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 tastes 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 charlatan preachers, finding solace in a lover's arms and facing up to the responsibilities of growing older. 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 The 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 Chase Theory. In addition, HGWT features viola player Josh Hernandez, when he's not attending classes at Florida State, which is what he's doing 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 greet each other with 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.
Matt and Danny have a musical background courtesy of their parents. Dad penned hymns and performed contemporary Christian songs at a local church when they were kids, selling one of his own prized instruments to buy his sons their first guitars. He would also take the boys canoeing on the Manatee and Myakka rivers, experiences the Burke brothers recall fondly. The siblings are close — drawn even closer now that they both have children of their own — but the two men had differences growing up. "Overall, it was pretty good, but we did scrap," Danny says.
Matt chuckles and adds: "We fought until Danny got as big as me."
By the time Matt and JP were 15, Danny only age 12, the three formed punk and metal bands with names like June and Dementia. At Bayshore High School in Bradenton, where Matt and JP graduated in 1993, they were stoners who wore Metallica T-shirts to class — on the days they managed to attend.
"Matt was definitely the weirdest individual I ever met, but he probably thought the same about me," JP says. "We kinda learned guitar together, but I gave it up [laughs], needed to learn something easier like the drums."
When Matt reached the age of 20, his interest in pioneering punk-pop bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbreaker led to the formation of Chase Theory. The group became the toast of Bradenton's burgeoning original music scene several years later. Matt mailed three-song cassettes to his favorite labels, and the single "Pharaohs and Kings" landed on the third installment of North Carolina-based Deep Elm Records' acclaimed Emo Diaries compilations in 1999. The exposure led to Chase Theory inking deals with the indie boutique label One Day Savior for a two full-lengths and then Tribunal Records, which issued the Chase Theory retrospective Scrapbook: 1998-2001 in 2004. By this time, the trio was doing national van tours, had secured an entertainment lawyer and seemed on the cusp of signing a deal with a label that would allow them to make music a full-time occupation. But it never panned out. The bandmates and best friends discussed relocating from their sleepy, working-class hometown to further their career but ultimately stayed put. "We talked about moving to Gainesville or Orlando a few times," Matt says.
"But we wanted to keep our roots," JP offers. "Maybe it was a mistake."
Matt laughs, "Yeah."
"It made us stronger," JP counters.
The Chase Theory has not had a new album to promote since Scrapbook, which contained previously recorded material. The trio continued gigging under their old name, sporadically and mostly at familiar Bradenton clubs, until about a year ago. Matt's main focus turned to a clandestine solo project that would evolve into the current incarnation of Have Gun, Will Travel in late 2005.
By that time, I had profiled The Chase Theory for the Bradenton Herald, lived near Matt and his future fiancée Raina and would see the couple on a fairly regular basis at places like downtown Bradenton bar The Old Main Pub. Matt and I began to have lengthy conversations that foreshadowed his next direction. He expressed great admiration and interest in Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, alt-country acts like Uncle Tupelo and classic country artists such as Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. The Chase Theory frontman eventually mentioned that he had been teaching himself banjo and harmonica. His musical emphasis was evolving. A few more months passed before Raina told me that Matt had made a home recording with him playing all the instruments.
After another long night at the Old Main Pub, I finally convinced him to let me hear what he was working on. The two of us went out to his car where we stayed for the duration of the CD, and I've been gushing in print and to whoever would listen ever since. Those basic tracks became the self-titled Have Gun, Will Travel EP that Matt released in the spring of 2006. Other members of the local press, including my predecessor at Creative Loafing, were also impressed. The seven-track disc caught the attention of programmers at WMNF and garnered a glowing reviewing in the national publication American Songwriter. "Coming in a cardboard disc box with no track list and employing what is probably third-rate production, all is forgotten because the songs stand out superior," the magazine noted.
Matt performed the original batch of HGWT material as a solo act around Bradenton and at Tampa Bay venues like New World Brewery in Ybor City that had turned a deaf ear to him when he fronted Chase Theory. Meanwhile, his brother and JP looked on, attending Matt's gigs enthusiastically but perhaps wondering if the singer's side project would dissolve their band of nearly a decade.
Matt had told me in a previous interview that Danny has always been "in whatever project I was in." Did it hurt him to witness his big brother embark on a solo endeavor — something Matt didn't discuss with Danny when he first started making those home recordings?
"No, not really," Danny says while noodling on Matt's banjo. "I had a lot of stuff going on at the time [pause] and had a feeling he'd want us eventually. I was hanging, waiting."
JP echoes the statement and then adds a comment that reverberates throughout the room like a sour note.
"When I could, I went to Matt's shows," JP says. "He's a phenomenal songwriter. But I do hope to get together again as Chase Theory. I do miss playing the more rock stuff."
I let a few minutes pass before addressing the topic. Matt explains that the reason he did HGWT solo for a year before inviting Danny, JP and then Nate into the fold was so that the project would stand on its own outside of Chase Theory and that the transition would be "organic" — not forced. This was achieved by playing both HGWT and The Chase Theory material with the band at rehearsals, which evolved into a HGWT collective effort resulting in Casting Shadows Tall As Giants.
So, is Chase Theory finished?
Matt shrugs, "Personally, in my opinion —"
JP: "Go ahead and say it."
Matt: "The thing is, going from Chase Theory to Have Gun, Will Travel made me really step it up as a songwriter. And I don't feel that angst or desire to do the loud stuff anymore. It's not that I'm talking down about it. I got to see the country through my years with Chase Theory and don't regret a minute of it. But, personally, I don't feel I have it in me anymore."
Danny takes his brother's side while JP maintains, "You can never say never."
Matt, frustrated, says, "But that disrespects what we're doing with Have Gun, Will Travel." The argument ends before it gets heated, with the singer concluding, "I don't see it happening."
Considering HGWT's recent success, a Chase Theory revival seems unlikely at this point. Last month, HGWT returned from an eight-date Southern tour that included a performance at the locally sponsored Florida Bandango showcase in Austin, Texas, which took place the afternoon before the official start of South By Southwest. Every other act invited to make the trek to Texas was from Tampa or St. Petersburg. Bradenton bands, even ones with strong Manatee and Sarasota followings like Chase Theory, have traditionally struggled to break north of the Skyway — a problem not experienced by HGWT. The ensemble will perform at Skipper's Smokehouse in North Tampa on April 13 and have a CD release party at Crowbar in Ybor City on the 18th. Matt has contacted the management team that handled Chase Theory about shopping the new album. If HGWT can find the right booking agent, Matt and Danny plan to temporarily put aside their family obligations and brave the road for a nationwide tour, something JP and Nate are hoping will happen.
"Ideally, I'd like to get with a decent indie label that will get behind us," Matt says. "I feel like the record speaks for itself, hopefully."
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2008.