July 29, 2003 12:00 AM ET
"It was like a little flood," Dave Matthews says of his first solo album, Some Devil, due September 23rd. "Writing in my garage in Seattle, 1,000 miles away from anyone else, ideas started coming -- songs that were away from the sound of the band. After a while, it started taking on personality. I figured, why not release it?"
Among the artists Matthews brought in to help were guitarist Tim Reynolds, the Seattle Symphony, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Phish's Trey Anastasio, who co-wrote "Grey Blue Eyes." "It was a different experience for me," Matthews says. "It was an adventure and a little bit intimidating to do something where I didn't get to bounce it off a lot of other players."
Loss is a recurring theme on the record, showing up in "Stay or Leave," a sweetly sad breakup song, and the epic "Gravedigger." "It's a song about the universal departure," Matthews says. "It's all pretty personal."
"I thought I should get some of these ideas down," Matthews continues, "just as a really healthy thing for me to do for myself. I credit the fact that I was holding the guitar more. A lot of time inspiration comes when you're driving or walking up a hill or taking a shit, and those are times when it's hard to write 'em down or record 'em."
Longtime-Dave Matthews Band collaborator Steve Harris co-produced the set with Matthews, who insists he's not leaving the rest of the group behind. "I can't wait to get back in the studio with the all the guys," he says. "That's my home."
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