Interview with Matt Nathanson - December 7 - Charlotte, NC

Have you been playing since you were a child?

I started playing when I was in sixth grade, guitar….and I had a really great teacher in this boarding school in Massachusetts, they kind of shipped me away, and I had this great K-shaped red electric guitar. I learned to play Poison songs and Bon Jovi songs, note for note, and just kinda went from there, and it was just me being that kid that just played bad metal songs. At a certain point, I got influenced by my teachers, and they started talking to me about Suzanne Vega and 10,000 Maniacs and the Indigo Girls and those kinds of bands, in ninth or tenth grade. I've always loved U2, and my playing has always involved U2 songs and metal songs, and learning lyrics and songs, and realizing that you don't have to have cheesy lyrics, then I started playing acoustic guitar because of the Indigo Girls and I've just been playing ever since.

Speaking of your guitar, it's simply gorgeous, and there has to be a story behind it. Have you always played a 12-string?

Yeah, I bought a 12 string as my first acoustic guitar and it's been with me ever since. It's my one constant. I have a six string that I use when I break strings and stuff, but the 12-string is like my buddy. I use the six string when I write and for recording, but the 12 string , it just feels really comfortable live. I've started to put Super-Glue on the top to keep it from splintering.

You grew up in Massachusetts, and now you're on the west coast?

I grew up in Massachusetts, went to high school in New Hampshire and moved to Southern California for college, and Northern California to live.

What inspires you to write the way that you do?

I'm inspired by inspiring art, like whether it be amazing films or something really cheesy, like a Dawson's Creek episode, or a great movie. Just when art is done really well, it just inspires me to want to be a part of that whole thing. I get so ramped up when a song hits me, or when a lyric hits me, or when a movie hits me. That's like the fuel that keeps me going, and it's not like I think that I can do that, I just want to be a part of it. It's like, "I just want to get in this. This is great. I can write songs. Let me do this." It just fires me up.

Are all your songs really about ex-girlfriends?

Pretty much. They're all about the same neuroses or baggage, that sort of stems from not feeling confident and always sort of being like the second fiddle, or fifth fiddle, or ninth fiddle… I didn't have a very good go at things, and I don't necessarily let things go, it's something that I need to work on. I carry me baggage with me proudly. I feel like a late bloomer in terms of maturity, so I'm still carrying a lot of my crap, and that's usual where the songs come from, some sort of thing like that.

You have an amazing fan base. We've watched fans follow you from state to state to see you play. How does that make you feel?

Seeing them every night, it's just killer….every night. I don't get to the southeast very often, so it's really great of them to do that. It's fun.

Are you the kind of musician that loves being on the road, or is it more of hazard of the job for you?

No….I love every part of my job, but I still find a way to complain. I'm just a complainer. So things are the best they can possibly be, and I love touring. I'm a little bit exhausted but it's a blast. Even when it goes wrong, most of the time it's still a blast. Even when I'm at this point in the tour, where I've been doing it for so long, I need things to go better than they usually go in order to stay sane. In DC, I was kind of at the end of my rope, and there are moments, but I have a great time and a great life. And when I'm able to appreciate it, when I'm able to pull my head out of my ass, I really, really appreciate it. And I really appreciate when my head's up my ass, but it feels just a little more uncomfortable.

If you weren't a musician, what would you be doing?

A teacher, probably….English. I was an English major, and I love well-written poetry, short stories, books…it kills me. It's just a great medium. I'm a really big fan of Raymond Carver and Richard Ford - people that write amazingly well. I love it.

Who are some musicians out now that you admire?

I'm a huge fan of Emm Gryner. She lives in Los Angeles, and she's Canadian. She's one of the only ones out there that consistently puts out records that blow my mind. I just love her songwriting. Other people that I think of fantastic - Blu Sanders, I've played with him a lot lately, and I really like his songs. Jump Little Children are sort of ahead of their time, and I don't know if time will ever catch up to them. I think that they are an amazing band. If they had come up in the 80's, around the time of REM, they would have been great, and REM just sort of blazed the trail. They are so eclectic and mesmerizing, it's just such a great experience to watch them.

Thanks so much for spending this time with us, Matt!!

My pleasure…..hope to see everyone soon!!