First let me say that I represent Brooklyn but I was raised out of Jersey.
Now then, I wrote my first song when I was four years old, sitting on the floor of my father’s office, in a Manhattan law firm, where he was not happy. The song was called Beep-Beep-Bop-Bop-Bop-Beep – that was the hook anyway. Recording it on my dad’s Dictaphone, the message I was trying to get across was that brushing your teeth is fun, and important. Now my father is a psychologist and he is happy.
I wrote my second song 16 years later, not because I had a good idea but because I was sad and lonely. I don’t remember the lyrics or the melody, and I could not tell you the song title, but it might have been called Sad and Lonely. Boring, yes, and certainly a less important work than “Beep,” but nevertheless crucial to my development, because the second song led to a third, and the third to a fourth, and when I had a full set of original music I summoned the courage to play at an open mic, where Kimya said, “Dude, I feel like I wrote that song,” and the rest is history.
Now the very fact that I am writing a bio(graphy) implies a certain level of self-importance (true) and a certain degree of achievement (sorta) and/or can be boiled down to the fact that every reasonably gifted musician is expected to write one (I am a total conformist). Anyhow, rather than write about all the great venues I have played, all the obscenely talented artists with whom I have shared a stage, and all the other details of my musical life that illustrate how great I am, all awkwardly stated in 3rd person (see all other Matt Singer bios, 2001-2008), I think I’ll just say goodbye, for now. Besides, if you want to see all that other stuff, it’s not so hard to find.
Live at the Warehouse: SIDE A is OUT! Download now for FREE!
Bowery Ballroom (Oct.2008) :: Joe's Pub (Mar.2009) :: Gramercy Theater (Jul.2009)
4 2009 Interviews from publications in Boston, Toronto and Ithaca:
The Examiner (Boston)
Tea Party (Boston)
T.O. Snobs Music (Toronto)
The Ithacan Accent (Ithaca)
A few reviews of THE DROUGHT:
THE DELI: “Eclectic material that ranges from weepy to silly to sincere”
POP HEADWOUND: “His most accomplished set of songs to date… Singer has always shown the unique ability to write songs that are both absurd and profound, universal and personal, and The Drought features 6 of his best. Endlessly compelling.” (Read more.)
WE ALSO RAN: "The Drought is unapologetically dorky, generous with well-placed fuckwords, and genuinely fun. (Read more.)
WILDY'S WORLD: "Matt Singer writes to amuse himself, and that's a good thing. His perspective is delightfully warped with a strong wit and wrapped in gorgeously melodic songwriting. (Read more.)
"ONIONS": A short film by Casey Shea, who captures what happens when Wes Verhoeve and Matt Singer attempt to make a meal together.
The Family Records December Residency at The Living Room and the 10.14 Bowery show were amazing and I'm grateful to all the fans and musicians who were a part of the evening
Check out some awesome photos and highly kind words from the Bowery show on 10.14.08 at Mel.Opho.Be. These guys are Boston bloggers and they made the trip just to see us destroy!
And AEM, an NYC blogger, gave specific attention to me and Wakey!Wakey! Yeah!
Another piece of awesome news is that Amie Street is featuring Breakthru Radio's live recordings of all the artists from the evening (The Undisputed Heavyweights
, Wakey!Wakey!
, Pearl and the Beard
and ME), FREE on their site. Check it out: Amie Street
Matt has just completed his latest release, "The Drought" EP. visit Family Records to learn more about it.
Hear the band and an interview on Breakthru Radio, 8.22.08
And check out a chunklet from my recent interview with BEYOND RACE magazine:
Read Here!
and "Stacy J" live at the Beyond Race Magazine Fall launch party at Rockwood Music Hall:
Matt's last album, All Us Heathens, caught mad praise:
MY MUSICAL CRUSH said:
Matt Singer's lyrics are the cat's pajamas. meow don't let his wholesome, boy-next-door façade fool you. once he picks up his guitar and opens his mouth, no scandalous or political figure is safe, including the white house idiot or the carnal abuses of the catholic church.
delivered like a rapping storyteller, his sardonic, side-spilting, politically-infused lyrics - thinly veiled in catchy melodic, folksy hooks - make you ask, did he really just say that?, usually followed by an uncontrollable, belly-aching laugh. plus, he can whistle like a piping hot tea kettle. how coolio is that?
URBAN FOLK Magazine said:
Matt Singer is all about words. All Us Heathens, his most fully realized recording to date, hops between rock and hip-hop, bluegrass and jazz, while somehow still holding its ground as a solid folk record. His songs change topic like most people breathe, jumping from the awkwardness of childhood to love, to Jesus, to Jews, to welfare reform, to the hand of judgment to trick-or-treating on Halloween, and back to being the awkward fat kid. All Us Heathens finds Matt Singer dressed in a more rustic outfit. Think Bringin It All Back meets Fear of a Black Planet meets A Prairie Home Companion. Yes, this is one complex package. The lyrics jump, the genres drift, and All Us Heathens is highly recommended.
POP HEADWOUND said:
Having seen him perform twice I can safely say his live shows thrive in such intimate settings, as they revel in audience participation, whether he makes them laugh out loud to his often quirky lyrics, whistle along with the tune as he sings over them, or clap along to provide a little rhythm. Full POP Headwound piece here
Of his previous release, Words of Mass Destruction
THE VILLAGE BROADSHEET said: Singers melodic voice is so laid-back and sweet that it perfectly counterpoints (in a funny way) the paranoid zeal of the Bush administration. Singer writes protest songs that are serious without taking themselves too seriously. And he goes a long way to showing us just who, exactly, is Rupert Murdochs bitch.
RUSSELL'S REVIEWS (UK) said: Lucid and intelligent. his confidence is such that he addresses the issues across the musical genres. If there's one good thing to come out of the Bush administration it's that it inspires singers like Matt to write songs like these.
