Matt the Electrician

Last updated

Matt the Electrician
Birth nameMatt Sever
Also known asMatt the Electrician, MTE
OriginSan Francisco, California, United States
Genres Indie folk, Folk-pop, Neo-folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, electrician (formerly)
Instrument(s)Guitar, banjo, trumpet, euphonium
Years active1999–present
LabelsChezDre
Website www.matttheelectrician.com

Matt the Electrician is the stage name of Matt Sever, a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. [1] Sever has released a total of 12 albums through 2017 and his work has been used in advertising, film and American radio and television programs.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Matt Sever was born in San Francisco, California, and spent his formative years in northern California and southern Oregon. [1] Sever began playing coffee houses when he was 15 years old [2] and broke into the Austin, Texas music scene in 1996 when he began hosting an open mic night at the now defunct Flipnotics Coffeespace. [3]

When Sever would arrive at gigs still sweaty from a long days work in Austin's summer heat, he would often explain, "Hi, my name is Matt, and I'm an electrician." Regulars to his shows began referring to him as "The Electrician," and the moniker stuck. Early press referred to Sever being "a regular blue-collar type of guy." [4] Indeed, his third album, Made for Working, displayed his work boots on the cover and Sever frequently played up his day job early in his career.

Giving up the day job

By his fourth album, 2004's Long Way Home, Sever had given up his day job and began traveling and developing audiences outside of Texas and the west coast. Shifting away from touring with a full band he began playing house concerts and tapped into folk/songwriter circuits in such far off places as Alaska, Japan, and Denmark.

Sever's music has been described as folk-pop or neo-folk, but more generally incorporates various styles of Americana/roots-based acoustic music. From his very first album, Baseball Song in 1998, fans and critics have been drawn to "the innocence of Sever’s music," and his ability to "capture everyday feelings and situations with a naive, straightforward gracefulness." [4]

Described as "a young Paul Simon wrapped around a Tom Waits heart," [5] his songs are often highly autobiographical, both telling the story within the song as well elaborating during live sets. Sever is known for delivering quirky and unique covers and the ability to "hold everyone rapt like a bunch of babies in front of dangling car keys." [6] as he fills his songs, live shows and studio albums with an "endearing parade of characters." [7]

People

Sever performs as a solo act or as a duo, often with back-up singer Seela Misra or multi-instrumentalist Scrappy Jud Newcomb. When performing on stage or in the studio, in addition to Misra and Newcomb, Jon Green (drums) and Tom Pearson (bass) complete the band. Sever also frequently performs with what has become his trio, which consists of Seela Misra on backup vocals and auxiliary percussion and Stephanie Macias (Stage Name Little Brave) on backup vocals and ukulele.

Sever is quick to share the stage with other songwriters and regularly participates in songwriter circles and has become a favorite of other songwriters. [7] He has opened for or shared billing with Ana Egge, Southpaw Jones, Tom Freund, [5] The Weepies, Bob Schneider [8] and the Asylum Street Spankers. [6]

Projects

In addition to the production of his full length studio albums, Sever has also released a number of 45 RPM vinyl records with 2 songs on each. Between 2015 and 2017 Sever would release a new vinyl every few months for a total of 6 double sided records. Each record was recorded with a different backing band. Each backing band is based in Austin, with the exception of Paul Curreri, who is now based in Charlottesville. All 12 songs recorded during this project constitute the music on his 2017 Album The Doubles. In addition to the versions with the guest bands, The Doubles also includes all 12 songs re-recorded with Matt and his regular trio. Each album along with its backing band and track listing is listed below.

Matt The Electrician Vinyls
Backing BandTrack ListingYear Released
Wood & Wire1) The Bear

2) Never Had a Gun

2015
Dana FalconberyTrio1) The Party

2) I Don't Have Anything To Do with My Hands

2016
Wilson Marks Trio1) A Secret

2) I Cannot Read Your Mind

2016
Little Brave1) Mountains

2) 20/20

2016
Paul Curreri & Devon Sproule1) California

2) Family of Stars

2017
The Deer1) The Clearwater

2) Live to Fight

2017

Media

Sever's music has been featured in advertising, film, and multiple American television and radio programs. "I Remember" from the album Baseball Song appeared in the movie Playing Mona Lisa. [9] The single "Valedictorian" from the album Long Way Home was featured in episodes of Eli Stone [10] and Army Wives . [11] "Got Your Back" from the album Animal Boy appeared first in an LL Bean commercial from Winter 2010 and more recently was used in This American Life. [12]

Discography

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Matt the Electrician: 'Valedictorian'". NPR Music. May 24, 2006.
  2. ↑ William Harries Graham, "Diaryland: Matt the Electrician, Mr. October releases a new ‘Beacon,’" Austin Chronicle, October 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ Sharon Goldman, "Songwriting Scene: Austin," Songwriting Scene January 11, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Jim Caligiuri, Baseball Song review, Archived August 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine No Depression, issue No. 18, Nov–Dec 1998.
  5. 1 2 "Tom Freund and Matt the Electrician," Archived August 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Zvents.com November 15, 2008.
  6. 1 2 Terry Sawyer, "Asylum Street Spankers + Matt the Electrician," Pop Matters February 25, 2004.
  7. 1 2 Margaret Moser, "Animal Boy review," Austin Chronicle, October 30, 2009.
  8. ↑ Margaret Moser, "Accidental Electrician, Matt Sever's shocking story" Austin Chronicle, June 24, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Playing Mona Lisa", Released October 27, 2000.
  10. ↑ "Eli Stone". TuneFind. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Army Wives". TuneFind. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ Ira Glass, "Got Your Back," This American Life July 25, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "MTE Albums". Matt the Electrician. Retrieved April 1, 2014.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pretenders</span> British-American rock band

The Pretenders are a British-American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers. Following the deaths of Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and Farndon in 1983, the band experienced numerous personnel changes; Hynde has been the band's only consistent member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanci Griffith</span> American singer-songwriter (1953–2021)

Nanci Caroline Griffith was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program Austin City Limits starting in 1985. In 1994 she won a Grammy Award for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asylum Street Spankers</span> Music band

Asylum Street Spankers was an American acoustic blues and roots rock band from Austin, Texas, United States. The band played cover versions of early jazz and comical, often risqué original songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Freund</span> American singer-songwriter

Thomas Hagström Freund is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Freund's music consists of elements of folk rock, americana and alternative rock. Freund met Ben Harper when he was attending Pitzer College in Claremont, California. In 1992 the duo released an album, Pleasure and Pain. Not long after, he joined the alternative country group The Silos as their bassist, and moved to Austin, Texas. He released his debut solo album, North American Long Weekend, in 1998 and has released albums on his own Surf Road Records since 2000. While releasing his own music, Tom has also contributed to albums by artists including Graham Parker, Mandy Moore, and Josh Kelley. Some of his work, including "Copper Moon", appeared on the TV program One Tree Hill, while other songs have appeared on Dawson's Creek and Parenthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centro-Matic</span> American band

Centro-matic was an American band based in Denton, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearwater (band)</span> American indie rock band

Shearwater is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Jonathan Meiburg, a singer-songwriter. The band's music is notable for its imagery based in nature, cerebral yet intimate melodic songs, as well as Meiburg's vocals.

Ana G. Egge is a Canadian/American musician and songwriter.

The Black Swans are an American indie rock band. Jerry DeCicca and Noel Sayre form the core of the band. Their debut, Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? features Milan Karcic, Matt Surgeson, Joe Peppercorn (piano), and Jovan Karcic (drums). The Sex Brain EP features Canaan Faulkner (bass), Chris Forbes, Keith Hanlon, Sarah Jurcyk, and Horace Roscoe. Amy Alwood and Cassie Lewis are also listed as group members. The Black Swans have toured America with such notable indie artists as Okkervil River, Magnolia Electric Company and Early Day Miners. Their 2nd full-length album, Change!, was released on November 6, 2007 by La Société Expéditionnaire on CD and LP. It features the same core band of DeCicca, Sayre, Faulkner, Forbes and Hanlon that appeared on Sex Brain, as well as appearances by Peppercorn on piano and Amy Alwood on backing vocals. It was recorded in Forbes' living room by Hanlon and mixed by Hanlon and DeCicca at Gidget Sound in Columbus, Ohio.

Will Johnson is an American musician, singer-songwriter, author and painter who was the lead singer of the bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel. Called "one of the most prolific artists in American indie rock", Johnson has also released solo records, and is a member of the bands Monsters of Folk, New Multitudes and Overseas, and has also performed as part of the Undertow Orchestra. He is currently a member of Jason Isbell's band, the 400 Unit.

<i>Spiritual Boy</i> 2006 studio album by Ian "Mac" McLagan and the Bump Band

Spiritual Boy is the seventh album by former Small Faces and Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan. The album was intended as a tribute to his bandmate in both groups, singer-songwriter Ronnie Lane, released on what would have been Lane's sixtieth birthday, 1 April 2006, on McLagan's own Maniac Records. Featuring ten tracks either written or co-written by Lane throughout the span of his career as a musician and one written by McLagan for Lane, it was recorded in February and March 2006 at McLagan's Manor, Texas studio, The Doghouse, with his backing group, the Bump Band in tow alongside such guests as famed Austin, Texas disc jockey Jody Denberg.

James MacCarthy is an Irish singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Foxes</span> American indie folk band

Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band currently consists of Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo, and Morgan Henderson. Founding members Pecknold and Skjelset have been the only constants through the group's history, with the former serving as leader and principal songwriter.

Seela Misra is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter residing in Austin, Texas. She was the lead singer of the jazz band TOrcH and is also the back-up singer for Matt the Electrician. Seela is known for an expressive vocal range, "one moment she rasps like a Jersey deli queen, the next she's cooing coquettishly." This is evident in her solo work and when delivering jazz standards with the Jazz Pharaohs or with TOrcH where she has been credited with "unswerving hipness" succeeding where others have failed "in melding her own style with those from the past."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Loebe</span> American singer-songwriter

Rebecca Ann Loebe is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. She has performed and toured with such recording artists as Shawn Colvin, The Civil Wars, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Ellis Paul amongst others. In 2011 she made her international broadcast television debut on The Voice . In addition to being a solo singer she is a founding member of Austin-based band Nobody's Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lex Land</span> American musician

Lex Land is an American singer-songwriter and jazz vocalist from Los Angeles, currently residing in Austin, Texas. She was a contestant on the second season of NBC's singing competition The Voice. Land also fronts three other projects: Moorhaunter, One Big Dark Room, and The Kremer Land Swing Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Forsyth</span> American singer and songwriter

Guy Forsyth is an American blues rock singer and songwriter.

Brannen Temple is a 3 time Grammy Award winning American drummer, who is best known as a drummer for acts like Eric Burdon, Robben Ford, Lizz Wright, Eric Johnson, and currently Ruthie Foster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parker McCollum</span> American musician

Parker Yancey McCollum is an American Americana and country singer-songwriter based in Texas. The owner of PYM Music, he released his first single and EP in 2013; his debut album The Limestone Kid was released on February 24, 2015. The Austin Chronicle gave the release 3.5/5 stars, writing that "it's too early to declare The Limestone Kid debut of the year, but it's already one to beat," and comparing McCollum's music to Charlie Robison's. McCollum and his backing band announced a 2015 tour of Texas in support of the album, performing at events such as RedGorilla Music Fest. McCollum released the EP Probably Wrong: Session One on July 7, 2017, and followed it with Probably Wrong: Session Two on September 8, 2017. The full Probably Wrong album was released on November 10, 2017. His major-label debut album Gold Chain Cowboy was released July 30, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Pence</span> American record producer and drummer

Matthew Louis Pence is an American recording engineer, producer, and drummer. He owns and manages The Echo Lab studio in Denton, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Rose</span>

Buffalo Rose is a modern folk/Americana band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.