Matt Poss and the Wild Bunch

In November 2005, Matt Poss was named winner in VH1’s Song of the Year
(http://www.songoftheyear.com/) songwriting contest. Song of the Year is an international songwriting contest supporting VH-1’s Save the Music Foundation. The Song of the Year judges are some of the biggest names in music including many Grammy Award winners. This tremendous achievement arrives for Matt Poss & The Wild Bunch just before 2006, a year in which the momentum for their sound will reach a record pitch. But where did it all begin… and how in the world did they get here?

In the winter of 2002, Matt Poss was busy singing lead and playing acoustic guitar in a side-project called Lower Broadway. It was an ultra-traditional country project that would heavily influence Matt’s songwriting as he prepared to record his debut album. Before Lower Broadway, Matt was primarily a rockabilly and bluegrass singer. Some of the songs that would end up on the debut CD were written long before 2003, but all previous attempts to create a cohesive album had always been derailed. Consequently, for the first time Matt allowed himself to freely indulge in his hardcore country leanings. The resulting fusion of styles became an album full of high-octane country and rockabilly stomps mixed in with a little bluegrass and one true-blue tear-in-your-beer ballad.

In the Spring of 2003 Matt finally pulled the trigger. “I was pushing thirty years old and had been writing songs my whole life and didn’t really have anything to show for it,” Matt says. “Most entertainers’ careers are over by 29, but I was just beginning. So, I had the players, I had the songs, and I had a studio in mind. I just decided it was going to happen…that was that.” Matt’s debut, Fool Enough, was recorded in one week’s time at Private Studios, in Urbana, with Jonathan Pines at the controls.

When it came time to put together a band for the album Matt tapped Marty Williamson, one of Matt’s Lower Broadway mates, to play lead and rhythm guitars. “I had one of the best guitarists in the entire state of Illinois playing on my debut album,” Matt laughs. He also had the foundation of what would become The Wild Bunch.

When Matt continued his push to get the best musicians in his band to promote Fool Enough, another of Matt’s Lower Broadway mates, Rex Pickens, signed on for bass guitar. “Rex brings a great feel to the band. He has a ton of taste and a great groove,” Matt says. “Not only that, but Rex is an excellent singer and also writes some great country tunes. Beyond a doubt, when it happens, the next album will definitely have some Rex Pickens tunes on it.”

Matt had shows booked already when the band was formed, so they hastily threw together a four-hour show. “There were songs we didn’t know for the first show,” Matt muses. “There were three music stands up in front of the stage for us to cheat off of. That’s how new the band was. Yet, something special came together that evening, and it worked. “There were some rough spots for sure,” Matt says, “but there were flashes of greatness as well, showing us what this band could, and has become.”

The name of the band was lifted from one of Matt’s favorite western movies. “The Wild Bunch is a traditional western,” says Matt, “but for it’s time, it pushed the limits in a lot of ways. Yet, it was honest and so it worked. That is exactly what we do in this band. We remain true to our country roots, but we are also pushing those limits instead of just playing it safe for the radio.” When asked to describe the Wild Bunch sound, phrases like “Fusion Country” or “Cosmic American Music” are often heard from band members, eschewing the old country-rock or more recent alt-country labels. “It’s just different,” says Matt. “We believe we’re carrying on the traditions of Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Dwight Yoakum, Steve Earle and Marty Stuart. It’s country. It’s just not your daddy’s country.”

That brings us to the present. In October or 2005, Matt Poss & The Wild Bunch recently released a second, self-titled, CD. In the past couple of years this group’s regional success has been tremendous, and their latest CD reflects another level of musical maturity. In a time when the Country music critics say we need change, Matt Poss & The Wild Bunch are thriving on an original, gutsy sound that makes instant fans out of anyone, whether they like Country or not!

Instrumentation
Matt Poss - lead vocals and acoustic guitar
Marty Williamson - lead guitar
Rex Pickens - bass guitar and backing vocals
Adam Robertson - drums
George King - Pedal Steel

Discography
2003 - Fool Enough - CD Release
-Contains award winning "Her Mama Don't Love Me" - VH1's Song of the Year Winner in November 2005

2005 - Matt Poss & The Wild Bunch - Self Titled CD Release

Matt and the Wild Bunch’s music regularly receives airplay on WSIU in Carbondale, and WCRC and WKJT in Effingham, IL. The have a substantial following in Southern IL, Terre Haute IN, and the St. Louis area. Matt recently played at a Katrina Benefit concert in Terre Haute where he got rave reviews from WTHI-Hi-99 country radio.

In addition, Matt and the Wild Bunch have opened for national acts such as Marty Stuart, Kid Rock, Aaron Tippin, Diamond Rio, Sara Evans, Slaid Cleaves, Fred Eaglesmith, BR-549, Phil Vasser, Daryle Singletary, Rhett Atkins, Wade Hayes, and Trent Summar and the New Row Mob.