{"id":19636,"date":"2020-07-14T22:10:24","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T05:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=19636"},"modified":"2020-07-22T11:21:50","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T18:21:50","slug":"matt-the-electrician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2020\/07\/matt-the-electrician\/","title":{"rendered":"Video &#038; Web-Exclusive: MATT THE ELECTRICIAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview<\/h3>\n<h1>Artist: MATT THE ELECTRICIAN<\/h1>\n<h2>Video: \u201cI Will Do the Breathing\u201d from the album Accidental Thief<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19641\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-01.jpg\" alt=\"Matt the Electrician\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-01.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-01-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>MATT THE ELECTRICIAN FEATURED AT BLUE ROCK ALIVE! VIRTUAL SUMMER CONCERT SERIES<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lIQSjArUFUg\" width=\"660\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Matt the Electrician will be the featured artist this Thursday (July 16) at Blue Rock aLIVE!\u2014a unique virtual summer concert series\u2014featuring iconic Austin-based artists every Thursday this summer. Blue Rock is a good example of innovation, quality and creativity. Each event is produced in broadcast quality audio-video from Blue Rock\u2019s renowned Texas room\u2014streamed straight to you. When you buy a Season Pass for $105 (https:\/\/bluerocktexas.com\/events), you send in your headshot\u2014and they place it on a seat, so you will literally be sitting in the room.<\/p>\n<p>Matt the Electrician is a working-class folk musician whose career has spanned two decades, a dozen records and thousands of shows. His music is rooted in his blue collar beginnings, with lyricism that embraces the beauty of the ordinary. In the mid-1990s, Matt Sever moved to Austin in search of new horizons and better opportunities. While he played music at night, he needed a steady day job wiring houses in the Texas heat. His \u201celectrician\u201d name stuck, even after his growing fan base at home, as well as abroad, allowed him to hang up his pliers for good. His most recent release, a double CD, The Doubles, is the culmination of a two-year vinyl 45 collaborative project.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with Matt the Electrician about his passion for songwriting, his fascination with the mundane and the beauty of the ordinary and what continues to inspire his creative process and keep him hopeful in these unique times.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19640\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-03.jpg\" alt=\"Matt the Electrician\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-03.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-03-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h2>MATT THE ELECTRICIAN Interview<br \/>\nwith M Music &amp; Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Tell us about one of the songs you plan to play at Blue Rock this summer.<\/strong><br \/>\nBilly and Dodee are great supporters of music and the arts. I never really write a set list, but I will in all likelihood play a song called \u201cI Will Do the Breathing.\u201d I originally wrote it for my wife after her father passed away. He had been sick for a long time, and the whole thing was very complex\u2014the grieving process for her reflected that. In these current times, I think this song can be taken both figuratively as well as literally. I\u2019ve been playing it a lot, and it helps some people, which is all I can hope that any of my songs might do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is one thing you learned about yourself after you completed The Doubles?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt came out at the end of a two-year project where I recorded and released six different vinyl 45 records\u2014each one with two songs, and each 45 recorded with a different backup band, mostly from Austin. The Doubles is a CD with all the songs from the 45s project, and another disc of the same songs recorded with my band at that time\u2014a vocal trio with two backup singers. The whole process, the 45 project and The Doubles album, re-enforced something I already knew about myself\u2014that I tend to go all in on the creative side of projects, often to the detriment of the financial viability of an idea. Which I\u2019m ok with!<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did your family influence your music?<\/strong><br \/>\nI grew up in a musical family. Dad played guitar in a cover band. Mom played piano. Neither of them played professionally, but musical instruments were always around. Even when we didn\u2019t have any money, we had instruments. I started off with a garage trumpet for $5\u2014played it until my sophomore year in high school.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19639\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-04.jpg\" alt=\"Matt the Electrician\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-04.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-04-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>What songwriting tip would you like to offer?<\/strong><br \/>\nJust write. You can get lost in finding the preciousness of the process. But the simplicity is in the notion of writing. There are complexities, but instead of thinking about it or trying to write\u2014just write. Instead of trying to figure out what you want to write about\u2014just write. It might be chaos\u2014but eventually you find the pieces. Write from your personal experience and the listener will feel the honesty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who originally inspired you to write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul Simon. I loved the way he approached music and explored various genres.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which Top 5 Musicians inspired you to become a musician?<\/strong><br \/>\nPaul Simon, Rickie Lee Jones, Taj Mahal, John Denver, Michael Penn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>At this moment in time, what are your Top 5 favorite albums of all time?<\/strong><br \/>\nFlying Cowboys (1989) \u2013 Rickie Lee Jones<br \/>\nAstral Weeks (1968) \u2013 Van Morrison<br \/>\nCatch a Fire (1973) \u2013 Bob Marley<br \/>\nSarah Vaughan (1954) \u2013 Sarah Vaughan<br \/>\nAround the World in a Day (1985) \u2013 Prince<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the best advice someone has given you?<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you wanna be a writer, you have to write\u2014every day. I would give the same advice, and do, to anyone who asks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19638\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-05.jpg\" alt=\"Matt the Electrician\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-05.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-05-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us a \u201cpinch me\u201d moment where you thought \u201cWow, this is really happening to me!\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI played a folk festival in Denmark (2010-11) and I ended up in an in-the-round song swap with Arlo Guthrie and some other Irish songwriters. I couldn\u2019t believe I was in that room.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there a new album?<\/strong><br \/>\nI recorded an album last October with producer Tucker Martine [The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse]. We hope to have it out as soon as I can tour with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In this strange and unique time, how do you remain hopeful?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne day at a time. That\u2019s the only way I know to get through anything. If I worry too far into the future, I get disconnected from all the tools I might have to deal with right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.matttheelectrician.com\">www.matttheelectrician.com<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/Instagram.com\/mattthee\">Instagram.com\/mattthee<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/mattthee\">twitter.com\/mattthee<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/matttheelectricianmusic\">facebook.com\/matttheelectricianmusic<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19637\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19637\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19637\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-06.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-06-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Matt-the-Electrician-06-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-19637\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt the Electrician<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview Artist: MATT THE ELECTRICIAN Video: \u201cI Will Do the Breathing\u201d from the album Accidental Thief MATT THE ELECTRICIAN FEATURED AT BLUE ROCK ALIVE! VIRTUAL SUMMER CONCERT SERIES \ufeff Matt the Electrician will be the featured artist this Thursday (July 16) at Blue Rock aLIVE!\u2014a unique virtual summer concert series\u2014featuring iconic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[11662,11663,8271,11644,11645,11385,10540,9490,11664,11646,11665,11666,7957,7566,11667,11668,11669,3010,11670,7978,4580,2470,1857,4160,8325,8785,3839,1332,11671,11672,11673,3527],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19636"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19665,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19636\/revisions\/19665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}