Page 19 - SPIRE JulySep 2022 3rd Issue DIGITAL

MATT BORRELLO

When can we expect your third studio album Lonesome Valley
to drop and what was the driving force behind this album
(inspiration)?
Lonesome Valley will be released in August 2022, with the
Thursday the 11th Spire show being the release concert for
the album. The recording and mixing was mostly finished in
2019, but I just haven’t made the final push to get it released
for a variety of reasons. The driving force behind the album
was doing a rough and live sounding acoustic album. I was also
determined to get some songs out there that hadn’t made it on
to my other two albums. Some of these tunes go back to 2006.
I had read a book called Simple Twist of Fate about the
recording of Blood on the Tracks (Dylan album from ’74). I
wanted to record in that quick and spontaneous way with a
group that were used to playing together. Soon after that I
heard a bluegrass/Americana band called Grain Thief at a
show. I played with them at the British Beer Company in
Plymouth. They had great chemistry and had the rowdy yet
controlled sound I was looking for. Other recordings I had
done were built from the ground up with scratch tracks and MATTBORRELLOMUSIC.COM THU, AUG 11 | 7:30PM
overdubs, which can be great, but this time I didn’t want any of What song on your impending album resonates the most with
that. There ended up being some overdubs but very few. We you?
didn’t do more than 4 takes of anything and didn’t even wear I would have to say “Trailblazers” because some of the lines just
headphones for the first session.
came out without much thinking. I didn’t filter myself and ended
up with a song that relates to my life. I had some help on one line
in particular, but I’ll explain that at the show!
Is there a particular place where you feel most creative?
Either driving a car or walking in the woods, but also when riding
a bus or a train.

What is your favorite song to perform live and why?
In terms of my own songs, probably “Glimpse of God.” It lets me
poke fun at our modern society while also hitting my guitar
strings pretty hard. Favorite cover song to perform would
probably be “Hard Rain” by Bob Dylan.

What do you want to tell our readers who haven’t seen you
perform live before?
I’d like to tell them that my shows can range from very quiet and
folky to very loud and rockish, but I ’ve been doing a better job
lately of finding an agreeable middle ground.
I’m also fronting a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute act
called Won’t Back Down that plays all around New England.
I’ll be back in the studio to record a heavier blues/rock
influenced album sometime this fall with my trusty old bar band
the Quality Dogs.

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