Major Matt Mason USA

Last updated
Major Matt Mason USA
Birth nameMatt Roth
Born Shawnee, Kansas, U.S.
Genres Anti-folk, DIY
Associated acts Jeffrey Lewis, The Moldy Peaches, Toby Goodshank, Kimya Dawson, LD Beghtol, Rachel Trachtenburg, Adam Green, Dan Fishback, Elastic No-No Band, Peter Dizozza

Major Matt Mason USA is the recording project of Matt Roth, an American musician and record producer active in the anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village. [1]

Contents

Life and career

A native of Shawnee, Kansas, Roth moved to New York in the early 1990s, where Antifolk founder Lach gave him his new name, [2] based on the action figure Major Matt Mason. He established Olive Juice Music, a recording studio, independent record label, and online record shop based in his apartment in the Lower East Side. [3]

Roth has collaborated with Jeffrey Lewis, The Moldy Peaches, Toby Goodshank, Kimya Dawson, LD Beghtol, Rachel Trachtenburg, Adam Green, The Baby Skins, Prewar Yardsale, The Leader, Dan Fishback, Dave End, Elastic No-No Band, and Peter Dizozza. [4] In addition to his work as a solo performer, he is also a member of the bands Schwervon! and Kansas State Flower. [5]

Roth has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe with Schwervon! and as a solo performer, often supporting members of the anti-folk movement, such as Jeffrey Lewis. He has been the headline act for anti-folk tours throughout the United Kingdom. [6] In 2017, Roth formed a side project, Broken Heart Syndrome, featuring Pat Tomek of The Rainmakers on drums. In 2019, as well as continuing to perform as a solo acoustic artist, Major Matt Mason USA has more recently appeared as a trio featuring electric guitar, bass, and drums.

In 2012, Roth relocated to Shawnee, Kansas.

Discography

As solo performer

Compilation appearances

Related Research Articles

Tony Hadley English pop singer-songwriter

Anthony Patrick Hadley is an English singer-songwriter, actor and radio presenter. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the band in 2009 but left again in 2017. Hadley is known for his "expressive voice" and "vocal range".

Lach is an American singer-songwriter associated with the anti-folk movement. As a songwriter, Lach founded the anti-folk art and music movement, which is cited as a main inspiration by contemporary performers like Beck, Jeffrey Lewis, Hamell on Trial, The Moldy Peaches and Regina Spektor in the US and Laura Marling in the UK. Lach has released six albums, a book of poetry, and has a regular series on BBC Radio 4 called The Lach Chronicles.

Juice Newton American pop and country singer

Judy Kay "Juice" Newton is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categories – winning once in 1983 – as well as an ACM Award for Top New Female Artist and two Billboard Female Album Artist of the Year awards. Newton's other awards include a People's Choice Award for "Best Female Vocalist" and the Australian Music Media's "Number One International Country Artist."

Kimya Dawson American folk singer-songwriter

Kimya Dawson is an American folk singer-songwriter, best known as one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song "Anyone Else But You" landing a spot in multiple acclaimed indie film soundtracks. "Anyone Else But You" as performed by Michael Cera and Elliot Page charted on the Billboard Hot 100 after its prominent inclusion in the 2007 film Juno, the soundtrack of which includes several songs by Dawson and her associated musical acts. The song remains Dawson's highest charting single to date. In addition to her work with the Moldy Peaches, Dawson has released seven solo studio albums and collaborated with various other artists from a diverse range of genres, including Aesop Rock, They Might Be Giants, The Mountain Goats, and Third Eye Blind.

Jeffrey Lewis American songwriter

Jeffrey Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist.

Diane Cluck American singer-songwriter

Diane Cluck is an American singer-songwriter. She describes her music as "intuitive folk". She currently resides in Virginia.

Toby Goodshank Musical artist

Toby Goodshank is a musician and visual artist based out of New York City. In addition to his solo work, he performs regularly with New York City-based bands Double Deuce, the Tri-Lambs, and the Christian Pirate Puppets.

Matt Bissonette is an American bass player. According to Guitar 9, an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music styles ranging from jazz, jazz fusion, progressive metal and instrumental rock. Bissonette has played bass with performers such as David Lee Roth (1987–1992), Jeff Lynne and ELO (2001), Ringo Starr (2003–2005), and currently, Elton John (2012–present). He is the brother of drummer Gregg Bissonette.

Elastic No-No Band was a musical group based in New York City's anti-folk scene. Started in the mid-2000s, the band's name was initially just a pseudonym for its leader and main songwriter, Justin Remer. After 2005, Elastic No-No Band's line-up also included pianist Herb Scher and multi-instrumentalist Preston Spurlock. In 2005 and 2006, the band would perform sporadically with Clint Scheibner, who would play a bass drum attached to his chest, as though he were in a marching band. In 2007, the band added drummer Doug Johnson as a regular member. During the recording sessions for the band's 2010 album, Fustercluck!!!, electric guitarist John Mulcahy was also added.

Schwervon! is a two-piece American indie rock band. The band members are Matt Roth on electric guitar and Nan Turner on drums; the pair share singing duties. They started the band in 1999 on the Lower East Side of New York City, shortly after they began their ongoing romantic relationship. They have released five albums through Major Matt's Olive Juice Music independent record label. Their first two albums have also been distributed by Shoeshine Records in Europe, where they have toured with Jeffrey Lewis and Kimya Dawson. In 2011, they did European tours, opening for the recently reunited UK alternative band The Vaselines, as well as Belle and Sebastian

Filthy Pedro is an antifolk musician based in London. Born Simon Parry in Anglesey, Wales, he moved to London in the late 1990s. Parry had grown interested in antifolk after hearing Beck's Stereopathic Soulmanure album (1994). However, it was only after a trip to New York's Sidewalk Cafe in 2001 that he thought a similar movement should be created in London.

<i>Me Me Me</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Major Matt Mason USA

Me Me Me was the first album by antifolk singer/songwriter Matt Roth using the performing name Major Matt Mason USA.The album is a completely solo effort, consisting mostly of Roth singing and playing an acoustic guitar, with occasional overdubs and reverse tape effects.

<i>Anticomp Folkilation</i> 2007 compilation album by Various Artists

Anticomp Folkilation is a 2-CD compilation album featuring a variety of artists from New York's anti-folk scene.

Frank Simes Musical artist

Frank Turner Simes is an American musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, composer and record producer. Simes is the musical director for Roger Daltrey, and has recorded and performed with Mick Jagger, Don Henley, and Stevie Nicks.

Quick Frozen Small Yellow Cracker is the debut album by Schwervon!, a band consisting of Major Matt Mason USA and Nan Turner, the latter formerly of the band Bionic Finger.

Trevor Jude Smith is an American ukulele player sometimes associated with the New York Anti-folk scene. He has performed or recorded with dozens of independent and national artists including Major Matt Mason USA, Dufus, Rachel Trachtenburg, Toby Goodshank, and Amory Sivertson.

The New York Antifolk Festival is an annual music festival featuring anti-folk, indie rock, post-punk and indie pop bands and singer-songwriters. It also has featured performance artists, comedians and magicians.

Me Me Me may refer to:

The Woodsheep American indie folk rock band

The Woodsheep is an American indie folk rock band from Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The band features Andrew Preston, Matt Holleran, and Melissa Caskey.

Boa Morte (band) Irish alternative folk band

Boa Morte are an Irish alternative folk band formed in Cork in 1998. The line-up consists of Paul Ruxton, Cormac Gahan, Bill Twomey (guitar) and Maurice Hallissey (drums). They have released three critically acclaimed albums, including 2019's "Before There Was Air".

References

  1. 1 2 (May 28, 2004). "Matt at front of 'anti-folk'", Coventry Evening Telegraph , pp. 40–41.
  2. "Major Matt Mason". www.antifolk.net. Retrieved Nov 24, 2020.
  3. Fink, Matt. "Major Matt Mason USA: Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved May 8, 2011.
  4. "Songs of the Golf Wars - Peter Dizozza | Credits | AllMusic" . Retrieved Nov 24, 2020 via www.allmusic.com.
  5. Hughes, Andrew S (May 13, 2012). "Schwervon uses limitations to push creativity", South Bend Tribune , p. D1.
  6. Carroll, Becky (November 9, 2002). "The Anti Folk Tour Across the UK", The Guardian , p. 40.
  7. Cowan, Andrew (July 21, 2001). "Off the record: cd reviews: Matt Mason USA: Me Me Me", Birmingham Post , p. 6.
  8. Cumming, Neil (October 24, 2002). "Major Matt Mason USA: Honey, Are You Ready For The Ballet? (Shoeshine)", Evening Times , p. 46.
  9. (November 14, 2002). "A Major success", Evening Chronicle , p. 37. "In the wake of his acclaimed album, Honey Are You Ready For The Ballet? on Shoeshine records, he's already been likened in some quarters to Cobain, Stipe and Beck."