Mattie Rocks: My World Rocks Like This

Siips on the downtown mall…

This is a very cool new wine bar right across from The Paramount.

I played there for an outdoor club event, and the owner, George Benford, asked me to come back.

If you haven’t been there yet, definitely go check it out and buy some wine and great food. I recommend the Five Spice Tuna.

I’ll be playing there again very soon, keep your eye on the calendar!

So I just want to say what a great feeling it is to finally be back out playing some shows for people. I’d *almost* forgotten how much fun it was to be up doing music for audiences. Everything seems to be going pretty well now, which is also excellent.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has seen and supported me lately, REALLY appreciate that!

Finally (and I know this might be a stretch…) If you took any pictures at the shows, of yourself, of me, of the rest of the audience, please send them to me and I’ll post them here on the website.

Thanks again and hope to see you out there soon!

Mattierocks.com girly t-shirts are now available for $15 + $2.50 shipping… Here’s a rundown of the currently available sizes:

XXL - 1
XL - 2
L - 2
M - 1
S - 3

Keep in mind that these are Ladies/Juniors sizes, not regular guy t-shirts.

Please email me at mattie@mattierocks.com to request your size and we’ll arrange payment and shipping.

Thank you all so much for your support!

(*T-Shirt is modeled by the lovely Amy, President of the Charlottesville, VA Chapter of the Official Mattie Fan Club.)

And my “hetero-man crush” continues with renewed vigor…

John Mayer recently leaked a song he wrote for an upcoming movie soundtrack on his blog. It’s called “Say” and I really think that, while it seems simple on the surface, there’s some really great lines and a great overall message.

Check it out here

I’ve been meaning to post this picture, because I always tell people about it…

One of my favorite (and coolest) musical experiences was singing in the gospel choir at the Nellis AFB chapel. It was a nice bunch of folks, and absolutely some of the best music I’ve been able to be a part of.

However, I’m sure it was funny for the people in the congregation, because I was the only white guy in the choir. But wait… not only was I the only white person, I was about a full head taller than everybody else… Not exactly inconspicuous!

Here’s the photo:

So, at the prompting of Candace Rose (Thanks for letting me know about this, by the way!), I’m going to enter a local songwriting contest, First Amendment Writes. I haven’t done anything like this in a while, and it should be fun. The finalists get to play live for the judges in November and there’s a chance to win $500…

I’ve decided to enter, I Rise, I Fall(also available as a ringtone). The lyrics follow for those that aren’t familiar…

I Rise, I Fall
(C) Mattie - 2005

Underneath a thin veil
Of false composure
I pretend that I’m content with
Where ever this may go

But in me you need to know
That I’m too scared to touch you
Cause lack of knowledge of you
Is the only reason I can still stand at all

Read my mind, give rise to my emotions
Like I raised my hopes
Before you brought me
Not so softly back down

Look in my eyes
See the truest meaning
Hazel sparkle betrays all I
Fight to hide

And I rise
And I fall
But how do I admit that
You’re the one who caused it all

And I dream
And I fear
But how do I admit that
I just want to have you
I just want to have you

Wish that I could
Run my fingers through your hair
And lie with you, afraid to breathe
So I don’t miss what you share

Chew your lip
Push a strand behind your ear
I want to see your thoughts
Baby won’t you take me there

While I rise
And I fall
But how do I admit that
You’re the one who caused it all

And I dream
And I fear
But how do I admit that
I just want to have you
I just want to hold you

And I
Miss you, soon as you’re gone
But my life it still
Drags me along

And my head won’t stop spinning
And my tired heart’s still beating
And I smile
Just to see you shine

While I rise
And I fall
But how do I admit that
You’re the one who caused it all

And I dream
And I fear
But how do I admit that
I just want to have you
I just want to have you near
I just want to have you near
____________________________________________________

Now a little (hopefully) treat for anyone who is actually reading AND actually made it this far down, I’ll give a little info about the backstory for this tune…

I wrote this about a girl I knew (and obviously had a thing for) in Georgia, but I won’t go so far as to name her (though I’m sure some can figure it out pretty easily). Anywho, it’s about her, the second half of the third verse are a couple of little things that she did sometimes that I thought were cute enough to write into a song, etc, etc, etc.

Now for the best part of the story… I had never done this before, but I told her that she should actually hear me play in person, so she came over to my house one day to take me up on it. The thing I had never done before, however, was tell someone that a song was about them. To this day I’m not sure why I did it, or if I’ll ever do it again. She was appropriately flattered, but that was it.

I don’t know what else I was expecting… Maybe a kiss… Maybe for her to rip her clothes off… Who knows? (Neither of those occurred obviously).

She wound up moving off somewhere else, and last I heard, getting married. So no happy ending for this song, but life goes on, it’s no longer a big deal, and I got a song that I’m pretty proud of out of the deal!

So there’s a little history. Not sure why I told it, but now it’s out there, so read it quick before I change my mind and take it down!

This is from My Name Is Earl, last night… Quality television, quality music!

This proves I’m working on new stuff, right? I mean, it’s all set up and everything…

These two albums have been spinning in my car non-stop since they came out:

Just thought you’d like to know.