Handsome Traveler is the musical monicker of singer songwriter Tony Metcalf. His debut album, Semi-Sober, is easy on the ears and fodder for the brain and heart. You can help him celebrate the release on May 31 at the White Squirrel.
Please tell us about Handsome Traveler.
The Handsome Traveler is a project I started close to 13 years ago, but I never really took it that serious. I’d play shows from time to time, but I never made an actual album. I think I just didn’t enjoy playing music alone, and honestly, I was too busy drinking my life away to put a band together. I never stopped song writing as it has been my release on life. Eventually, I put myself through treatment and came out a new man. About three years ago, I hit up a friend about recording an album, booked some solo shows, and started playing around town again.
The Handsome Traveler has a ’90s heart. I’ve always enjoyed writing lyrics that can be interpreted in different ways by the listener. The lyrics are playful at times, but also serious with a focus on life’s hardships and sobriety. As for the name The Handsome Traveler, that actually comes from my old band. When we’d play shows without all the members, we’d call ourselves The Handsome Travelers that way, if we sounded bad, it wouldn’t reflect on the full band. When that project ended, I decided to keep the name for my solo stuff.
My name is Tony Metcalf (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, and Song Writer). For most shows I play solo acoustic but have been making strides to piece a band together. My studio band consist of Kyle Saxe (guitar), Justin Collins (Guitar, Lap Steel), Tyrel Collins (Bass, Engineer), Mike Blackwell (Drums/LA Cool Guy), and Leah Pickhardt (Vocals, Piano). With out these musicians/friends this album wouldn’t be what it is and I am grateful to have them in my life.
You have a debut album out (Semi Sober). Listening to it is like watching a movie. The emotions are forefront and there’s action and twists. There’s a line in Home about “I left my only cards on the table,” I feel like that’s an apt description of the album but how would you describe it?
It was hard to hold back on this album, especially since I wrote most of these songs in the throes of addiction. Every song comes from a different chapter, some in the middle of addiction, others during recovery. I never really planned on showing anyone these songs in the light an album puts them in. They are super personal to me, so releasing them was really a choice to be vulnerable and put myself out there. That wasn’t easy, especially considering that when I walked out of treatment, I thought I’d just hang up the guitar and move on from music. I was pretty washed up couldnt sing or play guitar very well But it’s hard to walk away from something you’ve been doing for over 20 years and I’m happy I didn’t. I guess I still have something to say.
I’d describe this album as raw, emotional, and reveling.” The songs have that ’90s feel, and while they all work together, there are definitely different. There are some twist and turns with some surprises but everything centers around that alternative rock umbrella. Honestly, the way you described it is perfect, I really do feel like I left all my cards on the table with this one. I dug really deep on this album and I feel a great accomplishment that I have finally released it after working on the album for two and a half years. I will never forget making this album.
3.I rarely ask about titles, but Semi Sober is provocative in that there’s a lot packed into those two words together, yet it isn’t inherently a good or bad thing. How did you come to use the title?
The name came to me while I was in treatment. At the time, I didn’t think too much about what it really meant to me, but once I got out, it started to take on more meaning. I’d say it represents something good, for sure. A lot of people I tell the name to give me a wink and say, “I know what you mean,” thinking it’s just another term for California sober. And sure, it could mean that but for me, it’s more about how the process of getting sober actually felt.
For the longest time, I was in denial knowing what I needed to do and doing the exact opposite. I was willing to die for something that had already taken my soul. So when I started the journey of getting clean, I slipped… a lot. And sometimes, it took a while to get back up. I would hide the fact that I was drinking again and lie to the people I loved the most. But whenever I got down on myself and started thinking what’s the point?, a dear friend of mine would say, “At least you’re trying and that’s what counts.” And it’s true. It’s better to be trying to get sober than to not do anything at all. So when I think about the name Semi Sober, I see it as hope.
4.Given the name, Woe is Me, has such an uplifting sound and really sort of a weird optimistic vibe because it feels like there’s a shift in the point of view. Like suddenly the antagonist is speaking to someone else or maybe a younger self. Can you talk about the song?
“Woe is me” is a song about your inter monologue. How this monologue can be so negative at times when things really aren’t that bad. It’s almost like a younger self-is talking to his older self. This younger self has given up on life and is complaining about his woes. While the older self is trying to make him realize that everything isn’t as bad as it seems.
It took me awhile to write this song. I pretty much gave up on it because I couldn’t sing what I have written very well. I didn’t want to just throw it out because I felt it had potential. I just had to put some work in to my singing to make the song happen. I basically wrote half the song in a really bad place and then wrote the other half after I got sober. You can see the point of view change by the 3rd verse into something more positive with the line “when I wake I’m going to fill the hole, I’m going to bury everything in my way”. I really like that line. I felt that I had finally woke after getting sober and I was going to bury everything that had held me back in the past. Sometimes we need to erase these tapes of negativity that play in our heads and be more positive.
5.Please tell us about the upcoming album release. (And other upcoming show if you want.)
Album Release
May 31st
With Whispered The Rabbit and Mostly Trees
Free @ 9pm
White Squirl Bar
974 West Seventh Street
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102
Art-A-Whirl
May 17th
Free @3pm
Q.arma building
1224 Quincy Street NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Mostly Minnesota 