Todd Mathis

Lang Owen is a good guy.

I enjoyed working with Lang off and on for six months or so on his most recent record She’s My Memory. We started the process with some demos he’d made and by discussing what type of sound/album he wanted to make. Once that was settled, I had Lang come in and play all of the songs he had to a kick and snare with just his acoustic guitar. He was a natural to playing with a click and was always prepared and ready to go. After the first few sessions we got into the habit of spending the first 30-45 minutes talking and chatting, then we’d get down to work.  Some sessions only saw us working on one song, others we’d tackle three or four, whatever we were feeling.  Most sessions didn’t go over three hours and the majority of them probably only lasted for two. We’d squeeze in sessions when we both had time.  It was a nice, intimate way to work and a nice way to get to know someone. We started with twelve or thirteen songs but narrowed the album down to ten, with Lang putting a few aside to work on further or scrap altogether. It’s not that they were bad songs, he just felt they didn’t fit the album. And I love that we got to make an album and not just a bunch of songs. There’s a great feel and theme running through the tracks. I hope you all enjoy listening to the completed songs as much as I enjoyed recording them.

She’s My Memory on Spotify 

 

 

I don’t remember all of the details.  What exact age I was, what vehicle we were driving (probably the old Buick Malibu…another story), what time of year it was… What I do remember is dad and I building this gate to the left of the barn in the picture above on a rainy Saturday under the carport at Granny’s house. We used some lumber that he had cut, some large bolts to hold it together and a couple of old sawhorses that were falling apart. A few days or weeks later we went to hang the gate and it was so heavy we could barely lift it. I remember struggling to try to get it onto the hinges and dad saying that we probably should’ve gotten bigger hinges. And I remember him just laughing at how heavy it was. I also remember him joking that any cow trying to get out of that gate would have a big knot on their head. Even though I can’t describe all of the details, just seeing this picture makes me warm inside. I had a good father and I am thankful for that.

 

As I look back on the year I have a lot to be grateful for.  I have collaborated with a number of folks and done some projects of my own.  2022 is off to a productive start with some exciting things happening that I can’t wait to share.  Some of the folks I’ve been working with (and I’m sure I’ll inadvertently leave some out) over the past 12 months, or who have done work for me  include:

Carl Burnitz

Lang Owen

Darren Woodlief

Admiral Radio

Zena Strings

Bentz Kirby

Zach Bingham

Mike Scarboro

Chris Padget

Kevin Kimbrell

Jeff Gregory

Steve Bennett

Kristen Harris

John Epps

The Mash-Up Americans

I was also humbled to be included in the Free Times “Best of Columbia Music 2021” issue with my EP “To Paul” and in an end of the year piece from the same publication.

9. Todd Mathis — “To Paul.”

Few albums I’ve ever listened to approach the emotional texture of the four-track EP “To Paul.” Todd Mathis dedicated the collected songs to Paul Bodamer, who died in 2020 and was a frequent recording partner and close friend. Made up of three covers and one original track, it’s a moving reimagining of Wilco’s “Theologians,” Faster Stereo’s (a band they formed together) “One More Time” and Willie Nelson’s “Me and Paul.” As one listens with knowledge of the album’s context, it’s hard not to feel a heavy heart even when it strikes playful tones. That’s as evident as any song on “Me and Paul,” where Mathis charts an up-and-down journey that brings the listener along for the ride with the two. Here the two take the place of Nelson and his drummer Paul English. It’s a high place to put oneself and another, but one that any friend would gladly give to a friend if they could. It’s a move that requires almost blinding love, and Mathis lends just that in his reimagination of the track and the entire album. DAVID CLAREY

Columbia venues, bands returned with live performances, varied approaches to pandemic KYLE PETERSEN

Given this outlook, I feel something like singer/songwriter Todd Mathis’ heartfelt tribute EP, “For Paul,” which was released in June, to his friend Paul Bodamer might be the most emblematic of the year.

Although a drummer and songwriter himself, Bodamer, who we lost early on in 2020, was more known for his tireless engineering and production work for Americana and jazz artists in the Midlands. Mathis carefully selected the songs on the mostly acoustic EP, selecting one of Bodamer’s favorite songs, Wilco’s “Theologians,” followed by a cover of one of the producer’s own songs and then a spot-on take on the Willie Nelson travelogue “Me and Paul.”

Each song directly speaks to Mathis’ grief, but they are nothing next to the intense vulnerability and mournful swell of the closing original number. “I’m writing this song just to tell you how much that I love you/I’m writing this song just to put it out in the air,” he tenderly sings. “I’m writing this song just in case/your spirit is out there floating among the airwaves/and maybe just maybe somebody else needed to hear/the words ‘I love you.’”