temp 2

I Can't Find My Left Shoe

Valentine

So I was watching this music video and it was this cruising song and I got into the feel of it - but my lyrics were a country laid back rock blues track and here it is. It turns out driving long roads is meditation and therapy for many of us. 

Cruising The Long Roads Lyrics 

Why do I like driving
Long country roads
Leave hustle and striving
For the chilled mode?
Life is funny like that
One minute you want action
Then you just want to relax
Do absolutely nothing
 
Am I cutting ’n running
Or am I balancing?
I just don’t care anymore
That’s for damn sure
One breakup too many
Lost enough of my pennies
Grasslands and farmlands
Are better than quicksand
 
Cruising the long roads
Soothing this soul just fine
Unloading mental loads
Ending troubled mind
 
Cruising the long roads
Thoughts getting slowed
The past getting left behind
Winning back my time
Cruising the long roads
Cruising the long roads
Oh yeah
 
Pull up for fuel
Top it up from half—my rule
So done with stress
Tapping out for the rest
Everything so still
Except for a lovely lady
Okay, she’s smilin’ ’n lookin’
And she ain’t bad lookin’
 
Is that a Prada bag?
I’d call that a red flag
I don’t need the drama
Hit the road again with rubber
Old head here wised up
Going for the simple life
Less is more than enough
I’m a keep-it-simple-stupid type
 
Cruising the long roads
Soothing this soul just fine
Unloading mental loads
Ending troubled mind
 
Cruising the long roads
Thoughts getting slowed
The past getting left behind
Winning back my time
Cruising the long roads
Cruising the long roads
Oh yeah
 
What is going on here?
A lone traveller in need
Am I driving on past?
Or am I repeating the past?
A lone traveller in need
Is this what it seems?
Gotta keep the kindness
Refuse to be heartless
 
Cruising the long roads
An extra G in the glove box
I am totally stoked
Call that a kindness jackpot
 
Cruising while it’s snowing
Thoughts keep slowing
The past a distant memory
As I enter adventure territory
Cruising the long roads
Cruising the long roads
Cruising the long roads
Oh yeah

Driving for seasons
For my good reasons
Beyond the rolling hills
Onto the orchard fields 
I hope they’ve got peaches 
Mmmm peaches

Cruising The Long Roads

23deesmostImportantfade Masterchannel WezClarke 20241112

05_Everything

If Prettier Than Matt has a motto that describes them best, it is diversity and versatility combined with musical ability. The likeable duo have made a name for themselves in the Carolinas with a mixture of rock 'n' roll energy and acoustic accessibility that allows them to play in many different places, events, and situations and still appeal to a wide audience. They're Americana, pop, rock, and more on the newly released album Better Left Said, which features lead single “Anymore.”

Credit the varied musical taste of singer/keyboard/ukulele player Jessica Skinner and guitarist/singer Jeff Pitts as the source of their chemistry together on stage. Skinner is influenced by classic country females such as Dolly Parton, but also aware of the contemporary pop styles of Ingrid Michaelson and others. Pitts counts the arena rock/pop leanings of Bon Jovi and heavier acts such as Metallica in his wheelhouse. The result? They can play a rock club or a coffeehouse and deliver virtually the same set of upbeat originals and artfully done cover tunes.

Better Left Said was recorded with Kenny McWilliams in Columbia, South Carolina's Archer Avenue studio, taking a batch of new compositions and pairing them with new takes on several songs from previous recordings. The album presents a mature songwriting duo with a true sense of what they want to say, which is a lot.

The folk-Americana sounding opener “Anymore” uses a gently plucked rhythm as the vehicle for a lament over a past relationship that also includes serious self-reflection anyone in those shoes can relate to, while “Already Gone” isn't the Eagles classic but a similarly singable verse and chorus, the kind of country hit Martina McBride used to score with regularity on the charts.

Skinner's playful nature comes to the forefront on “The La La Song,” a natural sing-along with what sounds like a studio full of guests on the chorus, while Pitts takes lead vocals on a pair of tracks, the eulogy to a father “Taken Away” and “Did You?”. “Girl” adds a piano and strings for a contemporary ballad style, and “Run” adds some powerful electric guitars; both tunes show the duo is capable of much more than just pretty acoustic pop.

Prettier Than Matt is a self-contained DIY effort with Pitts and Skinner handling their own booking and management; on their own they have been able to mount cross-country tours the last several years and play shows with Sister Hazel, G. Love and Special Sauce, Danielle Howle, and others. If they haven't been to your town yet, it won't be long.