Springfield’s Matt Clarkson Band continues award momentum with four nods

With nearly 86,000 submissions this year, only the top 2.8% of applicants have earned a nomination spot. Matt Clarkson Band is nominated in four categories: Group of the Year — Country/Rock; Vocalist of the Year — Country Rock/Southern Rock (Male); Song of the Year — Country (Duo/Group/Collab); and Fan’s Choice — Duo/Group.

Unlike the CMAs or the BET Awards, the JMAs is not specific to recognizing a particular genre. And given the top 2.8% of applicants are nominated and recognized throughout the night — which, if this writer’s math is correct, is 2,408 names — the ceremony, in anyone’s estimation, must be extremely long.

Now an alumnus of the JMAs, having experienced last year’s ceremony, he’s not so concerned about taking home a trophy, rather just having the experience of being around fellow recognized, unsigned musicians.

“Would it be awesome to get an award? Yeah,” Clarkson said. “Do I have that kind of brazen confidence? No. I’m too big of a critic of myself. I’m just happy to be there, honestly. But I think we’ve done a lot of good work in some of those categories. We should have at least a chance at being a top contender.”

Matt Clarkson Band’s single from January, “All I’ve Ever Known,” is the song nominated in the Country Song of the Year category. Following the trajectory of the muddin’ and boozin’, ball cap country rock found in last year’s “Bad News,” “All I’ve Ever Known” perfectly captures the current country music zeitgeist in such a specific way, nearly to the point of parody.

Note: this writer assured Clarkson that the parody comment is a compliment, and what he really means is that “All I’ve Ever Known” is so by-the-books that it would be a crime for it not to be recognized in the JMAs Country Song of the Year category, considering its consummate use of all the elements known to modern country music.

Though the choruses are still huge and the tasty banjo licks remain, “All I’ve Ever Known” manages to improve upon what the band built with “Bad News.” “Bad News” is basically a swampy party rock song, with the music video — nominated at last year’s JMAs — submitting that the band likes to drink cases of beer in cornfields near bonfires.

“All I’ve Ever Known” has a little more nuance than that: While it’s certainly country rock at its core, the lyrics in the down acoustic verses suggest Clarkson would rather sing about life’s rougher roads, as opposed to, say, getting “buck wild, baby” and/or “country crazy.”

“It’s been raining for three whole days / Don’t know how much more I can take / Before I break.”

It’s still a party song — for instance, it was heard at a big outdoor festival in Florida, with ATVs revving in the background — but it also proves that you can party about something poignant, too.

Clarkson has expressed this sentiment before, stating that writing ballads is his forte.

“I’m a depressing writer at the end of the day,” he said. “I write my best stuff from the darker feelings, or the sadder parts of life.”

Furthering that descent into nuance, the band is gearing up to release “Used To” on Oct. 8. It tosses the country party rock vibe and goes completely acoustic. Produced by Nate McDonough at Sound Cellar Recording in Columbus, “Used To” reflects on aging and mortality, on how fast time moves. It’s written from the perspective of Clarkson’s mother, who at the time had recently broken her hip.

As a parent himself, Clarkson tapped into the mindset and vulnerability of someone starting to show their age. Writing from a distinct introspective point of view is Clarkson’s MO, though he typically writes from his perspective. “Used To” is a song about empathy, while making it his own story: his old bones don’t work like they used to; he doesn’t get around like he used to.

“When I was young and first learning to write, my dad said, ‘If you’re not going to write about something that matters, there’s no point,’” Clarkson said. “That always stuck with me.”

As the boys in the band gear up for winter, their time to kick back and create, Matt Clarkson Band is going to go down the bluesier, swampier, more high-energy country route for a bit before returning to the ballads.

On the side, MCB is currently working on a music video for “Used To,” which will be entered into next year’s Josie Music Awards.

“Every song we record just seems like it’s that much better than the one before it,” Clarkson said. “We definitely feel like we’re on a progressive streak.”

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