"TRASHburgh" Revels in the Seedy Side of Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, N.Y. musician Matthew Hall has a question for you: How poopy is your butt? No, seriously. The question is repeatedly asked in interviews throughout the first two seasons of his web series, "TRASHburgh." The program plays like a loosely structured variety show, schizophrenically darting among sketch comedy, bizarre animation, musical elements and man-on-the-street interviews. Some segments are mere seconds long, which makes the show feel a bit like channel surfing, but without actually changing the channel. "TRASHburgh" bills itself as celebrating "the trashier side of Plattsburgh," which suggests that the city itself is the main focus. But the show is really more like a window into some of the city's most interesting creative people. The Season 2 finale of "TRASHburgh" appears on YouTube on Tuesday, March 21. In a recent interview with Seven Days at a funky Plattsburgh coffeehouse, Hall is quick to define what he means when he refers to his city as "trashy." In his mind, he's reclaiming the term, "taking ownership of it in a certain way, where it's not such a pejorative." "Plattsburgh's pretty scrappy," he explains. "It's rough around the edges. It's not too posh or polished." Hall, 29, is slight and scruffy, and sports a green-and-purple flannel shirt and a baseball cap that reads "Steel Force." He's a bit spacey and takes long pauses to shore up his responses. He brazenly admits to holding little mastery over basic concepts such as time, dates and geography. Hall is active in the Lake City's music and nightlife scenes and has his hands in a plethora of creative projects. Aside from "TRASHburgh," he plays in punk bands Bren, Comrade Nixon and his semi-solo folk-punk project, Marco Polio. He also raps and makes beats for the hip-hop collective the Plattsburgh Home Team. He operates the independent music blog DIY Plattsburgh and founded the cassette-tape label Rat Pâté Records. He seems well-known as a go-to guy for music happenings. Before Hall can even sit down for the interview, an enthusiastic, almost ravenous fan accosts him to talk shop. Hall moved to Plattsburgh from his native Syracuse in 2010, seeking a smaller, less chaotic city. He found Plattsburgh's size manageable and its proximity to other desirable cities appealing. He also likes its grittiness. Hall isn't sure if he coined the nickname "Trashburgh," though he claims he'd never heard it in the local lexicon. Trashiness has been of…