomeroy, a couple River County.

7/3/09
A Harley-Davidson thing somewhere in Illinois that I’m not sure of yet…
w/ River County

7/4/09
Froggyfest
Murray, KY
w/ River County

7/11/09
Parkside Lounge
New York, NY
w/ Flinn Pomeroy

7/12/09
Rockwood Music Hall (SWEET!)
New York, NY
w/ Flinn Pomeroy

Hope to see you out on the road!!!!

I don’t know if I forgot to add this one in or if I wasn’t sure it was happening. Here’s one more show with River County.

6/09/09
Cadillac Ranch
Nashville, TN
w/ River County
8pm

Also, the set time for June 12th with River County is 9pm.

Please come out and see me play with Flinn Pomeroy this Sunday at 9pm. Thoroughly excited for that one. Playing those tunes got a little mind boggling 7 nights in a row, but this should be a fresh approach. Excited for “Brother John”….

See you soon!

Yo Peeps,

I’ve got some news regarding a bunch more upcoming gigs. A little more Flinn Pomeroy and some River County. If you’re a fan of country music and/or southern rock, go out and get the River County album. It’s fantastic, and so far, it’s a BLAST to learn.

Anyway, the upcoming dates are as follows…

6/7/09
Blue Bar
Nashville, TN
w/ Flinn Pomeroy

6/12/09
Cadillac Ranch
Nashville, TN
w/ River County

6/20/09
Tuff Hedeman Summer Shootout
Lakeland, FL
w/ River County

So, if anyone has been with me since my MySpace blog back in the day, you’ll remember that every once in a while I would post the contents of my dorm refrigerator. It always went over well. In light of that tendency, when I got home from touring with Flinn Pomeroy, I emptied out my incase messenger bag and took notice of all the things that were inside of it. I think it’s a pretty telling list.

Side Note: Yes, that is 3:18am on the clock. Yes, I keep a teddy bear in the room with me.

1 incase canvas vertical sling bag
1 Apple 13″ aluminum Macbook
1 MagSafe adapter for Macbook
1 Apple 1st generation iPhone (4GB model)
1 iPod Classic (160GB model, black)
1 Wall charger w/ USB dock cable for iPhone/iPod
1 pair Schoch earbuds w/ unknown replacement pads
1 Automobile cigarette lighter adapter with standard wall plug
1 Jawbone bluetooth earpiece
1 AC adapter for Jawbone
1 Nintendo DS (crimson/black)
1 AC adapter for Nintendo DS (not pictured)
1 Canon Powershot SD750 camera (not pictured)
1 AC adapter for Powershot battery (not pictured)
1 copy of “Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell (hardcover)
1 copy of “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell (paperback)
1 copy of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald (paperback)
6 bootleg DVDs (none of them actually viewed while on tour…)
1 black leather wallet
1 set of house/car/bass case keys

Really, it’s not that big of a bag at all. Looking back on that list, I have no idea how I did it!

There will, in fact, be a mix this week. Wednesday. Be on the lookout.

Hey all,

I’m sitting here at the Night Cat in Easton, MD. I’m taking a break from the Justin Jones & The Driving Rain set to sit down and answer emails and catch up with some friends via some halfway decent internet access.

The shows have been going really great so far. I think as of tonight, we truly peaked last night at Clementine over in Harrisonburg, VA. However, tonight was a different, more coffeehouse, down on the same floor as the audience kind of vibe where we interacted with the audience a bit more than we have on the stage show. We’re really excited about the NYC show on the 26th, so if you live that way and weren’t planning on coming out for it, you should definitely reconsider. We’ll make it worth your while.

Justin Jones and the guys have been great to be out with. They’ve been really supportive of what we do, and we’ve gotten to chat and hang a whole bunch. Some great wine nights involved in there, I’ll tell you.

Well, I’m going to go catch Justin’s last couple of tunes. He closes REALLY strong.

Hit him up: http://www.justin-jones.com

Write again soon….

Hey all y’all!

In a bout 3 hours (yup, that’s 5am), Flinn and I will be taking off in the direction of Charlottesville, VA. I’ll be trying to update here with some road journals, but we’ll see how successful that is when it actually happens. The dates again are:

5/20 - Charlottesville, VA (Bel Rio)
5/21 - Carrborro, NC (The Station)
5/22 - Harrisonburg, VA (Clementine)
5/23 - Easton, MD (The Night Cat)
5/24 - Philadelphia, PA (The Fire)
5/25 - Brooklyn, NY (Trash Bar, wayyyy south Brooklyn)
5/26 - New York, NY (The Parkside Lounge)
5/27 - Baltimore, MD (TBA)

Oh, as always, you can see my updates via my twitter.

Come out and say hi if you live in or near one of those towns!

Hey all,

Flinn was over here earlier tonight and we played through all the material. Still a few bumpy spots but I’m sure we’re going to be all systems go by Wednesday night in C’Ville. She writes great songs, so be sure to come out and hear them if we’re in a city near you. You’ll even get to hear Flinn do a solo cover of my favorite Patty Griffin song. Funny that Flinn has been playing it for a long time before I even came along.

Maybe I’ll get some rehearsal clips over the weekend and post them up here. Later!

Click here to download.

1. Let The Praise Begin - Fred Hammon & Radical For Christ
2. French Navy - Camera Obscura
3. My Baby - Little Walter
4. Long Ride Home - Patty Griffin
5. I’ll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy & The Family
6. Sea Legs - Sara Houser
7. The Strangers - St. Vincent
8. Poker Face - Lady GaGa
9. Dear Deer - Kate Micucci
10. Free Fallin’ - Tom Petty

Only a day late this time! I had it all picked out last night, I just didn’t get to do the write-up. I like this mix a lot. I put this one in the car before and had a whole lot of fun with it.

Track Info:

1. Let The Praise Begin: Sorry I put two gospel tunes in successive mixes, but this song has a much deeper meaning. Jay Bundy played this for me in the 8th grade. I heard it. I had some thoughts in my head. Then I decided to play the bass. You’ll want to as well, after you hear what he does at 3:19.

2. French Navy: While flying to Boston for Berklee’s graduation this past weekend, I grabbed a copy of “The Week” (my favorite news magazine). I was reading through the music reviews, and the guy RAVED about this group, Camera Obscura. Their record was only $7.95 in Newbury Comics, so I took a shot in the dark. It paid off. So hard.

3. My Baby: I’ve been listening to the Chess Records boxed set a lot lately. Lots of early Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry, but Little Walter is definitely one of the bigger gems. This song is ridiculous. Man, oh man.

4. Long Ride Home: I think about this song as a companion to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”. Kind of like, this is what happens after that song.

5. I’ll Be Missing You: I’ve never been able to write a memorial song for Jeff Camlet. I think part of that is because I know it can never be as good as this tribute to Biggie.

6. Sea Legs: I remembered this song after I heard her name mentioned at Graduation. Sara played this song solo on a grand piano in one of the classes I took with her. It floored me. You’ll never know what it sounded like that day from this, but it’s a fine, fine start.

7. The Strangers: St. Vincent is a phenomenon. This new record of hers hangs much, much more off the edge than her last one. Very avant-garde.

8. Poker Face: It. Won’t. Get. Out. Of. My. Head.

9. Dear Deer: This song is by Kate Micucci, who is one of the wittiest songwriters I’ve heard who doesn’t compromise how good her songs are for the comedy’s sake. Some may have noticed her as a guest star on Scrubs, playing “Gooch”, a musical therapist. She’s also a member of the duo Garfunkel & Oates. I recommend you check all of it out. Fantabulous.

10. Free Fallin’: Cause I had a Jerry Maguire moment in the car yesterday.

Head back next week…..

Hello Friends,

I’ll be joining singer/songwriter Flinn Pomeroy on the road for eight show from May 20-27. Flinn is a fantastic artist who, like me, lives here in Nashville via Berklee College of Music. We’ll be opening five nights for Justin Jones & The Driving Rain, and then three various dates, including one in New York, which I’m already predicting will be packed with friends and loved ones, so it should be a good time.

You can scope out Flinn’s music if you click here. Hope to see you out on the road, come say hi!

The dates are as follows…

5/20
Bel Rio
Charlottesville, VA
Opening for Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
9pm

5/21
The Station
Carrboro, NC
Opening for Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
9pm

5/22
Clementine
Harrisonburg, VA
Opening for Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
9pm

5/23
The Night Cat
Easton, MD
Opening for Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
8pm

5/24
The Fire
Philadelphia, PA
Opening for Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
8pm

5/25
Trash Bar
Brooklyn, NY
8pm

5/26
The Parkside Lounge
New York, NY
8pm

5/27
TBA
Baltimore, MD
8pm