On The Verge

Matt Morris

Denver, CO
Mouse-folk
www.mattmorris.net

As a singer/songwriter trading in theatrically mournful R&B with an indie-released album under his belt, Matt Morris has at least one thing going for his follow-up besides tunecraft and looks: his membership in the pop music equivalent to Yale’s famed Skull and Bones society—the All New Mickey Mouse Club. From ages 11 to 14, Morris’ co-stars included Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera (with whom Morris co-penned two Top 10 hits) and Justin Timberlake. It is Timberlake who co-produced Morris’ sophomore effort, When Everything Breaks Open, and who will be releasing it on his label, Tennman. “When you’re that age, it can become your whole world,” says Morris of his Disney years. “And I think I really wanted to get away from anything machine-created, something more real.” For Everything, Morris’ management contracted an unlikely partner for Timberlake: Charlie Sexton, the Austin staple and prodigal Bob Dylan guitarist. “Charlie was really surprising in a lot of ways,” says Morris, the son of country-Broadway crossover star, Gary Morris. “Like watching him a make a loop, drumming on a trash can for two minutes and editing it down.” On “The Un-American,” the working title of the album, Morris’ jingoistic narrator addresses an imaginary immigrant. “He ought to take a trip to Disney, get his head on right,” he sings. Somewhere, giant mouse ears are twitching.