the matthew show revisited: week nine
When I moved back to Texas, I found my old Civilians bandmate Ron Geida playing in an outfit called Barber Mack, named after the legendary Jamaican musician. Ron, John Shook, and Josh Clark were tight, and I had a song that I thought they'd sound good on, a slice of life from my old Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. The album was being put out by Wampus Multimedia, a label on which I had just been included for the mighty fine Hurry Home Early: The Songs of Warren Zevon. On that record, my favorite track was Mr. Bad Example, by one Robbie Rist (look him up, you know him even if you don't think you do). I was bold enough to ask if he would contribute to the track, and he gave me way more vocal goodness than I ever expected, setting the dang thing on fire. Add in backing vocals by usual suspect Jeffry Simms and a blazing solo by the inimitable James Dunn and you have, in my opinion, one of the best cuts from my catalog. Or at least the most fun.