Sunday Supper Club: Max Stalling, Matt Hillyer

Texas based songwriter, Max Stalling, had no expectation of ever being in the music business. "I didn't even pick up a guitar until graduate school," notes Stalling. After attending high school in South Texas, Stalling studied at Texas A&M - College Station, where he earned a masters degree in Food Science. He followed the corporate road from there and eventually landed in Dallas working in product development for Frito-Lay.

During this time, Stalling discovered the Three Teardrops Tavern and Dallas community radio station KNON. These outlets exposed a musical heritage to which Stalling had been nearly oblivious. Inspired by artists like Townes Van Zandt, Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, and Jerry Jeff Walker, Stalling started writing songs, recording albums, and eventually touring with a full band to back him. In June 2008, Stalling joined musical greats Kris Kristofferson, Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, Selena, Guy Clark and many others when he received a star on the South Texas Music Walk of Fame in Corpus Christi.

Stalling's style is modern with a vintage feel. With Jeff Howe on drums and percussion, Bryce Clarke on nylon-string guitar, electric guitar and mandolin, and Jason Steinsultz swapping between stand-up and electric bass, Stalling creates a dynamic live show that's smart, charming and as listenable as it is danceable. Stalling and troupe are equally at home on a huge concert stage in front of thousands or playing an acoustic set for a hundred. Attendance numbers at shows have continued to rise. "I chalk it up to the strength of the songs and the strength of my band", comments Max.

Despite playing the same circuit as many household names in Texas country, grouping Stalling with them would be premature. His unique voice and amusingly clever song lyrics pull him in a different direction - a direction most obviously evident in his newest record Home to You.

Stalling has put together an elite team for his newest project, including recording heavyweight and Grammy winner Lloyd Maines. Maines has been instrumental in developing the sounds of some of the best artists in music and has worked with industry giants including the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Bruce Robison. Band members Steinsultz, Howe and Clark are featured prominently on the recordings as well as Stalling's wife Heather. "I'm very proud of the life that everyone has given these songs," says Max. "They poured their hearts and souls into this project and I think people will be wowed by what they can do."

Home to You may be the best and most well rounded collection of songs that Stalling has released to date. The opening track is an unexpected tune borrowed from Austin music fixture Bob Schneider, which Stalling makes his own by staying true to his rootsy, Americana vibe which is evident throughout the entire album. Next, we hear fan favorite "I Aint Drinking Alone" and a surprising revisited version of a previous Stalling track. With songs about love, love lost, and the road, the album is a perfect candidate for the repeat button on any music player. The collection wraps up with, "The Fantasy Dinner," which is a light-hearted, story song that captures Stalling's creative mind in a way that will keep the listener intrigued and singing along by the second chorus. Matched with master musicianship and production, this album will keep your foot tapping, heart pounding, and dancing shoes worn.

Home to You will be available August 17, 2010, following four previous studio projects (Topaz City, 2008; Comfort In the Curves, 1997; Wide Afternoon, 2000; One of the Ways, 2002) and two live releases (Sell-Out, 2006; Live From The Granada CD/DVD 2009). Home to You is being self-released on the Blind Nello Records label.


Matt Hillyer, also known as “Matt the Cat” and as the leader of Dallas-based and beloved Honky-Tonk band Eleven Hundred Springs is, rather simply, an artist. Few artists stick to a single, narrow path as they wander, viewing things in a philosophically unique way than many non-artist types might.

With the release of Hillyer’s debut solo album, the Lloyd Maines-produced If These Bones Could Talk, we get to see a new side to Hillyer’s country-gold vision, but to be clear, his solo foray isn’t the end of Eleven Hundred Springs, which was formed in 1998, nor is it the death of the rockabilly-flavored Matt the Cat Trio. Hillyer as a solo artist with a fresh group of players, including some buddies from Eleven Hundred Springs, is merely a fascinating, new chapter to a musical life that’s never been conventional, and isn’t going to be anytime soon.

With 11 new songs, all written or co-written by HIllyer except for his rocking, stomping cover of the Everly Brothers’ classic the “Price of Love,” a rare occurrence has taken place. The leader of a popular, established band has branched out to go on a personal, musical vision quest, and has come back with a sound that satisfies on all levels. In some ways, These Old Bones resembles the stone-cold country of his band, but the new collection has increased the sonic value of everything he’s affiliated with, thanks to spreading his tattooed, whiskey-soaked wings a bit.
The notion for a solo record came from a wonderfully personal spot that’s as honest as it is meaningful to Hillyer.

“I was very close with my Grandmother, he says. “She was always pushing me to do it. She loved Eleven Hundred Springs, but she really wanted me to make something with my name on it. So, over the years, it started to seem like a good idea as I did more solo acoustic shows. It also seemed like a good idea for me to have a CD of my own to sell at some of those shows. Then when these songs started to come out in my writing, I really wanted to make this happen.”

While cuts such as “Home is Where the Heartbreak Is” certainly recalls a familiar Buck Owens-esque brightness and “Try Not to Take it So Hard” has the classic Texas Tornadoes playfulness some of Eleven Hundred Springs best tunes boast, one listen to “Dancing With the Moon,” a smooth, soft romancer of a tune, and it’s clear Hillyer’s found another gear of country storytelling that is only the beginning of a new era for him, whether it’s solo, as a trio or leading “Eleven Hondo.” The same can be said for the begging-to-be-two stepped-to “I Still Have a Lot of Falling Left To Go,” as it’s gentle fiddle leads Hillyer through a piano-twinkling sawdust shuffler that doesn’t kick the footlights as hard as some of his other band’s best tunes do.

Hillyer acknowledges the similarities between his past band-related works, but highlights the differences in a manner that’s clear with drama-free simplicity.

“To me it always boils down to the material, he says. “I know there are songs on this album that I would not have put on an Eleven Hundred Springs album. Even the songs that would fit like a glove on an Eleven Hundred Springs album are, for the most part, rooted in very personal places. When the collection of these songs started to really come together it became apparent to me that the majority of them felt like something I was trying to say independent of a group.”