1989: Found a Record in a Record Store...
It all started in a record store called Sam's Jams in Ferndale, Michigan. Matt and his friend, Joe, were browsing the used record bins and scored a rare single by their favorite band, The Alarm.
Before they made it to the check-out counter, a stranger approached and asked to purchase the single Joe was holding and intended to buy. Always amiable, Joe was ready to hand it over. However, like the Sphinx guarding Thebes, Matt riddled the stranger to prove his worth. After a High Fidelity-style interview of the who's who of new wave music they learned this stranger's name was Nick. A kindred spirit and hoping to score more copies of rare records, Nick exchanged contact information with Matt. By the way, he got the record at no additional charge.
1990-1993: Forming a Band
Four months later when Nick visited Matt at his parent's home. They copied some albums to tape and Nick, who had brought along his electric guitar, played some original songs. Among the music recordings that exchanged hands were the Go-Betweens' 16 Lovers Lane and the Railway Children's Recurrence.
Nick wrote The Storm in the fall of 1990, and When The Darkness Falls and Alyssa in the spring of '91.
Matt wrote his first song, Dusty, in 1990. Three more: Never Can Tell, Voyage to Brobdingnag, Daydreaming came the following spring.
That summer, Matt, Joe, and Nick formed a group called 2nd Generation, the name lifted from a favorite Alarm song. The trio consisted of Matt on acoustic guitar, Nick on Electric and Joe on bass. They got together in Joe's basement and hoped inspiration would strike. It didn't take long to realize no one knew any cover songs. So they tried writing their own. Eventually, Nick developed an infectious riff to which Matt supplied the lyrics and named it Old Man and The Sea. Nick had another guitar lick and wrote the song Awhile Away with Joe.
Living in three separate cities while attending university made practice impossible. To help move things forward, Nick, who owned a four track tape recorder, cut nine original songs one afternoon as a demo so that Matt and Joe could learn them and the group would have something to play together.
At the same time, Nick continued to write and produced This Heaven in January.
Spending most of their time apart, Joe joined another band and played a few college parties. Matt continued to write poetry and songs.
Nick, a recent college grad poured his job search frustration into his music and created the exquisite 4 song EP aptly entitled, The Heart of Darkness in September 1992. Nick finished the year with yet another new song, Never Far From You, in November.
Matt was inspired by Nick's recording and convinced Nick to borrow his recording equipment so he could create something original as well.
In October, Matt, Nick, Joe and his girlfriend, Amy, got together and had a jam session. This was to be the last practice for 2nd Generation.
Matt spent most of his spare time going to concerts, writing songs and recording demos. During this period he wrote extensively; the highlights were: Prayers, Bread of Life, and You.
Nick and Matt chose a new name for a two-man band, Somewhere South taken from a song by The Railway Children. They recorded one song together, Prayers, a scathing rebuke of Madonna and her celebrity.
Matt completed one new song in 1993, Blind I, which was inspired by the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
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