Quality Americana

Hill Country rocker Matt Kirk brings us a thoughtful new release with all the rasp and soaring guitar solos we love. 

“Without the Dark” is the first release in an ongoing project for The Güeyfarers second album.

“Time has a way of passing you by, some days you laugh, some days you cry. You’ve got to keep love in your heart, you can’t have the light without the dark,” Kirk sings. “Time has a way of healing your wounds, just when you think that it’s all a ruse. You’ve got to keep love in your heart. You can’t have the light without the dark.”

It’s that extra bit of country songwriter that keeps us right in the Hill Country. 

“The verses in that song are all so personal to me,” Kirk said, “and they’re all super heavy experiences. In songwriting when it starts to come together you just kind of let it happen, you know.”

Fatherhood

Kirk said that the concept of darkness and light is universal. The first visions we hear are of family and parenthood. 

“It’s just precious. It’s a precious moment,” Kirk said about holding his newborn. “It sounds super cliche, but when you’re witnessing it in real time, and also having that feeling of ‘wow this is a precious moment but this little dude has no idea what life is in store for him,’ you know.” 

Giving Thanks

Kirk said that the stories he could tell about the second and third verses could go on for hours, and having those memories in such a short song was a major challenge. 

“It was at a time in my life where I just sort of felt hollow,” Kirk said. “I didn’t really know what I was lacking in that regard.”

Kirk described volunteering on Thanksgiving in Downtown San Antonio to feed and clothe the less fortunate. 

“It was just a moving experience,” Kirk said, though afterwards with his grandparents he still felt the same emptiness. He later described an encounter with a camper he met that week while walking through the park.

“His fire from his campfire was still smouldering and I just decided to stop and I pulled my headphones out of my ears and said ‘hey man are you hungry?’ He opened his eyes and didn’t say anything and looked at me kind of shocked,” Kirk said. “The moment I was walking by and asked him, he said he was in the middle of asking God for a sign for him to persevere. That shocked me.” 

They eventually struck up a conversation and Kirk retrieved Thanksgiving leftovers and other provisions for the man. 

“Several months later I was walking through the park again and saw him in a different area of the park and he was just like a totally different dude,” Kirk said. “In two weeks he was getting the first apartment he’s had in God knows how long.”

Kirk learned that he was a Veteran, and that had led to some of his troubles back home. Though he didn’t know the specifics of his service, Kirk used the Vietnam War as a creative backdrop.

Separation

The final verse talks about Kirk’s struggles with the covid isolation we all experienced.

“The worst part about that for me was that I wasn’t able to see my Dad,” Kirk said. “He was in hospitals and skilled nursing rehab facilities, back and forth.”

They eventually changed the visitation rules so that one family member could see him each day.

“The first thing he said to me was ‘*** damn Matthew, where in the **** have you been?’” Kirk said. “He wouldn’t have been able to understand the situation if I had explained it to him.” 

His father would ask to go fishing at the coast or golf when he got out, though Kirk knew that was unlikely to happen in his condition. Eventually he received hospice care with Kirk’s sister before passing away.

“It was a little more than a month after I had seen him in the hospital,” Kirk said about the lyric that talks about one of his last visits with his father. “That’s got some depth there for sure.”

The Queen of San Antonio

Kirk was raised in Spring Branch, a small town just north of San Antonio. He’s a second generation musician, and still performs with his mother Sylvia as ‘Matt and Ma.’ 

“She was like the Queen of San Antonio long ago,” Kirk said. “All the guys that she associated with musically were the cream of the crop.” 

Sylvia often performed as a duo with Scott Byers on acoustic guitar, who later joined up with Matt.

“That dude was absolutely, one hundred percent the person responsible for shaping me into the musician that I am today,” Kirk said. “Everything I do is directly derived from my time playing with him.”

Kirk said he and Byers would play several four hour tequila filled gigs a week as a duo.

“I was just very fortunate to be around so many bad MOFOs,” Kirk said about his youth. When he told Sylvia he was planning to be a full time musician, she was not thrilled. 

“It kind of hurt my feelings,” Kirk said. Sylvia told him that the music business is a ‘blessing and a curse.’ “It wasn’t until I was about twenty three when I was all ‘oh that’s what she means.’ I definitely spent as much time in darkness as I care to.”

The Zone

Kirk recorded “Without the Dark” at the Zone in Dripping Springs with Pat Manske at the helm. 

“It’s definitely the most comfortable place for us, and for me now because I’ve worked there more than I’ve worked anywhere else,” Kirk said. “It is world class. It just allows you to get in that creative space without any outside distraction. I love it.” 

The Güeyfarers

Over the past five years, The Güeyfarers have made a name for themselves at places like Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio and the historic Gruene Hall in New Braunfels where they’ve held a monthly residency. 

“November 30th is our last one of those,” Kirk said. “That’s kind of bittersweet and emotional in itself.” 

Those four hour sets really built the band into the powerhouse it is today. 

“In a gig like that, if you take a break half the crowd leaves,” Kirk said about the landmark town outside of New Braunfels that draws in countless tourists. “There’s no better way to get well acquainted as a band than there is playing live. We’re excited about the future.”

Support the Artist

More information about Matt Kirk can be found here.

Photo by Christopher Paul Cardoza

Subscribe with your email below and we’ll send the Song of the Day to your inbox.