Wednesday night, Parmalee held their third Stage It show for an appreciative virtual roomful of family, friends, and fans. Coming just a little bit after Thanksgiving, the theme was "Songs We Are Thankful For" and the guys explained a little about each of the songs they chose for this special theme.
First was "Broken Records," which Matt described as having special meaning because it was the first song that they ever got fans from. Elaborating, he explained that this was the one that they wrote that helped them realize that they "had something going on." Matt called it their baby ... written out in the now-famous old barn in Parmele, NC. Their second song of the night was also an older one, a song they wrote in Nashville around 2008-2009, that became the title track of their record "Complicated."
Matt introduced the next song as one that he and Josh -- being guitar players -- had a special affinity for. He mentioned that one of their idols is Stevie Ray Vaughan (Josh showed the camera his rather epic SRV tattoo) and Matt recalled when he was a little kid, just starting to play the guitar, this was a song his father turned him on to and that later, when he met Josh, he found out that Josh had a similar experience and influence. They then launched into "Pride and Joy."
The band then mentioned how they were about to go back into the studio to cut some more tracks for their upcoming CD. Matt said they'd been writing for the past eighteen months since they got to Nashville. The song they played next was a "brand new one" that they were thankful for -- one that got them fired up -- called "Already Calling You Mine." While we don't have video from the Stage It show, here's video of this amazing new song from a recent concert:
Josh introduced the next song by saying "This is what I'm most thankful for." He went on to explain that the song was written in one night "in desperation of really bad things, hoping Scott was gonna recover." As far as thankfulness goes, the guys agreed "this is number one right here." With that, the band played the poignant "September." Here's a rare video of the song, uploaded almost two years ago:
After that emotional moment, the band lightened things up with a fun song, dedicated to a friend who was sitting there in the basement during the concert, the fan favorite "Day Drinking." After that was a song that Matt said he was most thankful for (after "September"). Matt has a personal connection to the song, he explained, "It teaches you how to live, it teaches you how to love," it taught him how to sing, how to be on stage...it taught him a lot of things. Josh chimed in that he shouldn't tell us everything it taught him. Then they jammed to Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On."
Matt described the next song as one that they wrote because it was a real song about an actual situation, not necessarily because it fit in any particular style or genre. Barry presented them with the idea of a song about a girl who "left heaven for San Diego"- moving from Greenvile to the Sunny Southern California town. Matt explained how the song came together, how a producer in California heard it and told them they had to record it, and how the song ended up being the gateway to getting them to Nashville. "This was us writing a song and feeling good about it," was how he summed up "San Diego."
The last two songs were their first hit single, "Musta Had A Good Time" and their upcoming single "Carolina" which they announced -- in our scoop of the night -- would be coming out February 4th! They explained the writing behind MHGT -- a song written on a whim about their lives that unexpectedly turned into a Top 40 song. They thanked everyone for all the help they'd given the band and shared their deep appreciation for the support they've been given. And then they finished up the 45-minute set with a heartfelt, impassioned version of "Carolina."
If you saw the Stage It show, I hope this recap brings back some good memories. If you missed it, make sure you catch the next one! Follow Parmalee on Twitter @parmalee for news about the next Stage It show and all the latest news about the band!
