New LP 'Gun Shy' available now; tour starts September 19
Singer/songwriter Matthew Mayfield has released a new video for “Gun Shy,” a no-frills, tongue-in-cheek rock’n’roll song about love addiction and entitlement attitudes. “I didn’t feel the need to get too heavy on the lyric side – I just wanted to plug in, turn up, and make some proper rock ‘n roll,” he adds. “These days when people see the word ‘gun,’ they automatically cringe. And rightfully so. But the definition of the phrase is ‘frightened by the sound of a gunshot. Apprehensive.’ While writing the verses, I had an image of this particular woman who on the outside acts overly confident and thinks she’s invincible but on the inside is terrified and extremely entitled.” In its premiere, Pure Grain Audio said of the video, “If you’re searching hard for living proof that traditional rock n’ roll is not dead, then you have found the proper destination. With a southern background, born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, there is a southern heart and soul to Mayfield’s music and vocal talents. Mayfield wears his rock n’ roll heart on his sleeve. Whether it’s an acoustic performance for an audience of one hundred or an energetic rock show for 3,000, he’s just as happy in either situation.”
Watch “Gun Shy:”
Gun Shy, a razor-sharp collection of tunes, has a little something for everyone; hard rock jams, and singer/songwriter tunes; Mayfield says the perceived lack of cohesion was 100% intentional–our identities are multi-faceted, and this album illustrates the many sides of his. The album’s songs are like pieces of a puzzle, all different, but all interlock perfectly to form a musically diverse picture. Mayfield teamed up with longtime friend and producer Paul Moak at his Nashville studio The Smoakstack to make the album come to life. There, Mayfield had the space to stretch his creative muscles, changing up sounds by using different pedals and instrument variations–even changing out a traditional guitar slide for an Allen wrench, as evidenced in the “Gun Shy” video.
Listen to “Gun Shy:”
From haunting acoustic ballads to gritty rock and roll songs filled with swagger and attitude, Mayfield has spent the past decade releasing music that has changed the hearts and lives of his listeners. Gun Shy is a collection of songs as varied as the emotions each of us feels. If his previous release, RECOIL, was the fruit of an intense effort by Mayfield to depict the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world he inhabited, Gun Shy is a look into all worlds – those full of darkness and hope.
To connect with listeners and draw them into these worlds, he created Inside the Song with Matthew Mayfield, a podcast dedicated to telling the stories behind the songs of Gun Shy. According to Mayfield, “I grew up with songs in such a deep way that I wanted to be inside them. I wanted to know how this artist could articulate the things I was feeling better than I could myself. The lyrics, the sonics behind the music, everything. I just craved to know more. Growing up with music when I did meant that I looked to liner notes. I think of the podcast as liner notes for your ears.”
Listen to any of the podcast episodes, and you’ll hear what makes Gun Shy Mayfield’s most introspective and personal record to date. “Our Winds” speaks of true love and hope in the midst of pressure from external forces while “Broken Clocks” finds Mayfield accepting a relationship that is doomed to fall apart. The riffs and hooks found in “Gun Shy” and “Best of Me” show Mayfield as the rock and roller he is.
While Mayfield is known for crafting both gripping ballads and eclectic rock songs, Gun Shy’s greatest triumph lies somewhere between those two styles. “S.H.A.M.E.,” the album’s third track, touches on what is currently Mayfield’s deepest concern–a world full of people that feel as if they are alone. “Shame is something that no one wants to talk about, but we’re all ashamed of something. We all have demons and things that prevent us from seeing our self-worth. The song is about connecting with people and letting them know they are not alone,” says Mayfield.
With each new record, Mayfield has grown in his ability to evoke a broad range of emotions in his listeners. “I want to create melodies and lyrics that move people, that make them feel something. Connection is everything, and music has a unique way of helping people connect to others and to parts of themselves that they might otherwise be unable to access.”
Mayfield will kick off his upcoming tour on September 19th in Washington, DC, with stops in New York City, Dallas, Chicago, and Minneapolis. See below for a complete list of dates. Gun Shy is available via Mayfield’s website, iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
UPCOMING U.S. TOUR DATES:
Sept. 19 – Washington, DC – Hill Country DC
Sept. 20 – New York City, NY – Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2
Sept. 22 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
Sept. 26 – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall
Sept. 27 – Charlotte, NC – The Evening Muse
Sept. 28 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Cafe
Oct. 18 – Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
Oct. 25 – Denver, CO – Lost Lake Lounge
Nov. 1 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
Nov. 15 – Dallas, TX – Ruins
Nov. 16 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
Dec. 8 – Chicago, IL – Schuba’s Tavern
Dec. 10 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
Find Matthew on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify & YouTube
Source: Press Release
