Watch Striking Matches Shred Up ‘Trouble Is as Trouble Does’
You’ve already heard eight of Music City-based duo Striking Matches’ songs, including the exquisite “When the Right One Comes Along,” on episodes of Nashville. You might have even seen them opening shows for Vince Gill, Train, Ashley Monroe and Hunter Hayes as well. But you’ve likely never seen Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis as they are in the above clip for “Trouble Is as Trouble Does,” harmonizing and fearlessly (and flawlessly) shredding on guitar in front of one bare microphone.
On March 24th, Striking Matches, who have played the Grand Ole Opry 35 times (so far), will release Nothing But the Silence. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the album is the duo’s full-length debut project for the newly revived I.R.S. Nashville label. (See the complete track listing below.)
“The fact that we are releasing our debut album in itself is a dream come true,” says Zimmermann. “I have to pinch myself every time I tell someone that one of our all-time biggest heroes, T Bone Burnett, produced our record. Just to be in the same room with him is an honor, let alone working in the studio with him.”
“We’ve waited all of our lives to get here to the beginning,” adds Davis. “Working with T Bone, releasing our first record, and the freedom to play as musicians on it have all been attributes to this project that made all the work and waiting a very worthy price of admission.”
Davis, who grew up in Atlanta, was raised on the music of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Petula Clark, and began writing songs at age 10, while Zimmerman, raised outside of Philadelphia, began playing clarinet in second grade, violin in third grade and guitar in fourth. One of her greatest musical influences was the Dixie Chicks.
“They proved to me that a girl can play just like a guy can play,” she says. “They were my inspiration for being a lead guitar player.”
Attending Nashville’s Belmont University and both majoring in guitar, they attended the same guitar seminar class in 2007, where their professor randomly paired them together early on in the semester. Since combining their talents professionally, the pair has earned critical acclaim and attracted international attention, selling out their first-ever shows in London.
Striking Matches’ Nothing But the Silence track listing:
“Trouble Is as Trouble Does”
“Make a Liar Out of Me”
“Nothing But the Silence”
“Hanging on a Lie”
“Never Gonna Love Again”
“When the Right One Comes Along”
“What a Broken Heart Feels Like”
“Miss Me More”
“Like Lovers”
“Missing You Tonight”
“God and You”