THE SUITCASE JUNKET Shares PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN Ahead of TO GO ON LP
Matt Lorenz recorded the album with engineer Justin Pizzoferrato at Sonelab studio in Massachusetts.
Matt Lorenz, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who records as THE SUITCASE JUNKET, has released a new song titled PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN, the latest preview of his upcoming seventh album, TO GO ON, set for release via Bad Chef Records/Symphonic. The album was created following the death of Lorenz's sister, singer-songwriter Kate Lorenz, and is described as an internal dialogue with her memory. Lorenz has said the new track arrived to him quickly and felt like advice from Kate herself, urging listeners to put down their phones and step outside.
Lorenz recently shared the song 'One More Mile' to announce the October 2 release of To Go On. Created in the wake of losing his sister, it is described as a tender, beautiful, and arrestingly moving album — an internal dialogue and conversation with the departed, resonant to anyone who has ever loved anyone.
Lorenz says 'Put Your Phone Down' came to him all at once and felt like a gift from Kate, as if she were giving advice from beyond.
'The irony of this is that I was always razzing her about being on her phone, like a cliché of the little brother I was, 'Hey! Play with me! Play with me!''
The song's lyrics read: 'Put your phone down. Do it right now. Put your phone down. Ain't no love in there. Put your phone down, do it right now. Put your phone down and get outside.'
'Kate's more on my mind than she ever would have been if she were alive, so there's something sweet in that sadness,' says Lorenz. 'When I'm singing and performing, I feel closer to her.'
As part of the solitary work of To Go On, Lorenz, who recorded all the parts for the record, is making the videos himself for each single. He filmed 'Put Your Phone Down' in the woods and fields where he lives in rural Western Massachusetts. These are the places he hikes and canoes, taps maples in the spring, and presses apple cider in the fall. The frog and eft are familiars from the yard.
Lorenz has also created a body of cyanotype-based artwork for the album. The larger pieces of art will also be on display during the first round of release shows as set pieces and visual representations of the music. Following these special release performances featuring a multi-musician ensemble, The Suitcase Junket will resume solo touring in the fall and has added dates to the run.
To Go On Track List
Oh Death
One More Mile
Don't Worry
Put Your Phone Down
Yardsale
Silver Linings
Afterparty
Blindside Memory
Born Wolves
More Time
The Suitcase Junket Tour Dates
Sep 06 - Charlestown, RI @ Rhythm & Roots Festival
Sep 12 - Brownfield, ME @ Stone Mountain Arts Center
Sep 18 - Nashville, TN @ AmericanaFest
Sep 24 - Syracuse, NY @ The 443 Social Club
Sep 25 - Buffalo, NY @ The Ninth Ward at Babeville
Sep 26 - Rochester, NY @ Abilene Bar & Lounge
Oct 01 - Columbus, OH @ Natalie's Grandview
Oct 02 - Berwyn, IL @ FitzGerald's Nightclub
Oct 03 - Appleton, WI @ Gibson Music Hall
Oct 04 - Madison, WI @ The Bur Oak
Oct 15 - Cambridge, MA @ Lizard Lounge
Oct 16 - Cambridge, MA @ Lizard Lounge
Oct 17 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
Oct 18 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Nov 07 - Seattle, WA @ Ballard Homestead
Nov 13 - Saratoga Springs, NY @ Caffe Lena
Nov 14 - Saranac Lake, NY @ Waterhole
Nov 15 - Burlington, VT @ Light Club Lamp Shop
Nov 18 - Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
Nov 20 - Thomas, WV @ The Purple Fiddle
Nov 21 - Philadelphia, PA @ Harmonie Hall
Dec 06 - Mill Valley, CA @ Sweetwater Music Hall
Dec 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
For TO GO ON, Lorenz reunited with engineer Justin Pizzoferrato, known for his work with acts including Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr., recording at Pizzoferrato's Sonelab studio in Easthampton, Massachusetts, where Lorenz had previously worked alongside his sister on other projects.
