WATCH: Matthew Mayfield Returns With Prizefighter

Rock & Roll Globe premieres video for new single “Breathe Out In Black”

April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 Ron Hart 0 Comments 2024, Alabama, Birmingham, Breathe Out In Black, Matthew Mayfield, Moses Mayfield, Prizefighter

Matthew Mayfield (Image: Courtney Davidson)

When it comes to surviving in the wilds of the music industry, Matthew Mayfield is indeed a prizefighter in the way he’s ducked and dodged the harrowing politics of this business through the years.

So it should come as no surprise that the Birmingham, AL songwriter christened the name of his fifth solo album as such. Prizefighter is a reflection of the resilience of this rock ‘n’ roll lifer who continues to pick himself back up and keep punching his way through with quality material to spare.

“I’ve always used that metaphor for being in this business for so long,” he says. “I’ve been making music full-time now for 21 years and it’s easy to feel like a prizefighter—you get beat up and bloodied and you need somebody in your corner to pick you up and tell you you’re going to win. Perseverance is something that was instilled in me by my mother. She’d use that word a lot and still does, so it’s a very important thing for me.”

His first album since 2019’s Gun Shy—the longest gap in his output since his first solo release in 2008—Prizefighter is a dark, harrowing record that reflects Mayfield’s world today while casting its eye back over his two-plus decades career. It was almost immediately after his band, Moses Mayfield, was dropped from a major label that the frontman began that solo career, and while the rejection left him deflated, he learned a valuable lesson that’s stayed with him to this day.

“I remember,” he says, “when the head of Sony told me ‘I’m going to make you the biggest rockstar in the world.’ When you’re 21 years old and someone says that to you and it’s all you’ve ever wanted, you believe them. It didn’t happen—we got dropped. But it was ultimately a blessing because it helps and humbles you to get knocked down. You don’t feel pride—just the humility that I think is necessary for all parts of your life.”

Produced by Paul Moak (Martha Wainwright, Reliant K, Dolly Parton, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton), Prizefighter is a brilliant collection of rockers and ballads that should remind listeners why Mayfield’s music has been used on such acclaimed TV shows as Grey’s Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars, and why this talent has remained a beloved son of the Yellowhammer state.

Rock & Roll Globe had the chance to catch up with Mayfield for a quick Q&A as we proudly premiere the video for his latest single from Prizefighter, “Breathe Out In Black,” which available now on all streaming platforms.

Prizefighter comes out on May 17th Pre-order it here.

Matthew Mayfield Prizefighter, self-released 2024

How do you feel your work as a solo artist stands apart from the music you created in Moses Mayfield?

It’s certainly all cut from the same cloth because I wrote all of those songs within a band dynamic. They say “you have your whole life to write your first record,” and while the Moses album [The Inside] wasn’t my first, it was the culmination of 5 years inside a notebook with a guitar in hand. I was 21 when we signed to Epic/Sony, but I had been wood-shedding those songs with the band for a long time in a live setting. I think my solo work is just the sound of a steady evolution. To me, it feels like “perseverance” through a set of speakers.

This is your 5th solo album. What did you have in mind with this endeavor that illustrates your growth as a songwriter?

This was the first time I truly learned how to TRUST. While we were tracking drums & bass, I intentionally put my guitar down and got lost in the melodies and allowed the rhythm section to push me as opposed to the other way around. Having Wil Drake on drums, Tony Lucido on bass, and Paul Moak at the helm as producer gave me the confidence to lean into their instincts. That set me free in ways I’ve never experienced before.

I’d love to hear the story behind the song we are premiering, “Breathe Out In Black”?

That song has been around for a while, but it was a mystery up until we cut it for the new record, “PRIZEFIGHTER.” It’s such a heavy lyric and an even heavier anthem of loss, rejection, grief, and acceptance. I blew my voice up singing that last chorus, and I love how broken it sounds. It’s honest. Without a passionate / convicted performance, BOIB would be dead in the water. That song is the sound of pushing every bit of myself to the limit. I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out with the band and the production cues from my dear friend Paul Moak.

How did keeping to the Birmingham area as a performer in recent years inform your craft?

Thankfully I’ve always had various artistic outlets in this city as well as Nashville and Los Angeles. But during the pandemic, I was constantly looking for inspiration in an incredibly uninspiring time. I wrote tons of songs in Birmingham (my hometown), but I didn’t feel the magic of “The Magic City” until I knew I had a finish line in sight. I live in a small two-bedroom condo and one of the rooms isn’t so much a studio as it is a “song cave.” It’s full of crumpled sheets of paper across the floor, pens that I trust, guitars in odd tunings, and cigarette butts. Nothing sexy at all. But I locked myself away in there for 8-12 hours a night and wrote dozens of songs. I still find some of my favorite lyrics folded up and buried in the corners behind road cases, merch, and luggage. It keeps the process pure for me as a writer.

Alabama, sadly, has come under fire for the state’s hard-right government and its decisions. But what is it about your area that you feel is getting lost in the wave of bad press and even worse politics?

I’m thankful for the gift of Intuition in times like these. I’ll always stand up for those who can’t fight for themselves, but (even more importantly) I’ve seen them fight for ME. THAT is inspiration.

For every mean-spirited, closed-minded person in this state, there are thousands of kind souls who are truly dedicated to lending a hand to those who simply need to be heard, understood, and cared for.

Despite it being a lyric off the new record, the line “don’t let their monsters sing” is something I continually strive to live by. “Don’t let their claws destroy your beautiful wings.”