Tampa Calling

From left to right: Me, Nate Oliver, Danny Burke, Matt Burke, JP Beaubien. Photo by Camille Pyatte.

I spent Tuesday night in downtown Bradenton conducting an interview at the rehearsal studio of Have Gun, Will Travel, one of the top alt-country acts in the region. What started as singer-songwriter and former Chase Theory frontman Matt Burke’s acoustic-based solo project has evolved into a full band effort on Have Gun, Will Travel’s excellent full-length debut, Casting Shadows Tall as Giants. The disc will be unveiled to the public at the Have Gun, Will Travel CD release party, Fri., April 18, Crowbar, Ybor City.

My Have Gun, Will Travel feature story will run on the cover of Creative Loafing’s Sarasota edition April 10 and in Tampa April 17. Here’s an excerpt:

On grimy walls plastered with fliers from past shows and a stop sign that hopefully wasn’t swiped from a busy intersection, a Radiohead poster hangs near one of a smiling Hank Williams Sr. The contemporary art-rock royals and the king of honky tonk make for an odd pairing, suggesting, perhaps, the ironic gesture of a country-hating hipster. But here at Have Gun, Will Travel’s rehearsal space in downtown Bradenton, the two posters underpin the musicians’ eclectic taste and are a telling reminder of the band’s finely executed makeover. Singer and chief songwriter Matt Burke’s appreciation for both Radiohead and Williams are as sincere as the stylistic shift he embarked on more than two years ago that transformed venerable indie rock trio the Chase Theory into Have Gun, Will Travel — the most important new alt-country ensemble in Tampa Bay.

HGWT’s freshly minted full-length debut, Casting Shadows Tall as Giants, ranks with anything on the national Americana charts. Its gorgeous acoustic guitar-based melodies are fleshed out with back porch banjo, lap steel, viola, piano and harmonica. A taut rhythm section that occasionally operates in subdued rock mode propels the songs. The mostly traditional instrumentation, arrangements and production provide a supreme backdrop for Matt Burke’s reedy, intimate singing about timeless subject matter like charlatan preachers, maturing and finding solace in a lover’s arms. The 32-year-old surveys these topics with a deft touch resulting in fresh meditations on even the most ancient dilemmas.

“The band came together as the songs were written, with everyone putting something into it,” Matt says on a recent Tuesday night. We’re in a gussied up storage facility packed with instruments, amps and recording equipment — beer cans and cigarette butts litter the concrete floor. HGWT calls the place headquarters and practices here twice a week. The pool table, stereo, TV, fridge and posters of Radiohead and Williams are in a clubhouse-like loft above the warehouse space where a truly brilliant album took shape. “To hear all the parts I had previously only heard in my head actually brought to fruition was like hearing them in all their glory, it made me feel like I was 15 again, in our first band playing rock songs,” Matt says.

Seated next to him and nodding in agreement are his younger brother, bassist Danny Burke, and drummer JP Beaubien; the two men who made the transition with Matt from Chase Theory to HGWT. The new band also includes lap steel guitarist/backup vocalist Nate Oliver, former frontman for now defunct Bradenton rockers Farewell Verona, which used to gig locally with the Chase Theory. In addition, HGWT features viola player Josh Hernandez, when he’s not attending classes at Florida State, the case today.

Matt, Danny, JP and Nate each has on a pair of faded black, low-top Chuck Taylor sneakers. They all drink the same cheap beer, share cigs and routinely greet each other with warm bear hugs. Matt’s current day job is graphic design but he’s previously done construction work, the occupation of everyone else in the room. “Between the four of us we can almost build a house,” Danny cracks.

“We could do it,” Nate says.

JP jokingly tells me I can’t smoke in the rehearsal space even though everyone else does. He’s the loudest of the bunch and the quickest to bust your balls. Danny unleashes the occasional zinger, as well. JP suggests stabbing and molesting me when I accompany the quartet on a photo shoot down by the Manatee River. Matt and Nate, the youngest member by five years, laugh at their bandmate’s antics but rarely instigate the playful banter. The band’s overall relationship is indicative of a group of men who have been making music together from an early age.

Tracks from HGWT’s soon-to-be-released album Casting Shadows Tall as Giants posted here.

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