James Gedda & The Big Breakfast came out swinging with their first full-length full-band album titled South of Mars. This is one of the coolest albums I’ve gotten to cover to date. James not only sent over the songs but also included lyrics and a brief backstory for each one. James doing that helps give more insight into the songs, plus it’s sometimes just interesting to see how the song came together.
The first song on the album is titled “Black Coffee, Brown Liquor.” James said, “This song came about from an early morning gig with my friend Jack Whittle.” Going on to say, “When we got to the gig, Jack sought out a cup of coffee, I got myself a drink, and our friend Tom Lounges, who was putting on the show, started playing classic rock through the PA. Between the caffeine, the libation, and the electric guitars, we ended up coming to life and had ourselves a good time. Black coffee, brown liquor, and the devil’s rock and roll. Sometimes that’s all it takes.” I love the musical side of this song; it begins with a steady, slower country-rock sound, featuring fuzzy vocals. Then, around a minute in, the tempo changes to a faster pace that remains consistent for the rest of the song. On the lyrical side, it’s simple in a good way with relatable lines like “That steady drip, a mug to lips is all that sets me right. My back hurts in the morning when I drink too much at night.” I think many of us can relate to the feeling of getting a caffeine boost early in the morning, only to feel the pain of a hangover from the previous night. Then there are somewhat funny ones like “”I had a girl I loved who could put her beers away, but she went and came to Jesus after she turned 28 She said, “There’s more to life than music and whiskey in the glass.” I swallowed down a lump and told her to kiss my ass.””
Next song up is Finn’s & Tuesday Nights. James said, “If you’ve never had the pleasure of walking into a bar on a weekday night after a long day of work and seeing your favorite people in the world playing music, then drinking and carousing with them til well past midnight, you have my sympathies. Finnegan’s Pub is a special place to me and to a lot of folks I care about, and the various formations of musicians that have helped host the Tuesday night jam there do a tremendous job of putting together pick-up bands and making sure everyone has a chance to shine for a few minutes.” I really can’t say enough about James giving these blurbs about the songs because, knowing how special this place is to him, makes this song tell a story and paint a picture of Finnegan’s, and I feel like everyone who calls that bar theirs will love this song
James’s writing makes you feel like you’re there during the song, with lines like “the bartender pours my whiskey heavy and the pretty girls dance in the neon light” and also gives a little insight into the people who have passed on and those who are still there, whether working or a patron. “Now there’s one more empty chair. No one can fill the spot of who was sitting there. He played it real, and he played it loud. “Rest easy, Scotty, we’ll do you proud,” and “Jolene always pours my whiskey heavy. We’re one big family in the neon lights. Keeps my head on straight and keeps me walking steady.” The musical side of this song is fantastic; it reminds me of a honky tonk song in a way. I think, with this whole song serving almost as a way to pay respect to the bar, the sound fits nicely.
South of Mars is the third track and title track of this album. It is a banger with a back story that made my dad an instant fan. James said, “I’ll be the first to admit I got the idea for this song from a video of ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage talking. The phrase sat in my head for a long time, in search for a song worthy of it. I finally found that song while sitting in my car on a lunch break, coming up with a simple little story about summoning the guts to leave a bad relationship set to a feisty, confident sort of melody. There’s an old Waylon song, “Time to Bum Again” that had a similar story and vibe I was trying to capture. The part about sleeping on an old mattress with springs poking through is all me, though.” This, to me, is a screw you type of song with lines like “That woman, she’s a warden, she’s just trapping me, and I’ve been thinking it’s about time to bail.” and “If I got your number, I’ll text you wish you well but I’ll be somewhere south of Mars and north of hell” Which “South of Mars and north of hell” would make for a good t-shirt. I really dig the musical side of this song; it’s fun and upbeat, and it makes me want to dance. Overall, it’s a really good, catchy song.
Sleeping Around is a brutal and honest song that, to me, is about the world as a whole, talking about how when people are hurting, they hurt others. I think many of us can relate to this song, it in a way reminds me of the song Lips of an Angel by Hinder, but in reverse, if that makes sense, something about the pre-chorus “I’m laying in her bed and I’m thinking of you We’re doing all the things that we used to do. And I wish that I knew how to make it right. I look in her eyes, but I see yours. And I’m kissing you when my lips touch hers. And I make love to your memory every night.” I love this song, and it’s been one I keep going back to. Something about how James sings this one hits me right. The musical side is excellent, and I can’t get enough of the guitar in this one.
Mr. Right Now is a honky tonk song. I thought that from the get-go, before reading James’s blurb for this song. Still, when I did read it, James actually hit on this saying, “One of my favorite things about honky tonk style songs is hiding hurt in a bouncy groove and a fun melody, much like how the narrator of this song is hiding loneliness and insecurity in bravado and blunt honesty. He makes it sound as though he’s doing the other person a favor whilst crying out for help. After I wrote this and started playing it out at jams and then gigs, it quickly became a favorite of mine and my fellow musicians. I often worry if the melodies in my songs are ‘catchy’ enough, but that doesn’t apply to this one.” This song is exactly what James is talking about.
On the musical side, it is a honkytonk song; it’s got that groove and swagger that all the older honkytonk songs have, with a fun upbeat sound of steady drums and twangy guitar. Then, you have the catchiness of the lyrics, specifically the chorus “I’m Mr. Right Here, I’m Mr. Right Now. Mr. Let Me Get Us Two More Beers, Dear, We’ll talk this whole thing out. I’m not Mr. Next Year, but I’ll be Mr. Next Round Sugar, you got Mr. Right Here, Right Now. It’s fun, it’s catchy, and the lyrical side is as good as it gets, making this song the definition of a honkytonk song.
Townes is not what I was expecting when I first was sent all of this I looked at the list of songs and that “hell yeah Townes will be a song about Townes Van Zandt” and it really isn’t James said “the song is from the perspective of the man’s wife, a shift in perspective that gives the song all the emotional weight that it carries.” That couldn’t be truer, and I think when you sit and truly listen to the lyrics, you pick up on that with lines like “You know he’s not gonna come out and tell me what’s wrong,” which I think is a hint at the truth then when you get to this line “Lord knows that he’s got his pain. He might not be equipped to explain, and the last thing I want is to get into some kinda fight.” where does Townes come in well he comes in with the line “He’s listening to Townes God Damn Van Zandt in the dark again” but why? James said Townes (God Damn) Van Zandt once said of a certain song he wrote that, “It didn’t come from me.” That “it came from a great pen in the sky.” That’s kinda how I feel about this song that references him. I remember the day I wrote it, I remember the feeling I had after writing it, but I don’t remember the thoughts flowing from my head and shooting down my fingertips.”
Talking Bar Band Blues is a masterpiece in its own way that some will never understand. It’s got this funny side to it that I love with lines like “Oh, for $20 in the jar, we will play ‘Wagon Wheel,’ yes ma’am!”, “Sometimes free food or drink, sometimes free to fuck off if you want a glass of water”, and “But if one more person yells ‘Freebird’, I’ll slash your god damn tires.” This isn’t a song that’s sang, but a song that is spoken. James gave insight into this saying, “I’ve always loved talking blues songs, an old folk and blues tradition. Often, occupationally-themed recitations and musings with little jokes or quips at the end of the verse. This one came about because I finally decided to write my own.” Thank God he did this one; it made me laugh and also think about some of the horror stories I’ve heard from my musician friends. The musical side is excellent; it’s just a guitar-picking song, which makes it a simple song that I feel focuses more on the lyrical side.
Thick As Thieves has this Waylon Jennings sound to it, and I think James and I are on the same page about his music because he even said, “The groove settled into a Waylon Jennings-style half-time.” Right off the bat, the musical side of this song reminded me of I’ve Always Been Crazy It has that vibe, then when the chorus hits, the song gets a little more upbeat and energetic, followed by some badass harmonica that I really dig. The lyrical side is telling a story about lovers whose only connection is the bedroom. It’s easy to pick up on that throughout most of the song, but I think the line “the world comes fading back in when we get out of bed. We put on our pants and our problems and switch on our heads.” really hits that the best.
Never Drinking Again is a fun song. I think a lot of people will like it because it’s about, well, never drinking again. James said it’s actually a song about “social alcoholism and bad decisions.” It’s got a more country sound to it on the musical side that I really dig, and on the lyrical side, it’s not a complex, long song; it’s mainly the chorus, which isn’t a bad thing. I like it this way, and it makes for a good, simple song.
She’s Not The One hit’s hard it’s a song about a woman leaving a bad relationship yet many people can relate to this James said in the blurb “Sometimes, the best way to get through a bad situation is to just get out. We’ve all either been there or know someone who went through it.” and this song is for anyone who’s been there in that situation it’s a more soft rock stlye of a song when it comes to the musical side. I think that was the right decision for this one. I think it really makes this song what it is on the lyrical side. This song made me emotional. It made me reminisce, which what is a Get Western album review without a bit of reminiscing? It made me reminisce on some old relationships that I thank God I left. The chorus specifically got me “‘Cause she’s not the one who cheated and lied. She’s not the one who gave up, cause she’s tried. She knows it’s not her fault, and it’s him who needs to know. Cause she’s not the one who let her go.” Something about that speaks to me.
Old Reliable is a fast-paced and fun song. On the lyrical side, it’s sung fast, telling the story of a girl who always falls back on her old reliable man, with lyrics like “When she can’t find something stronger, then she’ll long for old reliable again.” Then you have a fun chorus with a call and response “And so she goes (SO SHE GOES!) wherever she goes when she leaves him. Heaven knows (HEAVEN KNOWS!) the devil on her shoulder says she needs him,” makes this a fun song. I really like that this song is sung at a faster pace because the musical side of it is the same, and it has a badass acoustic guitar solo by Marc Adrian, which I think really makes for a good song.
Ballad of a Barroom Regular is a song that James wrote, saying, “I got the idea of this song from a Hayes Carll song called ‘I Got A Gig,’ where there’s a line ‘Girl behind the bar is taking what she’s given/Lying about her past and trying to make a living.” That put a kernel of a story in my head about the little lies a pretty bartender might have to tell just to get some extra tip money.” Going on to say “Before long, the song ended up being about the bar and several of the characters in it, circling back around to this one guy in the corner.” I’m a die-hard Hayes fan; hell, I skipped my senior prom to see him. I love the idea for this song. I love how James took a character from one song and turned it into his own song.
Lonesome Lovers Lullaby is a great song that reminds me of John Baumann’s Lonely in Bars. I love the fingerpicking guitar that makes up the musical side of this song; it makes it more laid-back and straightforward, and lets you really take in the lyrical side. The chorus stood out to me more than anything. “For tonight, it’ll be alright, lay me down and hold me tight. Come tomorrow morning, I can’t say what you’ll find. But presently it’s plain to see I need you and you need me. So tonight for us, I sing a lonesome lover’s lullaby.” It’s catchy, it scratches my brain right with the way James sings it. I really enjoy it, and I think it’s a great way to end this album.
Get Western 
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