Matt Connarton Unleashed: Tom Rousseau

I do love that song. That is sing Hallelujah, and that is Tom

Russo. Jenny is here, of course at the news table, back this

week after after not being here last week. Welcome back, Thank you,

thank you. I'm glad I traveled back before the chaos. Yes, yes,

before the massive tech outage everybody about Southwest I saw a funny post about

them because they're using a Commodore sixty four. Their system's running right, yes,

well, very good, very good. And of course today is Saturday,

June twentieth, twenty twenty four. Thank you to our first guests we

had on of course day to attend in the first hour and second hour purging

Sin. And we also of course did the world radio premiere of not a

Player, the newest single from our friend Hope the Rapper and joining us right

now live in studio, Tom Russo returns for I think was this your third

time on the show, Tom, I believe it is. Yes, Yes,

you've got your guitar and plugged into a little amp. Pretty sure.

I'm gonna get a robe pretty soon, like you're gonna get members members ze.

Oh yes, yes, a member's only jacket. Yes, absolutely,

you're all plugged in and ready to go. Do you want to play something

and then we'll talk a bit maybe. Uh, I know we have a

we had, we had an experiment that we might even attempt on the program.

But uh, I'm curious to hear you play that. I haven't heard

you play with an electric before. Yeah, I'm kind of getting used to

it a little bit. I've been playing acoustic for a long time, so

it's a little different. So I'll try this. Uh might kind of skip

some parts and do how I want, but you won't know. We won't

know the difference. Right. It's tough this time of year. They close

a highway down and they don't the town. And I've been fighting second gear

for fifteen miles or so, trying to beat the angles. And I know

every town worth passing through. But what good does no one do with no

one to show it to. I've drawn child of traveling alone, tired of

traveling alone. I've drawn tied the traveling alone. Won't you ride with me?

I've drawn tide of traveling alone, tired of traveling alone, tired of

traveling alone? Won't you ride with me? Won't you ride? Won't you

ride? And I quit talking to myself and listen to the radio A long

long time ago, so high I didn't know myself, just looking for a

day to come when I'll be free. So high the street girls wouldn't take

my pay. They said come back on a better day, and they just

walked away. And I've gone tired of traveling alone, tired of traveling alone.

I've gone tired of traveling alone. Won't you ride with me? And

I've gone tired of traveling alone, tired of traveling alone, tired of traveling

alone? Won't you ride with me? Won't you ride? Won't you ride?

Mountains? Up? This time of year, they shut the highway down,

and they don't warn the town. And I've been fighting second year,

for fifteen miles or so, trying to beat the angry snow. And I

know every town worth passing through. But what good does no one do with

no one to show it to. I've gone tired of traveling alone, tired

of traveling alone. I've gone tired of traveling alone. Won't you ride with

me? And I've gone tired of traveling alone, tired of traveling alone.

I've gone tired of travel alone. Won't you ride with me? Won't you

m I love it. I love it. That is great. That's one

of yours. Oh no, I wish I was. Oh no, who

who does that? That's Jason isbel Oh okay, yes, so I kind

of skipped the bridge. I played one of his songs on the show a

long time ago, Have I for Me Up? And you did a song

called have I Done Enough? Or have I Done Enough? Or something really

good songs. Yeah, yeah, I like him a lot. No,

that's uh, that's great if you're just joining us. Tom Russo is here

with us live in studio. I don't know if you wanted to try to

write something live or we don't have a lot of people in the chat room

at the moment unfortunately, So I don't know if you wanted to. But

I'll play this, I'll play another one you are playing. Yeah, yeah,

whatever you want to do. Yeah, it's kind of good one.

Here, here we go. All right. There's a bottle on the dress

and by your ring, and it's empty. So right now, I don't

feel a thing. Come tomorrow, when I wake up on the floor,

I'll be a wolver by noon. That's a difference between whiskey and you.

Come tomorrow, I can walk in in a store. It ain't a problem.

They'll always sell me more. But your forgiveness, well, that's something

I can't buy in a thing I can do. That's the difference between whiskey

and you. Wan's a devil and one keeps driving me insane at times.

I wonder if themble the same, and one's alive it tries to hide me

from my pain. One's alone gone, be the truth. That's the difference

between whiskey and you. I've got a problem, bud in what you might

think. Will I drink because I'm lonesome? And I'm lonesome because I drink,

But if I don't break out and hit it on the head. That's

a difference between whiskey and you. Wan's a devil and one keeps driving me

insane at times. I wonder if they bold the same, and one's a

live trying to hide me from my pen one's alone gone A bit of truth.

That's a difference between whiskey you. Oh that was beautiful, beautiful,

well done, Thank you? Now what is that yours? No? I

wish I could say that's Chris Stapleton, which, oh, I can't do

anything close to him. Somebody else had played I think it was. Do

you know Taylor Hughes, he's been on the show. I think he played

a Chris Stapleton song when he was here too. Yeah, Like, I

just get inspired by people that are really good and yeah, yeah, I

can't do it half as well. No, that sounded great to do everything

my own way. No, I love your voice in a school here you

play the electric Yeah, thank you. That's that's really good. That was

a good idea. Glad you brought them. Yeah, it's a little bit

more, you know. And I know your rock and roll really well.

I'm all kinds of stuff. Yeah, I gotta kick it up and not

right right if you're just joining us. Tom Russo is here with us live

in studio playing some tunes. And now, what have you been up to?

Have you been recording new music since the last time you were on.

Do you have a you have a new album or what have you? I'm

actually, uh, I have quite a bit of stuff ready to go,

probably enough to you know, ten to fifteen song album kidding. Yeah,

so I'm pretty much ready to do that. Yeah. Yeah, and I'm

gonna I want to write some new stuff and but yeah, that's kind of

my mission. Right now? Now will you be when you go to record?

Are you going to do? Who did you work with or where did

you record with the other the previous Oh so like Mike Clark and Amherst,

Like, I'll probably do a lot of stuff. I want to get better

at doing my own stuff and recording, like so I can take it yeah

there and be like halfway there's yeah, yeah, but yeah, I do

a lot with Mike Clark Clark creative. How you doing, Mike, if

you're listening, is that where you did? Uh? Like should I be

Afraid and sing Hallelujah and everything? Or should I be Afraid? Was Pete

Peloquin, which from Roots of Creation. He does a lot of work with

them, right, and then all the other stuff I've done with Mike okay,

and should I be Afraid? Was that song that I wrote in that

one day. I don't know if you knew the story of that, right,

I remember you talking about that. We'll tell us a story again.

I just kind of set a mission to actually had studio time like the next

day with Pete, and I kind of wrote the song the night before.

Yeah, maybe wrote the bridge on my lunch break, and that's when it

ended up being so yeah, but I wanted to challenge myself just to make

myself do that. It's like, oh, I already have studio time before

I even know what I'm going to do. Yeah. So and this song,

of course, it's got a bug out yeah at the end of it,

which is a cool surprise because when we played it on the show before,

I remember saying, you know, it's like you don't you don't see

that coming. It's a twist and yet it fits. Well. Yeah,

it was Mike Doyle. He called in and he was and he was complimenting

you on it. Yeah, yeah, definitely, I'd say play that one

if you like, yeah, yeah, let's do that. I actually have

it. Uh, I've got it ready to go because this is also another

one of my favorites. So let's give this a listen and then we'll we'll

come back and uh, Tom will play with us, and we'll play some

more and we'll talk some more and all that good stuff. If you are

just joining us, Tom Russo is here with us, live in studio,

and this is where's bug out from? By the way, is he from?

Is he local? I think he's now in Keen like I worked with

him before, but I think he's from Exeter. Oh okay, gotcha,

gotcha? You know that region? Yeah? Yeah, all right, let's

give this a listen. This is really really good. This is called Should

I be Afraid? Featuring bug Out, and this is Tom Russo where do

I begin to tell you all of mysel I'm not a perfect man. I'm

hard to understand these days, and it's taking most of me. What's left?

It's hard to see Stier. Now it's time to sink or s I'm

not afraid to start again, so saying I'm wasting time. But it's only

mind here. But you are making up your mind. I decide that to

live. Should I be afraid what I do not know? I left the

sun shine is dance with my soul? Should I be afraid everything I hold?

Everything I left the sun shine in Shint is where I go now?

The realest we all have a difference in I'm not a perfect man. Just

be the best that canst He's taking most of me, what's have it's hard

to see today. Should I be afraid what I do not know? I'm

never stop shines, dance with my soulf got me a friend? Everything I

know everything letting the sun shine in Shinese wear, Rascal, you know it

all the time, so many dating before the sun ross and can't hide it

ever put it feel like it's talked to fund trying to keep focus, to

see holdless of fin notice in my getting up in the house and holdest to

try to hold this moment is gone, going with the can before the storm

is home, pice thest and reminded when they came to among a pondus in

mind search of predominance and we mean it in the silence home that is should

I be afraid? That's Tom Russo featuring Bockoutoops, and then something else started

playing. Sorry about that, but yeah, great track, Tom, I

love that. Thank you and I got a really positive response to the last

time we played it when you were on the show with us. If you

are just joining us on this Saturday morning, Jenny and I are here with

Tom Russo live in studio. Hey, is is bug out ever come and

perform that live with you now? Actually I must thought about today telling him

to come here. Oh that would have been cool. Yeah we should.

Yeah, we'll do that in the future. It would be fun. I'd

love that. Yeah. Yeah, we've had people, And we've had people

rap live on the show, like Cody Pope and By they've been on a

few times and they'll they'll do a lot. Bug Out was in Granite State

was his band Okay, which I think they're all kind of related or not

related, but in the same gang of people. Yeah. Yeah, so

I think, like even today when I saw you had Hope on, I'm

pretty sure they know each other pretty well. Yeah, yeah, most likely.

Well Hope the rapper too. I mean, he's very good at networking,

so he's yeah, he probably knows everybody. Yeah right, yeah,

yeah, you want to play you want to play something for us? Yeah?

Play a cover song? Why not? All right? Here we go,

close your eyes and I'll kiss you tomorrow. I'll miss you, remember

always be true. And then well I'm away. I'll write home every day

and I'll send on my loving to you. I'll pretend that I'm kissing the

lift side, missing and I pray that my dreams will come true. And

then well I'm away. I'll ride home every day just to send on my

loving to you. All my loving I will send to you, all my

loving darling. I'll be true all my loving I will send to you all,

my loving darling. I'll be true all my loving all my love.

I will send to you very nice, very nice. That's a different take

on that, Yeah, probably the wrong one. No, I like it.

I like it. You could just say that wasn't very good. No,

No, it's cool. Last night on Retrospectrum radio show that I'm a

co host on on Friday nights from my eight to eleven Polly See the hosts,

he played McCartney doing let It Be at Live Aid. Oh wow,

because it's like the fortieth anniversary of Live Aid and or thirty ninth anniversary,

I should say. And it was interesting because when McCartney played that, you

know, just him and the piano, and then he had a few people

come out and sing backups, like David Bowie. But but you know,

but he really kind of does it differently, you know, when he's just

sitting there, you know, he's loose with it. He's kind of playing

with it all the time, like I mean, and Paulie see, he

didn't like the way McCartney did it, But I thought it was cool.

I liked it. I thought you know, it was because he never he

hadn't had a chance to actually play it out with the Beatles, right because

they never you know, they broke up before they had a chance to go

on tour or anything and play that live. But but I liked his take

on it. No. I think it's cool to, you know, take

songs like that and kind of put your own what's your own spin on it?

You know. I mean probably most of the time I put my own

spin. It's just I don't know all the chords, right, so I

just adapt them to how I do it. Yeah, yeah, but no,

I I like I played that song, you know, and it's hard

still to do like and you design people, Well, it's not really hard,

but you remind people like it's like, that's a simple song. But

he sings it right, Yeah, when I sung myself, you know,

but when it comes up to the high part, yeah yeah, yeah,

it's a pretty high note. Actually sang that once at a vocal recital.

Oh you did. Yeah, I didn't do it very well probably, but

I want to try it again. No, come on, I do not.

I do not. It was a long time ago. But now so

the electric do you do you play that live usually or you've only just started

to do this, So I got a bunch of these these Fender Telecaster acoustica.

I think it's called Okay, but it's kind of a hybrid like half

acoustic. You know. So I haven't done this yet, but if the

difference that sound, if I wanted to kick it down, yeah, so

I can get a dirty sound like yeah. So, but I've been playing

that acoustic for you know, twenty something years, so it's really weird for

me to get used to this. But right this is probably only in the

last like three months. Ohkid, Yeah, so I'm really trying it out.

Yeah. No, it sounds great. It sounds great. It gives

a little more uh, it just gives a little more soul, I think

you. Yeah, are there songs that you play on that that you don't

play on the acoustic because they just work better on that. No, I

kind of play everything on everything, but it's it's it took me a bit

to get used to. The strings are a little different, right like so,

and you know with the acoustic, I'm used to just kind of beating

on it, and this this I kind of have to be a little bit

more precise. Yeah that makes sense. Yeah, I don't know if you

can sing this one? Rescue me? Come full the speed to me,

raise me up and let me fall. No man is mine and me my

own hands and prison me. Love rest to me. Many strangers have I

met on the road to my regret, Many lost who seek to find them

selfs in me. They asked me to reveal the very thoughts they would conceal.

Love redsking me. Then the sun in the sky makes a shadow of

you and I stretching out to the sun in the sea. Yeah, I'm

here without a name, in the palace of my shame, love ray excuse

me. Sha la la cha la lah sha la lau ja la lah sha

la lah sha la la. Yeah, palace, oh mash as love really

excuse me? Hm, that was really good. I was tempted to come

in on the shallas, but I didn't. I'm gonna tell you I wrote

all the I'll be more impressive. That was you should man. Yeah,

yeah, I thought about it for a second, but I skip. All

the verses get meshed into each other, like so do people ever notice,

like when you play live, does anyone ever come up to you and say,

I noticed you played that like way different than than the original? Yeah?

Yeah, And sometimes I just take they think they give it to me

as a compliment. Yeah, like, but for the most part, it's

probably like, well, I just don't want to keep the verses arranged,

right, No, I think it's cool because it makes it It makes it

more interesting, you know, right to just I just kind of still do

it however I want. Yeah, then nobody can tell me I'm doing it

wrong. Really, yeah, Well, because I think it's more interesting.

You know, if I'm hearing a song that I've heard a lot, you

know, and obviously you played a couple of things that I wasn't you know,

that I hadn't heard or hadn't heard enough to remember who they were.

But if I'm hearing something I've heard a lot, I think it's cool to

hear a different take on it. You know. It's kind of like how

I've always felt about like cover bands, you know, they they try to

play things exactly like they sound when the original artists, because that's what people

seem to want. Just tapping yourself really yeah, to me, it's like,

I know how the original goes, I want to hear your interpretation of

it, you know, right, and if you're if you miss a note,

like uh, I did have one, Lady that was really mad at

me one time, really for turn the page. Apparently I screwed up a

lot of those lyrics. Oh you know versus here I go or there I

go, and she's like, you're singing it all wrong. She did not

punch me. But that's good, you know that type of thing, you

know. Yeah, yeah, I go, you know, because I'll kind

of bumping that up. Really, Yeah, you hear that one. I'm

curious now, Yeah, let's do it. I do want to hear it.

Yeah. Oh, I was gonna say, if you can't find it,

we can probably dig through those dig through those seat cushions. I bet

there's pics in there. If you're just joining us. Oh, I bet

that's a million. If you're just joining us, Tom Russo is here with

us live in studio, might as well do it. Yeah, No,

I want to hear it now. Definitely. All along Lonely Highway east of

Omaha, you can listen to the Engine Morning How is one long song.

You can think about the woman, the girl you knew the night before.

Your thoughts will soon be wandering, weir they always do. You're riding sixteen

hours, there's nothing much to do, don't feel much like traveling. You

wish the trip was through. Here I am on the road again. There

I am up on the stage. There I go, playing star again.

There I go turn the page, walking to restaurm strung eye from the road,

you fill the eyes upon you. It's just shaking off the cold.

You pretend it doesn't bother you, but you just want to explode. Sometimes

you can hear him talking. All the times you can't. It's the same.

More cliche. Is that a woman or a man? You all whispere

live numbers. You don't tell me. Here I am on the road again.

There I am up on the stage. There I go on the stage

again. There I go turn the page. Later in the evening, if

you lie awaken bed with the echo from the amplifiers ringing in your hand,

you smoke about seven hundred and sixty five cigarettes, you forget what she said.

What Here I am on the road again. There I am up on

the stage. There I go playing target. There I chearing the page.

There I go, there I go in the page. Oh I love it.

Thank you. That is my favorite version of the page that I've heard.

For real. Really, that was really cool. That was really really

good. Bumping everything up like you just gotta bump bumping. It's like dazzling

stuff, you know. No, that was amazing. That was amazing,

and I certainly like it better than Metallica's version. Of course I didn't like

Metallica's versions. I just have to keep the beat. And I don't have

anybody in my band just other than me. No, but that was was

really good and I didn't notice any wrong lyrics. Oh well, we could

go back and study and we could. I can show you like uh.

But so speaking of that, and by the way, you have an invitation

in the chat room here. But first I want to mention so Dan Fallon

from the band Run Like Thieves. They've been on the show Jenny and I

went and saw them and conquered not long ago. A great, great band,

and Dan is amazing. But he was saying that means you did a

good job if someone is mad regarding the woman who is mad. So there

you go, there you go. But Dan also said, Matt, can

you tell Tom that this Sunday night and and next from six to eight pm,

I'm hosting an open mic at Keys Piano Bar, and Grill would love

to have him featured at the next one and oh and uh Dan also said

like like Tom Petty. Oh, it's like Tom Petty meets Bob c love

it, Tom Petty one. If you'd like to hear another, are you?

Yeah? We can? I think we can. We can do one

more, yeah, if you want to do it. But but anyway,

yeah, so I wanted to make sure I pass along that invitation for you.

Yeah, yeah, I'd love We'll do it if you're just joining us.

We have Tom Russo live in studio with us on this Saturday morning.

This is You inspired me because I like this song excellent will do? I

saw your face cut my lifeline wins in through space, I saw an angel,

I saw my fate. I can only thank god it was not too

late. Over oceans A flooded away and I wished only things are better than

today. I fall loot an angel down through the gates. I can only

thank god it was not to lay. I can only thank god it was

not to lay. Sing a little song, a loneliness, sing one to

make me smile for another round for everyone. I'm here for a little while.

Now she's with me everywhere did I go? She took my lifeline,

She took it to go, I sawn angel, I saw my fate and

I can only thank God that it was not too late. Well done,

sir, Well done. Tom Russo here with us live in studio. By

the way, Dan Fault says he's the real deal, and Isaac Banks says

he is rocking it so very good. Very I like to think that the

great thing is like I really my whole life really don't know what I'm doing.

Like so I kind of half know what I'm doing, but I feel

if you can do it with heart, Yeah, yep, those people will

make those comments. There you go, there you go. Absolutely, We're

just about out of time, Tom, You got any shows? Just you

played anywhere this weekend? You want people to know about this time? Because

oh, like I felt very bad, Like you asked me, I felt

like pretty unprofessionally, yeah, said, what do you got going on?

That's it? I don't know. Yeah, just yeah, just give us

a couple of sorry. July twenty seventh, Blue Bear, Francis Town,

New Hampshire, Okay. Up by the crotch of Mountain, all right.

August eighth, Hampshire Hills in Milford, Okay, Come on down. August

twenty fourth, Blue Bear and Answers Town August twenty fifth, Stella Blue and

Nashalla. All right, yeah, so you got some some summer shows coming.

I made all these up, and you might be I don't know,

plan and you might be appearing at an open mic. It sounds like you

have an infestation to do that from h our friend. Now, message me

the information and I'll I'll be there. Very good, very good. Does

he know my lip sync? I don't know, but well he knows now.

Oh, it's all lip syncing this whole show. Oh, Dan says,

A great show. Matt and Jenny, thank you so much, Dan,

thank you. Jenny. You want to plug your website before you go.

You've been very busy. I do. I have to catch up on

the website. Actually, it's Jencoffee dot com j E n n c O

F f e y dot com. You can also find my email there.

And if you want to be on Mack cron Iton Unleashed, I am now

booking August, so give me a holler. Yes, yes, and Tom,

we should probably spell your last name for people who are looking to keep

up with everything that you're doing. Yes, r O U S s AU.

Wonderful. This has been great Tom, I appreciate you coming in.

Thanks for bringing the electric That was a cool that was very cool. That

no, no, of course not no, that was great. And well,

actually we got to go, but if you miss any part of today's

show, and we'll be up in just a little bit at wmnhradio dot org

and in my website Matt Connorton dot com. Thank you again to our friend

Hope the wrapper for the World Radio premiere. I think this was week six,

and uh, let's see. Of course day to attend, wonderful as

always and purging sin and of course Tom Russo and we'll leave you with a

little bit of h I love this track too. Greet the Sun Studio version

of this play us out as we say, all right, Thanks Tom,

Thanks everybody. We'll talk to y'all, talk to j'all next week.