“Tune Out the Noise”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T98825bzcKw
I’m intrigued by finance, but I’m not interested in it.
Meaning I want to know how it works, but I don’t want to spend any mental energy in investing.
I don’t want to become a day trader, which is a fool’s errand. I don’t want to buy and sell stocks because I’m not a professional, and it’s a professional market. Furthermore, today everyone knows you should just put your money in index funds.
These are the guys who did the research proving this is the right way to invest.
Now I read about this documentary in the “Wall Street Journal.”
“A Billionaire and an Oscar Winner Have Made a Hit Movie. It’s About Investing – The new documentary from Errol Morris makes index funds and passive investing thrilling”
Not that you have to read the article. But I do recommend you watch the first half of this movie.
Documentaries are all the rage, but too often they’re about topics I experienced live, or nooks and crannies featuring crazy people. “Tune Out the Noise” is educational, without being didactic, without beating you over the head.
What we’ve got here is nobodies who find their way to the University of Chicago for disparate reasons. These are not today’s finance bros, wearing tailored suits who are in it only for the money and the attendant lifestyle. No, what we have here are ACADEMICS!
Can you imagine being so intrigued by finance that you want to teach it? Mostly these are oddballs who don’t fit in who find their way to this educational institution…
I know, I know, everybody’s down on universities and college education today. However, at the bleeding edge of any enterprise is the intelligent, trying to figure out the unknown. And that’s thrilling. We’re all excited by the new. But most of us are playing it safe, never all-in, especially in enterprises that appear difficult and don’t rain down money.
But David Booth decided to employ all this academic research to prove a point and make a ton of money. Which is why the University of Chicago’s business school is now named “Booth” (well, he donated $300 million for the privilege).
It’s exciting to see people driven by the data, the science, the theories, as opposed to the modern paradigm of working your way back from the money. How do I get rich? That’s where most people start.
This is history. And that’s where documentaries shine. Errol Morris makes finance come alive.
Until somewhere in the middle of this flick where the focus ends up being on small cap companies and multi-dimensions and conceptually you get it, but something is lost in the process.
But before that…
You’ll be riveted. Because Morris is a professional documentarian, and he knows how to make a subject interesting.
Of course if you’re a newbie, if you’re wet behind the ears, if you truly think you can beat the market yourself…your eyes will be opened. The math says otherwise! That’s the genius of these people… They collected the data and analyzed it, instead of just talking out of their rear ends.
And then there’s the concept of the theory. The data is meaningless unless you’re using it to prove or disprove… This is the kind of stuff you learned in junior high school that rarely comes up in your everyday life, but it’s the essence of progress.
You should put your money in an index fund. Sure, round out your portfolio with bonds, maybe real estate, don’t go all-in on the index. But if you’re going to own equities, this is the way to go. This movie proves it.
As to which index fund you should own with which philosophy… This is where the film gets hazy.
But until that point, you’ll be focused and edified. Even those in the industry may not know a lot of these historical details.
I haven’t been this focused since Napster. Every morning I turn on my phone and am…
Stunned, horrified.
Not that everybody agrees with me. Kind of like those days back in the beginning of 2000. The label execs told us they had it under control. After all, the law was on their side. You had acts and the industry telling its fans/customers to stop…and nothing did. We never did return to normal. And an outsider saved the recording industry. Yes, that’s what Daniel Ek did, and the labels know this, but acts consider him a pariah because in the process he got rich and they did not.
Trump is the antidote to not only Biden, but the entire Democratic party. You probably saw the Jon Stewart clip wherein he talks about Schumer waiting for Trump’s approval rating to go down to forty and then counters with the fact that the Democrats’ is TWENTY SEVEN!
Then again, I don’t think elected officials saw this. They’re not on TikTok, where this clip exploded. That’s the goal of late night TV, not to get you to tune in, but to create viral content that explodes online.
So…
Trump has stopped border crossings, they’re down to a trickle. The Democrats could have done this, but somehow this was anti…exactly what? This reminds me of trans women in sports and pronouns… The Democrats lost touch with the will of the people and catered to a cabal that was often vicious. At the end of his term, Biden looked nothing so much as afraid. Never mind the entire fiasco of Joe running again.
Joe’s home in the dementia ward. Kamala seems to realize no one likes her and has been licking her wounds off the radar screen. And who is leading the Democrats?
Maybe late night hosts and comedians. And there’s Gavin Newsom with his excoriated podcast…doesn’t he realize these people are the ENEMY!
And then there’s Bernie and AOC…
But nobody in D.C. takes them seriously. They’re cranks with little power. No, they’re in touch with the heartbeat of the country! Dissatisfaction with not only the government, but life in these United States!
I loved that TikTok video I saw yesterday with the young female tax attorney who explained how the rich pay no taxes. They borrow against their assets. YOU HAVE NO ASSETS! Or if you do, you’re probably one of those Democrats who keep telling the electorate how dumb it is. How did that work out? Not well.
So there’s this level of agitation and discontent and other than Bernie and AOC, the Democrats are not tapping into it. All they’re saying is their hands are tied. These doofuses have been in D.C. so long that they’ve lost touch with their jobs. They’re elected by US! They work for US! How about coming down from their thrones and interacting with US!
I’m not talking about listening tours. F*ck that. No, I’m talking about stirring up the populace, eradicating our depression. Sure, the right may not have liked Black Lives Matter demonstrations after George Floyd, but boy did those gain the attention of the people and the press. At least some progress was made, before Trump came along and undercut it.
The Democrats should leave D.C., where they keep telling us they have no power, and return to their burgs and stir up the public. Have rallies. Otherwise, everybody’s going to just go on with their own life until we’re living in Hungary.
This is what I don’t understand. How countries shifted into authoritarianism and life went on, the people accepted this. This couldn’t happen in the United States, BUT NOW IT IS!
Tap into our anger. Show Elon and Trump that we’re all not in agreement. Force the issue, either they have to stop the train or own the consequences of their actions. And right now they’re doing neither.
Keep the fever up. Make us believers in change. If you think the only way to make change is at the ballot box, you’ve been in Washington too long.
This is the lesson of Napster. Outside forces can change the world. At first most people had no idea what Napster was. Then they were aware and didn’t care. And then they got high speed connections and used the service and were convinced, smiling!
Who is going to lead the populace out of the wilderness? Who is going to disrupt the tsunami of destruction Elon and Trump have executed?
WE ARE!
That’s right, you and me. We’re the nation’s only hope. I want to know who is on my side, who is not afraid, who is willing to stand up for this country as opposed to focusing on lifestyle.
This is the most important issue of YOUR LIFE!
This is the turning point.
Are you going to be somnambulant?
All we need is leaders. This is the opportunity for the Democrats. Don’t forget, Trump stirred up his fans, gained constituents before he even ran for office! Trump spoke plain English. You learn the lessons of the enemy, you don’t just throw them all away.
The press isn’t going to save us.
As for the courts… They ruled against Napster and then we got KaZaA and then lockers. The will of the people could not be tamped down.
So far the courts haven’t stopped Trump.
The only thing that can stop him are you and me.
This is like Vietnam, but with much greater consequences. As for all those Trumpers… They were for Vietnam until they too realized the war was fruitless.
Because you can’t fight hearts and minds. Hearts and minds always win.
Dissatisfaction is rampant. Back in ’68 it was Eugene McCarthy who tapped into this. Ultimately Hubert Humphrey, the Chuck Schumer of the era, was nominated AND HE LOST! Because he didn’t have the fervor of the populace behind him.
Your entire way of life is being changed and you’re forced to shrug your shoulders because your leaders have let you down.
Something is happening here, and it sure ain’t exactly clear.
Either it will happen spontaneously or it will be led by the Democrats or…
It won’t happen at all. That’s what I’m most worried about. We don’t know who each other is. We don’t think we have enough people. We don’t think we have enough power.
If the label doesn’t hear a hit, they won’t release your album. And the CEO makes more money than any of the artists.
OLD SCHOOL
Hire a publicity person to get noticed in print media.
NEW SCHOOL
Do your own publicity online.
OLD SCHOOL
Radio is everything.
NEW SCHOOL
TikTok is everything, that’s where acts break.
OLD SCHOOL
Parents hate the music.
NEW SCHOOL
Parents hate the platform, i.e. TikTok (and some still can’t get over physical media and hate Spotify, et al, too).
OLD SCHOOL
Perfect the music and only release what’s up to snuff.
NEW SCHOOL
Put absolutely everything up on YouTube so fans can find it if they’re looking for it. Live shows, acoustic in the studio, everything. Forget quality, otherwise why would people be watching audience-based videos? They want a taste of what it was like at the show. Fans want to get closer, don’t put up a brick wall, but a conduit.
OLD SCHOOL
Spend a fortune recording in a professional studio.
NEW SCHOOL
Record at home, maybe on your laptop.
OLD SCHOOL
Acts are technologically ignorant. They don’t know how the studio works.
NEW SCHOOL
Every act must be an engineer and producer. They must know how the music is created.
OLD SCHOOL
Put out an album, shorter than forty minutes in the vinyl era, no longer than eighty minutes in the CD era.
NEW SCHOOL
Either put out an EP with only a handful of songs, or put out an opus, a double album with maybe even thirty tracks. Because if someone is truly into your music, they’ll stream EVERYTHING!
OLD SCHOOL
Getting ripped-off by the label.
NEW SCHOOL
Believing streaming services are ripping you off even though they’re not.
OLD SCHOOL
Arguing about Spotify payments.
NEW SCHOOL
A focus on software, i.e. the music itself. Sure, business is important, but too many acts spend too much time thinking about it. Create music that draws people to it, then you’ll make money, believe me.
OLD SCHOOL
Major labels shuffled the decks every three to five years or so. A new president came in and wiped out all the old employees and brought in his own team. It was a constant game of musical chairs.
NEW SCHOOL
The same people run the major labels ad infinitum.
OLD SCHOOL
An exec is only as good as his or her last hit, money is everything.
NEW SCHOOL
An exec is only as good as his or her last hit, money is everything.
OLD SCHOOL
Print music magazines meant everything.
NEW SCHOOL
Not only is print dead, but the websites of the early twenty first century are irrelevant too, everything is word of mouth these days.
OLD SCHOOL
Lead with your music.
NEW SCHOOL
Lead with your identity/personality. Your image is just as important as your music. To be featured in the gossip columns means you’ve made it.
OLD SCHOOL
No endorsements, no sponsorships…
NEW SCHOOL
Where do I sell out? I’m dying to sell out, isn’t anybody going to give me money?
OLD SCHOOL
Credibility.
NEW SCHOOL
A bifurcation… There are acts playing the game the old way, building their audience live, over years, they are lifers. They truly focus on the bond with their audience, they just don’t pay lip service. Credibility is key. And everybody else is in it for the fame and money, and will sign anything put in front of them.
OLD SCHOOL
Stadium shows were rare.
NEW SCHOOL
Stadium shows are de rigueur. There are more people and more acts with huge fan bases. But that does not mean those who do not go to the show care.
OLD SCHOOL
Country sucks. Enough with the rednecks and twang.
NEW SCHOOL
Country is the rock of the twenty first century. But there are still a lot of rednecks.
OLD SCHOOL
Hip-hop is cutting edge.
NEW SCHOOL
Hip-hop is long in the tooth, almost a caricature of itself.
OLD SCHOOL
Rappers got shot.
NEW SCHOOL
Rappers get shot.
OLD SCHOOL
Acts rarely had a hit past their prime.
NEW SCHOOL
Acts rarely have a hit past their prime.
OLD SCHOOL
If you wanted to know what was going on you listened to a record.
NEW SCHOOL
Everybody gets their information from a different source, but one thing is for sure, they don’t get it from musicians.
OLD SCHOOL
Musicians stood for something.
NEW SCHOOL
Musicians stand for nothing, they’re afraid of alienating a potential audience member, hurting their career.
OLD SCHOOL
There were few acts who were truly superstars.
NEW SCHOOL
There are a ton of acts that they keep telling us are superstars but we can ignore them and sacrifice nothing.
OLD SCHOOL
You had to buy it to hear it. And when you bought it you listened to it over and over again.
NEW SCHOOL
Everything is available at your fingertips, and it’s hard to get people to listen to anything, never mind all the way through or more than once.
OLD SCHOOL
Very few could be successful musicians, giving up their day job.
NEW SCHOOL
Everybody thinks they’re entitled to be a successful musician and give up their day job.
OLD SCHOOL
You showed off your record collection.
NEW SCHOOL
It’s all about experiences, and you post pictures of them online.
OLD SCHOOL
Labels kept the club scene alive.
NEW SCHOOL
The labels don’t want to spend and neither does the public. If there’s no heat on the act, they’re not interested.
OLD SCHOOL
You knew all the hit acts, even if you didn’t like their music.
NEW SCHOOL
Acts can sell out arenas, and you’ve never heard of them, never mind heard their music.
OLD SCHOOL
The charts were manipulated and not to be trusted.
NEW SCHOOL
The charts are manipulated and not to be trusted.
OLD SCHOOL
The tour was an advertisement for the album.
NEW SCHOOL
The album is the advertisement for the tour.
OLD SCHOOL
Recordings were everything.
NEW SCHOOL
Playing live is everything. You may not even need a record. Or one every five years. Assuming your show is not identical every night. People will know songs that were never laid down on tape/hard drive/SSD. From going to the gig and watching on YouTube.
OLD SCHOOL
Music was everything.
NEW SCHOOL
Music is a sideshow.
OLD SCHOOL
Music saved lives.
NEW SCHOOL
Money is everything, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
I was so pleased to read your piece on Matt Nathanson, who’s such a great artist and so deserving of recognition and praise. My wife and I have seen him many times, performing solo and with various lineups, and he always delights.
But—as you say—beyond his terrific songs and stand-up-comic-caliber stage presence, Matt offers something more rare and valuable: personal connection. He makes everyone in the joint feel like he’s singing and talking to them. In a world of performers who can barely say good evening or mumble a song intro, Matt plays a gracious host at a house party where it’s his job to make sure everyone is comfortable and entertained.
My wife and I jokingly keep a running list of people who would be our best friends if we only knew them. Matt’s always in our top 5.
Jonathan Mudd
______________________________________
Matt’s one of the absolute best. I saw him open for Tori Amos in 2005. He was solo and he pulled out the most amazing cover of Patty Griffin’s “Forgiveness.” I’ll never forget that moment – one of my favorite live music memories ever.
Peter Zimmerman
______________________________________
Matt played for us in our 120-cap listening room, The Point, in Bryn Mawr, PA many times in the early 2000s. When he heard we were closing the venue in 2005, he came back and recorded a live album, “Live at The Point”. It was always a madhouse when he was there
Even after we’d closed and Matt had gone on to play significantly bigger rooms, he’d call and offer tickets and a dinner invite.
My business partner, Richard Kardon, and I always thought the world of that guy!
Jesse Lundy
______________________________________
Thank you for this great piece on Matt! I’ve been a fan of his since 2004, and have been lucky enough to get to know him a little over the years. He is everything you described and there are few like him. To say he’s my favorite singer is not a throwaway remark; he’s been in that position for more than a decade.
-Anastasia Karel
______________________________________
hi bob, and this is exactly why matt easily blows out multiple shows here. Matt is the best.
Michael Jaworek
The Birchmere
______________________________________
We’ve hosted Matt in our 422 cap Event Gallery twice, and as support on our 16k cap Pavilion stage a handful more times as support to the likes of O.A.R., Train, etc. Beyond his musical talent, he’s FUNNY – on and off the stage. Almost to the point where you feel like you’re getting a two-for-one special, both a musical and comedic performance. Always look forward to any opportunity to bring him to our venue.
Julie Kaufman
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
______________________________________
Matt Nathanson is so damn good. For fun, try his song “Bill Murray.” You’ll laugh — and then maybe shed a tear.
Harlan Coben
______________________________________
Couldn’t agree more…Matt’s an absolute showman, and when he leans into the humor, he’s hilarious. I was lucky enough to catch him in Fort Collins a while back, and he absolutely owned the room. The next show I caught of his was him opening for Matchbox Twenty in a packed Denver arena, and somehow, he made it feel just as intimate as that small club. Unreal.
Phil Einsohn
______________________________________
Long time follower. I live in the foothills myself, and my wife and I decided weeks ago we were going to make the drive into Denver to see the same show at the Ogden Theater. 35 years ago I lived right there when it was kind of a scary neighborhood and I was an invincible 20 year old.
We were primarily going because we are long time KT fans, she’s been doing the playing with her own beats and guitars and vocals since Ed Sheeran was 12, and we’ve seen her a number of times over the last 20 years.
We knew a couple of Matt Nathanson songs, Spotify suggests him hear and there, and I wasn’t expecting much. Wow were we blown away by everything you mentioned here. He never stopped talking to and the interacting with the crowd. It seemed every song had a story including the couple of covers. I felt inspired to write myself. As a mid-fifties guy all the way in “the city” on a Tuesday night I was thinking we’d leave halfway into his set, but it was too good. When he brought KT out for Starship’s worst song ever and he’s singing “these lyrics suck” while she is absolutely slaying Grace Slick’s part reading the lyrics off her hand….
Well they came off like kindred souls who are having the time of their lives touring together. I will definitely see Matt again and bring more folks to see him too, he is the performer we need.
Adrian Pountney
______________________________________
We were fortunate to see KT Tunstall last summer when she opened for — of all people — Roger Daltrey at Wolftrap.
The opener goes on when the crowd is still arriving and the hot DC sun hasn’t set. But she killed. She was funny and positively delighted to be playing for us. Any one of her songs could have been the break-out hit.
John Hyman
______________________________________
great recap… he’s a can’t miss when he’s in town for me.
Ken Brown
______________________________________
Yes!
Hope he comes to Syracuse…
Steve Anderko
______________________________________
I was a songwriter in the Bay Area (where Matt lives) in the 2010s. Matt was introduced to my music by a mutual friend. Although I was a nobody, he was very generous to me over the years and even took me out for a string of west coast shows in 2019. I eventually returned to school and now do other creative work in Taipei. But the last show I ever played was another show opening for Matt at Wente Vineyards. He is one of the nicest people I’ve met in the industry, he is effortlessly charismatic on stage, he is a hell of a songwriter, and he was exceedingly kind to me (many times over) when he didn’t have to be. Thank you for broadcasting his merits to the world. He deserves it!
Kyle Terrizzi
______________________________________
I loved the review of your Matt Nathanson awakening.
I saw three shows on this current Matt tour when he was in the northeast last month and your missive was spot on! He didn’t play my area so each show was a 5-6 hour round trip (three shows in four days), but totally worth it! I’ve seen him 32 times in the last 15 years and each show has been SO different – as you highlighted, the stage stories and banter aren’t a rinse-repeat from the night before.
He has such a love and reverence for great music and he cares so much about music itself. He’s just a music lover bringing music he’s passionate about to people who are passionate about him and his work. No pretense.
Here’s the version of “Thunder Road” from the NJ show – there are dozens of covers of this song, but some performers know how to honor and pay homage to the song. Matt definitely does.
But the communion moment was in Boston as he became one with the crowd on his song, “Boston Accent,” at the end of the night at the lip of the stage no mic and no amp – a sing along to cap a night we would not soon forget!
Brad Parmerter
______________________________________
Bob, I’m so happy to read your summary of Matt Nathanson’s show. He’s the soundtrack of my college years, and I’ve stayed a true fan.
During college, I attended quite a few singer songwriters in small venues (400 cap) before they broke. I’ve seen Nathanson four or five times. Every show memorable.
At the Blind Pig in 2001, I stood GA, off to the side of the stage. He used to sing a Bon Jovi cover, and the build up of ranting before the song was equally part of the moment. I stupidly tried to interrupt his banter, trying to be funny, and I became part of the joke. But he wasn’t mean. He’s so quick. And he reclaimed the flow. (I learned to never interrupted a show again!)
When Some Mad Hope broke out with that hit, us true fans cheered for him: Beneath Those Fireworks had hits, and Universal didn’t promote it well. (Even though I bought my copy at Hollister at the mall! How uncool is that…)
When I met Nathanson during that difficult label drop tour, he shared positive stories with me, not laments, at the merch table. He shared how he worked with a dream drummer, Matt Chamberlain. (I wonder if Chamberlain would be a great interview? He’s incredible.)
When Nathanson put out Some Mad Hope, it was a master class of using social media at the inception of FaceBook’s popularity.
Last year, Nathanson did a solo acoustic tour in small venues for fan club. My friend got a ticket for the Ark (400 cap in Ann Arbor) before it sold out in minutes. I’m still kicking myself for not going.
“Always go to the concert!” my dad says; he got stuck at the traffic jam into Woodstock, and gave up…
Mike Vial
______________________________________
Matt is a big inspiration of mine. When I was in high school in southern Maine in the mid 2000’s, a music teacher saw me onstage and told me I had “that Matt Nathanson thing.” I had never heard of him, so I had to look him up. He had that one song “I Saw” which had made it into a couple movies and TV shows, but nothing else big yet. But I totally connected with his music and it had a big influence on my songwriting over the years.
One day in 2013 or 2014 I had the chance to open for him at the Hard Rock Café in Boston as part of a midday, “fans only” performance sponsored by ALT 92.9. An old band mate of mine had become the marketing director at the station and threw me a bone. No one in the audience knew who I was, they were all there for Matt, but that was fine with me, I finally got to meet a musical hero of mine.
Backstage we talked for a few minutes and I got the opportunity to pour my heart out and tell him what an influence he was on me. The record promoter who introduced us was mortified that I wasn’t “playing it cool” but Matt was so gracious, talking with me, complimenting a couple of my songs, and relating over our shared connections to the Concord/Lexington area of Massachusetts. Watching him during his set, doing crowd work, was like a master class that would further inform my stage show for the next few years. I’ll never forget it.
Glad you got to experience the magic of a Matt Nathanson performance!
Keep on,
Skyler Clark-Hamel
______________________________________
Saw him in Toronto. My friend who plays with Rachel Yamagata opened the show. Both were great! And they had seats put in.
Jake Gold
______________________________________
First met Matt back in the 90’s when he would play the poster room at the Fillmore for $50
What a sweet guy, glad to see he hasn’t changed
Go see Matt!
David Repp
______________________________________
My late Wife and I were early fans of Matt Nathanson. We lived in Mountain View in the Bay Area and well over 20 years ago we saw him at several San Francisco venues.
Sadly I haven’t seen him for years but your letter reminded me of those great shows. He was, and clearly still is, a wonderful performer. I now live in Oceanside and if he does any shows down here I’ll be there. He’d be great at The Belly Up!
Keep up the good work, your letters are something I look forward to.
Regards
Peter Brentnall
______________________________________
KT is a gem. Toured with her a hundred years ago and she was doing this same style of show. Long before Ed seemed to invent it for this generation.
She was a force then and continues to be so.
And kind. It was near the end of the tour and my wife was expecting and it was close, about 3 weeks out. Something told me I had to fly home and end this thing or I may miss the birth of a child. It was hard telling her and she didn’t blink- “GO! It’s real life and you should be there. Your wife needs you more!”
All class and none of it for show.
(Tell me she had the kazoo and did “seven nations army”?! Slays it)
Don Miggs
______________________________________
A good friend of mine worked with Matt during his earlier days at Pitzer College, so I had the good fortune of seeing him around 2000-2002 several times in the Boston area. Hs connection to the audience was always amazing and what made his shows so much fun. Sure the music was good, but its personality that really made the show.
I will also say that after meeting him a few times during those days, this is truly who he his. It’s not just an onstage persona…he’s genuinely a really nice guy.
Ty Velde
Needham, MA
______________________________________
I saw KT two years ago at The Ryman in Nashville opening for Joss Stone.
Didn’t think much of it going in– “woo hoo”, that’s all I could remember.
She blew the doors off the place. Standing ovation. She’s smart, funny and sings and plays great.
Has a beat box vibe slapping the acoustic guitar. Seriously entertaining. A great performer.
Rich Carlson
______________________________________
I agree, I saw Matt 15 years ago at the 9:30 club in DC. My wife won tickets from a top 40 radio station and I had low expectations given his pop star status but I was pleasantly surprised by both his talent and his personality. He knows how to engage the audience. I had a great time which is a testament to a live performance. Thanks for the report.
Tom Fitzsimmons
______________________________________
I was you many years ago, reaching out to Matt more in hope that we could connect – I was pushing a UK rock act out of London to an American audience; both Matt & I in our relative infancy and me thinking there was some quid pro quo we could work on. And I was a Matt fan; I made that clear.
Matt connected, we connected and before long I was staying on his sofa for the night. Watching Matt play back then in bars; his connection with his audience a real inspiration to take home to my fan-shy wannabes in the UK.
Cheers,
Dave Johnson
______________________________________
I had the pleasure of being the audio engineer for Teitur on his Midwest tour in 2003. I had never heard of Matt before we opened for him on a few of the stops. I was instantly a fan after the first night! You get a good sense of how intelligent he is from the wit and humor of his onstage banter. And he’s a nice guy to boot! It seems like a rare combo these days! Thanks for the reminder about him! I’ll definitely try to catch a show when he comes around my area next.
P.S. I checked out a Steve Poltz show a few weeks ago based on your email from a few months ago. Amazing! I’d put him and Matt in the same category: part singer-songwriter, part comedian!
Take care,
Brett Patrick
______________________________________
I’ve the pleasure of working with both artists in my career. KT at the very beginning. I remember being absolutely mesmerized by this young woman walking up onstage. A guitar, harmonica, and a effects rack. She started ‘Black Horse and Cherry Tree’ with just that trademark ‘whoo hooo’ in a loop. All of our jaws hit the ground as she built a song right in front of us. She followed with ‘Suddenly I See’, chatting with the audience and building a relationship. Connecting with them. Crazy, right? A rare talent.
Matt and I had a great run of shows. He is a master performer in everyway partly because he was a comedian before music. He brilliantly fused them together to create the stage performer, ‘Matt’. His energy is infectious. His songs are weaving stores that take you somewhere. Much like KT.
By all rights, these two artists should be huge. Unfortunately, their abilities are not as marketable as they once were. If either had come up in the 60’s or 70’s when songwriting, talent, and stage presence was it, we would be telling a different story.
I consider both ‘artists’ in every sense of the word. They both are also some of the nicest, most down to earth people you could ever meet. Just true musicians. I still go back and revisit their music all the time.
They both are people you would want to have a beer with. Real people, real stories, real talent…
