Live from the Hotel Café

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Live From the Hotel Café
Live from the Hotel Cafe .jpg
EP by Matt Hires
Released October 7, 2008 [1]
Recorded At Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles
Genre Rock, pop
Length15:17
Label Atlantic
Matt Hires chronology
Live From the Hotel Café
(2009)
Take Us to the Start
(2009)

Live From the Hotel Café is a 4-track EP by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires released on October 7, 2008 and reached the top 10 on iTunes' Top Singer/Songwriters Albums chart upon its release. The EP contained three live performances and one demo track which selected performances at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles.

Extended play musical recording longer than a single, but shorter than a full album

An extended play record, often referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single, but is usually unqualified as an album or LP. Contemporary EPs generally contain a minimum of three tracks and maximum of six tracks, and are considered "less expensive and time-consuming" for an artist to produce than an album. An EP originally referred to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) and LP, but it is now applied to mid-length CDs and downloads as well.

Singer-songwriter musician who writes, composes and sings

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies.

Matt Hires American musician

Matt Hires is an American singer-songwriter from Tampa, Florida. Drawing inspiration from influences as disparate as The Band, Sufjan Stevens, Wilco and Ryan Adams, Matt became the first artist to sign with F-Stop Music, an imprint of Atlantic Records.

Contents

Reception

Critical response

Live From the Hotel Café has received positive reviews from music critics.

Andrew Leahey from Allmusic said: "Hires sings, sounding like a younger Dave Matthews. His craft may not be up to par with that songwriting giant, but Live from the Hotel Cafe shows that Hires' influences are in the right place." [2]

Dave Matthews American singer-songwriter, musician and actor

David John Matthews is a South African-born American singer, songwriter, musician, actor and record label owner, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. Matthews was born in Johannesburg, and moved frequently between South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States while growing up. Matthews started playing acoustic guitar at the age of nine.

"His talent level is enough that even in four songs you know what a Matt Hires’ song sounds like. He’s etched his sonic mark in a very short time." -Awmusic [3]

Comparison

Upon his first release, Hires was often compared to John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Mat Kearney and Jack Johnson.

John Mayer American guitarist, singer, and songwriter

John Clayton Mayer is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but disenrolled and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with Clay Cook. Together, they formed a short-lived two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play local clubs, refining his skills and gaining a following. After his appearance at the 2001 South by Southwest Festival, he was signed to Aware Records, and then Columbia Records, which released his first EP, Inside Wants Out. His following two full-length albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland".

Mat Kearney American musician

Mathew William Kearney is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, now based in Nashville, Tennessee. Kearney has received critical acclaim and widespread recognition for his Columbia Records debut, Nothing Left to Lose. So far, he has a total of 5 top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart.

Jack Johnson (musician) American musician

Jack Hody Johnson is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, record producer, documentary filmmaker and former professional surfer. Johnson is known primarily for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. Johnson has reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart with his albums Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George in 2006, Sleep Through the Static in 2008, To the Sea in 2010, and From Here to Now to You in 2013. Johnson's In Between Dreams album peaked at number 2 on the chart in 2005 and again in 2013.

"Looking at Hires you can’t help but think of Jack Johnson, whose laidback eco-friendly personality figures heavily in both his appearance and his music. Johnson embodies the oceanside, surfing troubadour and Hires, with his trademark sandals and curly blonde locks, is aesthetically a Jack Johnson disciple." "There are times when you firmly believe you may have slid a Dave Matthews CD in by mistake. His songs, his rhythm and even his voice are so Dave Matthews you wonder openly wonder about the frailties of intellectual property." - Awmusic [3]

Andrew Leahey said: "Open your mind and let your beauty flow like wine" Hires sings, sounding like a younger Dave Matthews. His craft may not be up to par with that songwriting giant, but Live from the Hotel Cafe shows that Hires' influences are in the right place." [4]

Hires responded: "I like those artists. I don’t necessarily listen to a lot of their stuff so I don’t think my music sounds like them. I didn’t feel any pressure from that." [4]

Track listing

Live From the Hotel Café [1]

#Title
1. "You Are the One (Live from the Hotel Café)" - 3:26
2. "Oh, Sunrise (Live from the Hotel Café)" - 4:00
3. "Tangled Web (Live from the Hotel Café)" - 3:54
4. "Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song (Demo)" - 3:57

Credits

Performance credits [5]
Technical credits [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - Live from the Hotel Café - EP by Matt Hires". Itunes.apple.com. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  2. Leahey, Andrew (2008-10-07). "Live from the Hotel Cafe - Matt Hires : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  3. 1 2 "Matt Hires – Live From the Hotel Cafe EP – Review - AWmusic". AWmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  4. 1 2 Annie Reuter (2009-10-22). "You Sing, I Write: Q&A with Matt Hires". Yousingiwrite.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  5. 1 2 "Live from the Hotel Cafe, Matt Hires, Music CD - Barnes & Noble". Music.barnesandnoble.com. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-02-28.