Musicians from every state in the US, along with 40 countries, attended the award ceremony at the Grand Ole Opry. Matt Clarkson and guitarist William Dekle walked the red carpet and brushed elbows with fellow nominees. They were interviewed by Nashville media outlets and podcasters, and were photographed in front of the JMA backdrop.
As Clarkson said, they were treated as if they were famous.
“[The JMAs] is actually like a big family,” Clarkson said. “Everybody’s extremely nice. Some of them have been around since the beginning. On the drive down, I didn’t really think I was gonna feel any kind of way until I was actually there. I’d never experienced it before. So, honestly, it was just excitement and it was gratitude in the end.”
The group beat out 75,000 applicants to get four nominations in its first year of applying. While the MCB didn’t take home any awards, it has just emboldened the fellas to tighten their snapbacks and win big as alumni at next year’s JMAs.
“I was a part of it, nonetheless; that was always my outlook from the very beginning,” Clarkson said. “From the small number of applicants that actually got through, just being included was an honor. I mean, that’s a win on its own.”
The Matt Clarkson Band’s new single, “All I’ve Ever Known,” out digitally Dec. 14, is a heavier follow-up to “Bad News,” but remains consistent with the band’s modern ball cap country catalogue.
It had been raining for three whole days when the melody line for “It’s been raining for three whole days” arrived to Clarkson. Cleaning out his garage at the time, he dropped the broom and knocked out the rest of the song within minutes. The band never planned on recording it, but eventually did upon a fan’s request.
Produced by Nate McDonough at Sound Cellar Recording in Columbus, “All I’ve Ever Known” takes inspiration from Nashville power country band, The Steel Woods.
It blends distorted guitars, acoustics, banjos and southern inflections, plus neck breaking dueling guitar solos. Remove the banjo and inflections and it could’ve been a straight up hard rock song.
But despite the direction the band’s sound has been going, with many of Clarkson’s bandmates having rock and metal roots, the band’s next effort is going to take it down a couple of notches.
“We’ve been putting out these heavier, fast-paced hard-hitters; I want to show some of the more important lyrics that I’ve written,” Clarkson said. “The next song I plan on recording is going to be more of a ballad, more of an acoustic-driven, finger-picking kind of song.”
Matt Clarkson wants to keep it fresh, and to keep us guessing what the next definition of his brand of country music will entail.
The band plans on releasing three new singles next year, along with an EP.
Clarkson also plans on filming a music video for “All I’ve Ever Known,” which the band will submit to next year’s Josie Music Awards.
Brandon Berry writes about the Dayton and Southwest Ohio music scene. Have a story idea for him? Email branberry100@gmail.com.
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