Presenting and Performing at The Flagstaff Folk Festival. Plus a Lyrics & Photos Project

Desert, Divorce, and Songs While Driving

I’m returning to Arizona y’all!

On June 14th, I’m both presenting and performing at the Flagstaff Folk Festival!

I believe the last time I performed there was 2008.

• 12:30-1:20PM - Workshop: Roll Your Own House Concert Tour

• 3:30-4:00PM - Performance: Stage - The Gregg Cabin

If you are in Arizona (I have several on my list who are), try and make it out. Music in the pines of Flagstaff is a sweet deal!

---

Nostalgic & Fraught

Arizona is a beautiful and interesting state. It also has a nostalgic and fraught emotional essence for me. It is where I started my songwriting in earnest, where I started performing out regularly, where I went through my first divorce, and where a monsoon driven storm destroyed the home I lived in.

In fact, I’ve written a few songs on the drive between Phoenix and Los Angeles. Those songs seem to catch the melancholy and despair I wrestled with during that time.

When I say written while driving, I mean it. I don’t recommend it… safety first and all!

---

Mama mama can you still hold this child
It seems the path I've taken has grown so wild
From those dime store girls with their dime store smiles
To their dime store love and their dime store wiles
I’d pay them every dime I own if dimes could buy redemption
But I find that I just sold my soul too many times to mention

Thought I'd lead my tribe to the promised land
But I smote the stone and I was turned back again
Now can I find my dreams through my many sins
'Cuz I see everything I'm not, everything I'm not
Oh, I see everything I'm not, in who I am
...
Promised Land
© 2008 - Matthew Moran

About those lyrics

First… Wow! They’re good!
My subjective opinion and my objective analysis. ;-)

Second… Wow! They’re pretty dark!

Third… Wow! I have a recording of a live performance from back then.

The recording was taken during a performance at Cave Creek Coffee Company. with Mike Assad accompanying. Mike is a wonderful guitarist who lives in Cave Creek and is well-known for sitting in at open mics and with many performers.

Cave Creek is a cool - western-esque/artistic town North of Phoenix. It has a nice music scene. It’s where we lived while in Phoenix and the location of the aforementioned flood.

Cave Creek Coffee Company - aka: C4 (now closed) was both a coffee shop and wine bar/restaurant. It also had a 250+ outdoor theater called, “The Camp” where nationally touring acts would perform.

Plus, it was home to a talent-heavy open mic run by Mad Coyote Joe. That there is a person who goes by Mad Coyote Joe is about as Arizona, as you can get!

C4 is where I started performing and the wine bar became my first paying gig!

Like I said, nostalgic and fraught.

The recording

The intro and break in the song need to be shorter - I sort of relied heavily on Mike in this performance. A good accompanist can make you lazy - relying on them to fill-in space.

---

Music Projects: Photos & Lyrics

There are several things happening on the music front. Upgraded some studio gear and working on several recordings.

Also, Deb and I were going over my songs a few weeks ago. She said she wanted to put together a short book with photos and lyrics. In fact, Promised Land, was one of the songs that inspired this idea.

The idea is to have lyrics - just a stanza or two - opposite some image that captures a feel.

To that end, we took a little trip into Los Angeles the other day to get a few photos.

Near Silverlake/Elysian Heights, we happened upon a dilapidated store front with an old-style marquee. Deb wanted to try a few panning / motion blur shots. Plus a few others.

Here are two that I like:

MOTION

What is not visible is that I have a small straw in my mouth. That may explain the intense look.

REFLECTION

There was a round mirror on the inside of the marquee… one of those mirrors to let you see around the corner. This is a photo of me through the mirror.

And that’s a wrap!

Once again, if you are in Arizona, try to make it up to the festival.

---

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

With Love and Gratitude,
Matthew Moran
May 20, 2025