Matthew James Adkins’s debut album Stoned on My Own is a little country, a little more soul, and a whole lot of heart and grit. Raised on a steady diet of John Denver, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Adkins, along with engineer / producer Bunky Hunt and a talented cast of backing musicians, deliver the goods with an album that recalls bits of the aforementioned legends, but will no doubt also appeal to fans of recent outlaw country greats such as Chris Stapleton, Cody Jinks, and Sturgill Simpson.
Adkins tapped into what he described as “record high” levels of anxiety and fear to write some of the darker tunes on the album; case in point “Maybe I Wanna Cry” starts off with a slow burn of Jimmie Bones’ B3 organ, making way for a finger-picked acoustic solo and some barely discernible German speaking, adding to the mystique before kicking in with the full band plus horns and backing vocals combination that serves as a stunning signature sound for Adkins and company.
“A lot of my songs are about that,” Adkins notes, referring to pulling himself out of the depths of depression and substance abuse, but also adds that most of his songs aren’t “about” what they might seem to be at first listen. One certainly wouldn’t know it from listening to Stoned On My Own, but Adkins says he’s always found it challenging to verbally communicate his thoughts to others, something he attributes to his dyslexia. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to about my pain,” he recalls, and says he “came from a family who didn’t believe in therapy,” so he leaned heavily into alcohol, estimating that he was around 17 years old when he became a full-blown alcoholic. This continued until around 2014-15, when Adkins realized the only path to true happiness, or at the very least, survival, was to get clean. “It finally got to the point where my entire life imploded. I lost my house, just like the country song…broke, in debt, you name it; I was rock-bottom.” A hippie friend introduced him to cannabis, which helped him kick the drinking, Vicodin, cocaine, and other substances that had been his go-to for so long. “I ain’t never going back,” he says. “I love getting high, but I don’t have to get high.”
Adkins attributes his gritty, soulful sound to the pain he has experienced, as well as to simply not trying too hard. “I just let it all out”, he says, noting also the importance of listening to George Jones’s ”He Stopped Loving Her Today.” “I like to be real,” Adkins says. “I think all the things that happened to me…I’m glad they happened. I wouldn’t be who I am, and I wouldn’t be where I’m at.”
Who are some of your musical influences?
So many…I’d have to say Don Williams, George Jones, Conway Twitty, John Denver, Randy Travis, and good ol’ Alabama top the list for sure!
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
“Jolene” by Ray LaMontagne. This song speaks to me like no other for several reasons. It covers some of my favorite chord progressions for one. The C walk to Am happens to be a favorite of mine; it kind of chokes me up sometimes to feel it in a song. The lyrics express a sense of vulnerability and despair; a low. The kind of lyrics with razor-sharp edges, i.e. “Booze on my hair, Blood on my lips, a picture of you holding a picture of me in the pocket of my blue jeans, still don’t know what love means, Jolene” WOW. It cuts my heart out every time, man. To top it off, Ray conveys his message so well through his unique, deeply passionate, almost-whispered vocal styling.
Explain the title of your album.
After recording wrapped, my producer Bunky Hunt and myself both knew that “Stoned On My Own” should be the title track for the album. The edgy phrasing was part of the attraction I suppose, but the song itself was the main reason. While following the heartache theme of the album, the song finishes with feelings of redemption and overcoming along with a sense of closure.
Does your album have an overarching theme?
Yes it most certainly does, it’s a theme of heartache. I wanted this first album to be about the heartaches, heartbreaks, and tough times — thinking of it as a chapter in my life. One which I’m thankful to be past today. I’m looking forward to expressing more upbeat or happy themes on future albums.
Do you have any songwriting tips you can share?
Don’t let the walls get you down. Laugh at them and find ways to go around them. The worst thing for me as a songwriter is for me to get upset with an obstacle, whatever it may be. The mental blocks or “walls” we experience as writers can really piss you off — don’t let them. Smile and move on.
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