Music with Matt Farley
It was the summer of 2014. I was working with a local production company on a possible web series where chefs and brewers discussed the similarities and complexities of recipes, flavor profiles, and ingredients. I should add that I was still a drinking man at the time.
I had set up a meeting with the folks at Blue Moon and the Executive Chef of The Southern through a friend and mobilized the camera operators and finalized the location set. The idea was to have the cameras roll and let the conversation flow naturally between a chef and a brewer.
The day of the shoot was electric.
I arrived at Acme Feed and Seed and went inside to chat with the chef I recently met. He was stressed. In the midst of this “authentic chat” about beer and food he was also trying to get a catering order ready for a large, private tasting the next night.
I walked up to him and said hello. He was gracious but, hidden behind his eyes was a sort of, “Oh crap, we gotta do that thing now don’t we?” look that I’ve seen in those who might have too much on their plates.
It is in this moment, dear reader, that you should know I was stressed. I thought, “This isn’t going to be good. If the chef is stressed out before we start shooting this could fall apart and we won’t have anything to use for our web-series pitch.”
We got the set ready, cameras and sound were rolling, the Blue Moon master brewer showed up, and someone went for the chef. Chef Matt Farley to be exact.
Matt came around the corner and as if someone without a care in the world had done a body switch, he was on, lively, personable and I couldn’t take my eyes off his chemistry and magnetic demeanor.
I didn’t know who I was looking at. This was NOT the same man I’d just spoken with thirty minutes before. This guy was funny, he was attentive to everything the brewer said, and (I think enough time has passed since I met him to say this next thing)... He absolutely saved several aspects of the conversation (and the pitch).
Over the years I’ve developed a friendship with Matt beyond food. I’ve seen him play a few times out and about Nashville. He’s a helluva musician on top of being a helluva chef.
He’s one of the early people I shared my own story of sobriety with and he was gracious and kind about it.
When it came time to start thinking about music for this documentary I reached out to him. I told him the idea of the film and before I could even ask him about putting some music together for it he interrupted and said, “Man, I’ve got this song I wrote and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it. I’ll send you a rough recording of it if you PROMISE it will never be shared ANYWHERE!”
I agreed and he sent it over.
I put my Powerbeats in my ears, grabbed my dog’s leash and went on a walk. I listened to the song six times on that walk. After the fourth pass of listening I spent a little time in silence. By the second pass I was full tears listening to the words. After the fifth pass I texted him and told him how much I loved and appreciated him and his song and I asked that he consider contributing the song to the film. I realize that all of that was out of order. That was on purpose because in his music I lost myself. But in his pain and truth I found myself once again. This is part of the very heartbeat of this documentary and I couldn’t be prouder to take this journey with Matt.
Matt Farley is one of those people who puts everything he has into whatever he is doing. He isn’t impressed with mediocrity and his work ethic won’t allow him to make anything that is half-assed.
I am thrilled to announce that Matt Farley will be providing the music for our feature documentary, Stigma. And I can’t wait for you to hear his music and voice.
Check out our kickstarter as we crowdfund the making of this film here: http://kck.st/3dTlidi
