Journals from Mat's Official Site
Mat occassionally likes to drop a note to his fans and let them know what he's up to, where he's at, what music he's listening to, what book he's got his head buried into, etc. I love these little blogs of his because they give us a glimpse of who he is as a person, not just as a musician. Plus, the man does have good taste, I must admit.
So these journal entries were not written into this site, but actually came from his official website and his official myspace site. But I thought I would have them on this site too, so you couldn't complain that I was missing somethiing or holding back knowledge from you guys. 
So read on to your hearts desire!!! He was pretty chatty back in April. 
September 5, 2007
September 5, 2007 -Sportsman's Lodge, Los Angeles, CA
this month to date has been a good one. a few weeks ago during some unexpected time off in nashville, i walked upstairs to my piano and wrote one of the best songs i have written in a long time called 'breathe in breath out'. i walked back downstairs an hour later and rang paul moak, a good friend of mine who has recorded and played guitar on a lot of my songs, and asked him if we could record a demo--his studio being just down the block. we started with just piano and vocals two days later but soon had all the bass and guitars on tape as well. while standing in line on our lunch break, i noticed a girl wearing a bright green shirt with 'oregon' across the front and asked her where she was from. she said she was from australia and then i realized i was speaking to butterfly boucher a musician whom i am very fond of. through an act of sheer graciousness she was back at the studio tracking drums later that afternoon--by the end of the day we had the song done.
i sent it to my manager, he sent it to grey's anatomy, and a few days later they picked it as the song for their upcoming season. two weeks later i shot an epic music video for 'breathe in breathe out' in nashville along with my good friend and actress q'orkianka kilcher who starred in terrence malick's 'the new world'. the video is really moving and seems to capture the spirit of the song and the process that went into creating it.
i spent this last week in southern cal. playing some amazing house of blues shows in which the crowds where so encouraging-- we also got to perform undeniable on leno. i ended the week at rick rubin's house playing new songs for him and his dogs on his back porch overlooking the malibu shore. the month before this one was hell, but august was a good one. breathe in breathe out is going to be released to radio stations this week, and will find its way onto 'nothing left to lose' as a bonus track in another month--until then you will have to come out to a show to hear it.
May 30, 2007
May 30, 2007 - 12th South Nashville, TN
the trains are blowing their horns tonight. i can hear them from my front porch just west of the freight rail line running north into down town. seems like i have always been within ear shot of the distant crooning of air horns and clanking steel; from my graffiti days in oregon to my bedroom window in california and now here on my front porch in nashville. i wrote a good portion of nothing left to lose from my steps with freight trains blowing in and out of town in the distance.
this year has been quite a journey so far. the early spring found me on tour supporting john mayer--playing enormous venues including madison square garden, in which walking to the stage brings you past giant blown-up portraits of rock and roll legends-- daunting images of mick, bruce, bono, and a sweaty paul mccartney line the main hall to remind you where you are and what stage you are about to play. we played a pretty good show to a packed house of new yorkers who made us work for every bit of applause they gave.
i just finished up my own tour with the feeling and rocco deluco and the burden--a 30 city run that was maybe the most enjoyable tour i have experienced from the stage thus far. it was humbling to see everyone come out to the shows and give so much every night. it was very surreal. sometimes if felt like if i kicked over the front row the crowd would tumble back like a bunch of cardboard cut outs.
it looks like this summer should be just as grand with a bunch of huge stages on the books as i will be supporting kelly clarkson. im looking forward to playing in front of some different audiences--it should be an exciting endeavor for me and the band.
i have been writing a lot these days. i'm trying my best to find the songs that resonate deep in your bones-- the ones that sound as good as the trains in the distance do tonight. thank you for all the support and encouragement this year thus far. it could be a good one.
January 5, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
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Café sesam. Istanbul, Turkey Yesterday, I was in Ephesus; the oldest ruins on the Mediterranean. |
October 1, 2006
October 1, 2006 - Hwy 80 toward Spokane
The sun is setting over the north plains of Washington on a warm Saturday night. I’m sitting on the edge of a dried hayfield, watching the orange light slip in to a black sky. We are 50 miles outside of Spokane, waiting for the van to finish filling up. It’s almost October and we have hit the road again.
I set out from Nashville with five friends to begin my second-ever headlining tour. It was a busy summer that slipped by very quickly. I just finished supporting John and Sheryl on their tour a few weeks ago, which was a grand experience, though the packed amphitheatres left me yearning for smaller clubs with friendly faces. We are headed for some great rooms this fall. There is an excitement, a sense of peace in the air unlike I have ever experience at the beginning of a tour. It feels like it is going to be a good one. I will see you soon.
Currently listening to: ‘Born to run’ by Bruce Springsteen
Currently reading: the intro to Dostoyevsky’s “the brothers Karamazov”
Currently viewing: “Rivers and tides” by Andy Goldsworthy
August 10, 2006
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August 10, 2006 - train 2154 nyc to ct.
currently listening to: currently reading: |
August 2, 2006
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August 2, 2006 - free mont coffee shop: seattle washington
it's wednesday morning and today i'm at freemont coffee shop across the aurora bridge from downtown seattle. i have been writing a lot of songs these days. i think some of them are pretty good. we will see, time will tell. if i still like them in a week its a good sign. i have also been reading a lot lately, sometimes i get overwhelmed with all the classics that i haven't read. especially when i walk into a really great bookstore. i still haven't read 'catcher and the rye'. my love for james joyce and the psalms have dominated my week. mainly psalm 103, 40 and 'dubliners'. marty told me that joyce felt that dublin hadn't been properly represented in the literary world. so he wrote 'dubliners'. i'm sitting at a big round glass community table on the back porch filled with empty white paper cups from everyone that left me writing to wonder around freemont. seattle always feels like home. i woke up this morning to light clouds, but it looks like they will burn off soon. we are playing at the city zoo today with brandi carlile, a friend of mine. the zoo sent an email saying that we couldn't sound-check the drums one at a time or play sudden dissident chords because it would scare the birds. currently listening to: currently reading: |
June 19, 2006
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June 19, 2006 - june 13th, delta flight 7653
my first ever headlining run is coming to and end. there is a real sense of satisfaction at the end of a long run of dates. we have worked very hard and left a lot of sweat in a lot of towns. it makes it worth while when as many people show up as did these last six weeks. thank you. currently listening to: neko case "fox confessor brings the flood" |
May 15, 2006
May 15, 2006 - the north shore of oahu
i flew to hawaii for 24 hours to watch my brother graduate from college. tonight we rode in the back of his roommate's truck down to a makapu'u bay were we body surfed under a full moon. the ocean was black and incredibly strong.i think god created waves to remind you of how small you are. tomorrow i will be in san francisco at cafe du nord. thank you for filling up all the rooms so far.
currently listening to: lucinda williams "car wheels on a gravel road"
May 7, 2006
May 07, 2006 - hotel lusso spokane washington
i stepped off the plane into the brisk northwest air tonight and was greeted by the familiar smell of washington trees. i left nashville earlier today setting out on my first headlining run to last through this month and into june. i stopped in frothy monkey on the way to bna airport for a last cup of my favorite green tea. miranda the always charming owner stuffed a brown sack full of tea bags and refused my insistent offers to pay. i got to spend a few days in nashville this week. i had just enough time to do some laundry and fit in a day-long rehearsal with the guys who will be joining me on the road this summer. will sayles who played on most of the new songs on my record, will be playing drums. his friend the immensely talented jeff irwin will be playing piano, stand up and the electric bass. singer songwriter and guitar god tyler burkum will also be joining us and making everything sound epic and beautiful. it is a really good feeling to know i will have such talented guys sharing the stage with me, and good friends to help tackle the road. we will be starting this week in the northwest and working our way down the coast. i will play my first hometown headlining show in eugene, oregon this thursday at the wow hall. it was the first place i crowd surfed in high school at a daddies concert. we also will be playing at the aladdin theater in portland; a beautiful old room where all my idols have played. this should be a good run ahead of us. i look forward to playing a lot of new songs and breathing life into some older ones. i hope to see you out on the road... currently reading: "the once and future king" by t. h. white currently listening to: "homogenic" by bjork
April 20, 2006
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April 20, 2006 - interstate 95 towards baltimore above the susquehanna river
we just left philadelphia an hour or so ago. yesterday my laptop stopped working in the morning, my phone was soon to follow. dave got a call from a ranting cursing manager. we parked our van outside a coffee shop only to later have the door hit and almost ripped of by a passing bus, which made a quick getaway. we ended the day on stage at 'north star' where the monitors hang from the ceiling. the trials of the day seemed to fuel an impassioned show. the room was full, there was love in the air, and a lot of friendly faces in the crowd. rick wilson was there. years ago we climbed into a mini van for the original west in november tour. we were a two piece with rick on drums, usually not mic'ed and sometimes there were people in the crowd. every night we would stack cd boxes next to his legs before we pulled out of the show. he tells me i play better now than i did then. northstar was a very warm place with a lot of locals sitting in barstools. the girl working the back of the room had beatles replica boots and great musical recommendations. i realized half way through the night that i was having my cd release show. the record came out on tuesday and it was nice to have them sitting on a table at the back of the club. thank you to everyone who has picked it up and has talked about it to a friend. yesterday seemed to come out swinging, but i think we had put up a good fight as we limped away in our dented van. currently listening to: 'you in reverse' by built to spill |
April 13, 2006
April 13, 2006 - st. louis, 16th floor of a hotel.
today i played on a tv show and there were boy scouts standing behind me waving to the cameras.
this has been the longest run of midwest dates i have ever done. i was here with the fray and now i'm here with matt wertz. it is an interesting place that im still trying to figure it out. my friend sallie keena called the midwest lonely and friendly. i think she is right. the people are friendly and the roads are lonely.
so my record comes out on tuesday. i just got a finished packaged copy the other day. hope you enjoy it. if you turn it up really loud at the beginning of 'what's a boy to do' you can here a train passing by paul's studio. the take was good and the train was in key so we left it.
currently listening to: 'michigan' by sufjan stevens
April 11, 2006
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April 11, 2006 - highway 96 east toward detroit
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April 10, 2006
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April 10, 2006 - Lemonjello's
hello it has been a while. i have started dozens of journal entries in the past few months but somehow they have found the way of the buffalo and guitar picks. i started a journal entry from powell's bookstore on hawthorn st. in s. e. portland. i was flipping through the guitarist from the yeah yeah yeahs photo journal book and was inspired. i also wrote a note in my moleskin journal from my home in nashville, i remember being overwhelmed and lonely by the sight of friends i would be leaving the next day. we sang along to irish folk songs from the back of a pub that night. i started a journal entry from austin. i walked into a store with hundreds of art pieces shipped from mexico. there where wrestlers and skeletons with mice crawling on them. today i am sitting in a coffee shop in holland, michigan call lemonjello's, and i think i have uncovered an urban legend, in which everyone knows someone who knows twins named lemonjello and orangejello. i was just informed that sufjan stevens has played at this very table in which i am sitting. to say that i am excited about my record coming out in a week or so would be an understatement. i feel very strongly about the songs that have made their way on to nothing left to lose. some of them have been around for a while and others i wrote the night before they where recorded. thanks again to everyone i have been meeting on the road as of late, and all the people that pre-ordered the record. my arm is still sore. currently reading: angela's ashes by frank mccourt & velvet elvis by rob bell |
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July 25, 2005
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July 25, 2005 - Somewhere Between Bolder and Boston
i have been wanting to capture some of my record the way that i have been touring it for the last year, stripped down and acoustic. i returned to bridge street studios with robert and paul moak, a friend of ours who can play just about anything. we set up some mics, i sat down with my guitar, and let the tape machine roll. we did eight songs in two days. most of which we recorded in one or two takes. we brought in some different instrumentation with accordions, vibes, and lot of piano. we finished the last of the tracking in a laugh-drunken stupor late friday night. I'm excited to hear back all that we got a few days removed from the hurricane of recording. we left the songs as they came, raw, up front, with little bit of grease. there are some honest moments you can get when you pull everything away except the song. i think we got a few of them on tape. currently listening to: currently reading: |
June 1, 2005
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June 1, 2005 - The Viper Room - Los Angeles
tonight I'm sitting on a sleeping bag on the floor of a good friends hollywood apartment. I'm nearing the last show of my run with mute math. we have played around 40 shows in all over the last weeks. LA is as good of place as any to part ways for now. i must say that i have been burning to get out west for the summer. from here I'm headed up the coast and on to oregon, where some friendly faces are waiting for me. I've really enjoyed the friends that i have made over the last two months. salt lake met me with a lot of ink and vegan smiles. boulder felt like a trip back to south eugene. i rode long boards through a parking garage with some st. george kids that drew pictures of the show instead of taking pictures, and in san diego my first roommate turned up in the crowd. i played so many cities for the first time on this tour it made it bitter sweat leaving every night. sometimes you cant wait to get on to the next place, but in cities like richmond, i found myself asking how much rent is in the historic fan district. |