Fri, September 11
All Ages Show!
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What began with a homemade drum groove on Matt’s front porch in
Nashville sprang into a varied ten-song album that is equal parts a dip in
the electric blue waters of the 80s and a testament to the artistic breadth
Wertz has developed at this point in his career.
The year was 1987. Reagan was in the White House, Bill Cosby was the king
of Thursday nights, Dirty Dancing was selling out theaters. And on stereos
across America, singer-songwriters like Bryan Adams, Richard Marx, and
Kenny Loggins were rocking the airwaves with hits that would go on to do
the near impossible: cater to popular demand and stand the test of time.
It was 1987, and Matt Wertz was an eight-year-old kid in Liberty, Missouri.
He went to Louis and Clark Elementary, he took piano once a week from his
Nana, he rode shotgun in his mom’s Oldsmobile station wagon. And on
those lucky afternoons when he could tune in to Casey’s Top 40, Wertz
listened to songs that would become the soundtrack of an era – Don
Henley’s “Boys of Summer,†Steve Winwood’s “The Finer Things,†Lionel
Richie, Peter Cetera – classics set to drum machine and Stratocaster.
He didn't know it then, but those radio waves were settling into Wertz’s
memory and slow-curing his own songwriter sensibility. And after a decade
of commercial success, seven studio albums and thousands of miles
touring, they were the songs Matt found himself going back to over and
over again – “Footloose,†“Mandolin Rain,†“Hold on to the Nights†– music
that was flat-out fun to listen to.
Those hours of rediscovery inspired Matt Wertz to create his newest and
most ambitious project to date, Heatwave. What began with a homemade
drum groove on his Nashville front porch has sprung into a distinct, varied
ten-song record that both pays homage to the lush, accessible sounds
characteristic of that era and evidence the breadth of artistic reach Wertz
has come to embody at this point in his career.
“Get to You,†the opening track on Heatwave, was written during the initial
porch session with producer Brandon Hood, confidently dipping its toes in
the electric blue waters of the 80s. The drum groove brings to mind the
classic loop beats of that era and immediately establishes the album’s fluid,
dynamic tone. With “Whenever You Love Somebody,†Wertz delivers the
aching, honest lyrics his fans have come to expect, this time setting them
against a backdrop of resonant beats and velvety guitars.
In addition to Wertz’s interpretation of his favorite 80s influences,
Heatwave also boasts tracks that feature his wide-ranging scope as a
songwriter. Between working independently and on major labels like
Universal Republic and Nettwerk Records, Wertz has become a veteran
musician who deftly employed his years of songwriting mastery to this
latest offering. After 12 years based in Nashville, co-writing with the best in
the business, Wertz’s own insights manifest themselves best on the
introspective tracks “What I Know Right Now†and “Thing About Freedom.â€
“What I Know Right Now†explores a contemporary folk blend of warm
harmonies and brushed snare, and “Thing About Freedom†gently draws
the album to a close with pensive lines and a melancholy steel guitar.
Heatwave bridges a lifetime of musical history. Wertz uses the melodies of
his Missouri childhood as a springboard into an exciting new realm of
modern musical possibilities, interpreting his influences in a striking,
singular way. As Wertz himself would say, these are the songs he’d want
stuck in his head. And that’s a good thing for everyone.