Songs: Blink in Time - This song was written on my grandparents couch at 1 AM before a 6 AM fishing trip on the Palmer River in Rehoboth, MA. I don't remember what inspired the lyrics, but I think the song is an ode to hope and oblivion. Deep River - Deep River, CT is where Dirt Floor Recording Studio was located for ninety percent of our sessions. Deep River is also an old African American spiritual, the melody of which I borrowed for the harmonica intro. Zack Keene and Rocky Hill really helped me get this song off the ground and Eric's lap steel tied the whole thing together. The lyrics were written over a three year period. Can't You Feel It? - This as my first song to use "Vestapol" tuning. I wrote it at sunset on Block Island in the Summer of 2007. I suppose it's too vague to be a real love song but it was supposed to be. Easy to Sleep (Crooked Black Flower) - I was spurred to write this after watching a documentary about Neo-Nazis and the Klu Klux Klan. It convinced me once and for all that there's nothing more dangerous than a man with his mind made up about something. Starting Tomorrow - This song was written in 10 minutes, with an additional verse snuck in later. Eric and I were going for a Sun Studios meets Exile on Main Street sound on this one. It happens to be the only original song in my repertoire that gets requested at bar and pub shows. I Won't Be Afraid - Everyone's worried about the end of the world. Almost every era of history was thought to be the end of times by the people who lived during it. And here we are still. Down With The Rain - I wrote this sardonic little blues song on a train in Boston. I was listening to a lot of Chess Records artists and realizing that people like to fantasize about how crushed their friends and family would be without them. Open Fire - I came up with this song after hearing about the Northern Illinois University shooting on February 14, 2008. The 27-year-old shooter smuggled a shotgun in a guitar case and shot 24 people, killing 6. These kinds of stories give everybody chills and usually create discussion about the dark corners of the human mind. Seven Lanes - Rocky and Zack definitely deserve credit for this arrangement. It's nothing like the way I thought the song would sound. It still sounds like the downfall of the American auto industry though. This was the last track ever at Dirt Floor Recording Studio to feature Eric's beautiful old Gretsch White Falcon, which had a nice, guttural crunch. Just What You Need - Only song I've ever written with a diminished chord. Only song I've written in 3/4 time. Only proper love song I've ever written. Coincidence? Probably. Eric's groovy Fender Rhodes and Rocky's two measure drum solo steal the show on this one. Silver City - This song was written in Taunton, MA in Winter of 2008. I think shopping malls have killed too many groovy old downtown areas in New England. The "Silver City" Galleria seems like it was the guillotine that put downtown Taunton's former glory to death. I tried to capture the resulting feeling of discontent that seems to hover over that area. Cambridge Town - I learned this song first hand from Vic Wotherspoon, the "Dean of Folk". Vic's a great friend, mentor, and a great fingerpicking storyteller. I adapted this song from his version and added few lines of my own. You can hear Vic's version on his last release "Contemporary and Traditional", which I was proud to play some dobro and harmonica on. Don't Turn Around - This song takes place in either the Middle East or the Bible Belt. Maybe both. It isn't about anything in particular but it got me in the finals of the Boston Folk Festival Youth Songwriting Contest in 2007. Musicians: Matt Borrello - Vocals, Guitars, Harmonica, Bass (Deep River and Open Fire), Organ (Can't You Feel It?), Hand Percussion (Down With The Rain) Eric Lichter - Pedal Steel, Lap Steel, Organ, Harmony Vocals (Easy to Sleep), Drums (Starting Tomorrow), Electric Guitar (Seven Lanes and Just What You Need), Bass (Blink in Time, Can't You Feel It?, and Silver City), Banjo Sarah Borrello - Organ (I Won't Be Afraid and Down With The Rain) Zachary Keene - Bass Evan "Rocky" Hill - Drums and Percussion