I'll admit it. I love cover songs, especially if I love the original song. Maybe it has something to do with a connection I feel with the musician singing the cover. It's almost like I'm telling them (like a whisper in their mind), "You and I are compadres. We like the same music." It's undeniable. And I think people in general like hearing cover songs, particularly if a new take on the song is rendered, making the cover version like an extension of the original version. The worst thing a musician could do would be to play the song exactly, note for note, like the original. But to put your own spin on someone else's song can create something pretty special.

So anyway, one day I was stumbling across the internet when I came across a page with a YouTube video that was introduced with, "What do you get when you mix a hippie with Andre 3000 in the desert? A great cover of Outkast's Hey Ya." Now I don't know about you but I love that Outkast song. My daughters love that song. My wife loves that song. Everybody loves that song. So when I clicked "play," I didn't expect much. How can you top such an original song? But once it played, I was floored. Really. The already poignant lyrics, once disguised behind a booty-shaking beat, were pushed to the forefront and delivered with an achingly elegant folk delivery. It was, in my opinion, one of the best covers I've ever heard in a long time. It's true. And I've heard a lot.

Who is this talented musician? His name is Mat Weddle, the singer and guitarist of a band called Obadiah Parker from Scottsdale, Arizona. According to an article on azcentral.com, Mat said about the cover, "I figured we could stuff it in at the end of a set, just to break things up a little ... People love hearing songs they know, even if done a little differently." An acquaintance of Weddle and a fan of Obadiah Parker named Brian Shaler took a video of Mat performing the song at an open-mike one night and created a mash-up with the original Outkast video, slowing down Andre 3000's kinetic dancing and singing to match Mat's mellow tempo. What was created was pure magic. Shaler then posted the video on YouTube. In just 6 months, the video has been viewed over 500,000 times on YouTube and been posted on several other web sites. It became one of the biggest viral video sensations of 2006. And for good reason. It's that good.

I contacted Mat and asked him to answer our 20 Questions. And he graciously agreed. Here's what he had to say:

Q: Now that your performance of "Hey Ya" has reached mythical proportions in the Internet world, tell us what you remember about that night? Was it different than any other night?

• There was like no one there. We've played at that coffee house before and there's usually a good crowd, but that night it was dead. No one really showed up to play at the open mic either, so I ended up playing a full set of like probably nine or ten songs. About half way through my friend Micah Beverly, who runs the open mic, grabbed his guitar and started playing along from behind the sound board. The first song that he played on was "Hey Ya." In the recording there are little high notes on the chorus and then on the bridge there's some "percussion." That's Micah messing around on a song he doesn't know. It's funny because people have posted tabs of the song or even their own recordings of the song and Micah's "parts" are always there.

Q: An acquaintance of yours named Brian Shaler was the one who actually put the video together. Were you involved in that process at all? Did Brian consult with you about mashing it together with the Outkast video?

• No and no. I didn't even know that he had gotten the video from Micah. Like a week later he emailed me a link to the video on YouTube. "Look what I did!" We all thought that the editing was really funny. Then we forgot about it for about a month until it started blowing up.

Q: What kind of interest have you received from record labels? Is that a career path that you and your band would like to take?

• We haven't heard from any record labels. We're not too familiar with the business side of the industry so it's hard to say. I think the hardest thing in the world would be to turn down a deal, but when it comes time I hope that we'd be able to stick up for ourselves and not get into a bad situation.

Q: I found a wide variety of discussion about your cover of "Hey Ya" on the Internet. Some were extremely fond of it. Others went as far to say that it takes the original intent of hip-hop artists and places the song out of context of urban culture. What is your take on that?

• I think I've pretty much read all the comments about the video on any website everywhere. It's pretty addicting to read about yourself on the internet all the time. It's also exceedingly lame. I've been called everything from a fat and ugly middle-aged hippie, to the answer to world peace. The key for me is to realize that most of the comments were probably made by 12 year-olds so mostly I just laugh and try not to take anything too seriously (not to say that opinions of pre-teenagers aren't valid.) As far as the people who say that it's racist or culturally insensitive, the intent of the cover was never to make the song better or to make fun of Outkast. If anything, it's really self parody. It requires a lot of talent to take a song like "Hey Ya" and turn it into something that bores people to tears. We take a lot of pride in that.

Q: What are your criteria for a great cover song?

• The original has to be a good song in the first place.
• There has to be something different from the original. Whether it's different instruments, different genre, or different context, the more different and creative the cover is the better.
• The cover has to be able to stand up on it's own. If it wasn't a cover, would it still be a good song?
• I really like covers of obscure songs and artists. This is a fine line because it can be pretentious, but I think it's cool when musicians can introduce listeners to other songwriters or songs that they wouldn't otherwise hear.

Q: Who or what are the influences that inspires you most in your music?

• As far as other musicians go, I would probably say guys like Dave Matthews, Counting Crows, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado, Stavesacre, Ben Folds. I also get really excited about writing songs when I watch films by guys like Michel Gondry, Takeshi Kitano, P.T. Anderson, and Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Q: How have your bandmates handle the attention showered on you?

• Oh they're fine. We're just happy that we're moving forward as a band and that our audience is growing and we're getting more opportunities.

Q: When Austin's own Dynamite Hack did a cover of NWA's "Boyz in tha Hood," it was reported that Dr. Dre wasn't very amused by it. Have you heard from Andre 3000?

• I saw an interview that he did where they showed him a short clip of the video. He said that it sounded good but that was about it. We haven't been sued yet, so I guess that's something.

Q: What is your favorite cover song performance by another artist?

• John Mayer does a surprisingly good version of Radiohead's "Kid A". Feist has an awesome Bee Gees cover ("Inside and Out") on her latest album. Cat Power has a whole record of great covers but "I Found a Reason" (Velvet Underground) is probably my favorite. Jeff Buckley's "Halleluiah" is a perfect example of a cover transcending the original (by Leonard Cohen).

Q: Describe what you consider a perfect day?

• I'm not sure what it would be exactly, but it would definitely involve sleeping, good friends, BBQ sauce, and a Suns game.

Q: What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

• That I'm 35.

Q: Best cure for a hangover?

• Don't drink.

Q: Philosophy to live by?

• The Bible's pretty good. I also like Henri Nouwen.

Q: Where do you go to find new music?

• My friend Andrew Schubert.

Q: If you could be reincarnated, what would you like to come back as?

• A girl. A rich girl. From Japan.

Q: Are you a spiritual person?

• Yes, but not as much as I would like to be.

Q: If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three things would you need to survive?

• A guitar, my iPod and a hotel maid (which means I would have an endless supply of clean sheets, towels and pillow mints.)

Q: What words of wisdom did your father share with you?

• My dad is famous for giving three hour lectures that somehow always end up with how I needed to start taking out the trash.
• Was it good advice? Definitely. The trash was piling up and it was gross.

Q: Do you think the Internet is the new frontier for bands and musicians?

• Definitely ones that sing lame cover songs.

Q: What does the future hold for Obadiah Parker?

• We have a live CD coming out very soon that'll have a studio version of "Hey Ya" on it. Other than that, we're just playing shows locally and trying to get on the bills for festivals and tours.

In case you haven't seen it, here's Mat singing Hey Ya:

---

Tag this article: