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Matt
Nathanson
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Matt Nathanson is my own personal Jesus. With an uncanny ability to grab people's
attention, make them laugh, and get them to travel around the country to see
him perform, Nathanson could easily be a cult leader if the rock star thing
doesn't work out. Whether listening to
a studio CD or a live concert, his music moves people in ways that others
simply can't. After a recent show in
Chicago, Way Cool Music had the chance to sit down and talk with Nathanson
about lost songs, old girl friends, and David Lee Roth.
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Way
Cool:
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At what point did you pick up the 12-string and why?
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Matt
Nathanson: |
My uncle Bernard, when I was in 6th grade, told me to buy a
12-string. That was the guitar that all
the metal guys were using at the time.
Poison's, 'Every Rose has Its Thorn' had come out at that point. It was definitely the way to go.
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WC:
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And your uncle knew about metal?
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MN:
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No, he just thought the 12-string was cool. He definitely was un-metal, Uncle
Bernard! But I was metal, so when he
said 12-string, I was like, "12-string!
Yeah, dude. That's
awesome!"
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WC:
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Is that what you learned on?
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MN:
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Yeah, I learned on that for an acoustic. I didn't buy a 6-string until college. I was a 12-string guy.
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WC:
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During a live show, how far into the set do you know if it's
going to be a good show or a not-so-good show?
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MN:
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Man, it's ever changing.
Tonight I had it and then I didn't have it and then I had it again and
then I didn't have it again. That's
what it felt like. It depends on how
into it I am and how it sounds on stage.
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WC:
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At a show like this (outdoor), how much can you hear?
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MN:
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Tonight, I heard very little because we had no sound
check. My monitors sounded like
poop. And that's why it's hard to gauge
if it's a good set or not. It's hard
for me to feel at ease. It all kinda
depends on things. And with a crowd
this big, too. We're just kind of
getting used to the opening set to crowds this big, so we're kind of feeling
our way.
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WC:
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What kind of routines do you do every day that you're on tour?
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MN:
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Every day that I play shows I always change the strings on
my guitars. Always. And I write setlists kind of, or sketches of
setlists. And I always·. that's about
it I guess. I wish there was something
else to say, a fun ritual, but that's it. Changing the strings helps me get in touch with my guitar. My guitar and myself.
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WC:
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Do you warm up before the set?
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MN:
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No. I just go
out.
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WC:
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How long have you been doing that routine? Has it changed at all over the past couple
of years?
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MN:
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It's been that way for about four years of touring. Pretty boring, I know. Sometimes if I'm feeling pretty proactive,
I'll change the strings now (after the set) for tomorrow. But, since there's no show tomorrow, I'm
just going to fucking chill. But since
I play really hard, if I don't change the strings, they fuckin' break. And there's nothing that will throw a show than breaking a string.
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WC:
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Have you ever lost your voice on tour?
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MN:
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If I don't sleep, I lose my voice. I've learned that if I don't get enough sleep over a couple of
days, my voice starts to get really fried.
If it's a good five or six hours and my voice is fine. But, if I don't sleep, I've found lately
that if it's two or three days of non-stop, it just fucking goes.
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WC:
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And you just play through it?
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MN:
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Oh yeah. There's
only one show that I couldn't sing. I
was really sick, though. It was a
couple of years ago on the Howie (Day) tour and it was in Toronto. I got sick, fucking deathly ill for
months. I was sick for like four
months. It was terrible. It came to its apex in Toronto.
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WC:
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Did you play for those four months?
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MN:
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Oh yeah. I took
nights off, but it was wretched. I was
in terrible shape. Toronto, I remember
clearly sounding like (Bob) Dylan.
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WC:
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Do you do anything else to keep your voice strong?
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MN:
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No, it really is sleep.
I don't drink and I don't do drugs·.
Pussy! Lots of pussy. A lot of tail. That would be so David Lee Roth.
"How do you keep your voice intact?"
"Lots of pussy. And a little bit
of Jack Daniels. I'll sleep when I'm
dead."
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WC:
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Can you describe your song writing process with Mark
(Weinberg)?
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MN:
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Oh! It's pretty much
that I'll write stuff by myself, little ideas, little beginnings of ideas, and
I'll bring them to him and he goes, "What do you have?" And I'll play them and he'll say,
"Wait! I've got this!" And we'll just start vibing off of each
other. Or sometimes we'll sit down cold
and we'll start, maybe, listening to Lita Ford records and I'll say, "Isn't
'Kiss Me Deadly' great?" "Yeah, it's totally great!" "See how the middle 8th does that? We should write a song where the middle 8th
does that." "OK, let's do it!" And then we'll start to pretend we're
writing a Lita Ford song. Totally. 'I Saw' is a Def Leppard song. The chorus is exactly the same as
'Photograph.' It's that kind of
thing. Sometimes I'll come in with
little pieces and he'll help expand on them; other times we'll start from zero.
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WC:
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Do you take to him the lyrics as well, or just the music?
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MN:
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I do all the lyrics myself.
Sometimes I'll talk to him about the phrasing of lyrics in the song, but
I always write them all.
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WC:
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When did you guys meet?
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MN:
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College. |
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WC:
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Does
he do music as well? |
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MN:
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Yeah he's in a band called Gratitude. They just did a record for Atlantic coming
out next year. This kid, Jonah Matranga
(onelinedrawing), is the singer and Mark plays guitar and writes all the songs.
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WC:
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Now, do you do for Mark what he does for you?
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MN:
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No, I'm way too selfish.
It's fun. Sometimes we work
stuff out for him, but not usually. He
and I have a really good time writing songs.
It's like the most fun. And it's
a really special thing for us. So, he's
been writing for his band and he's like, "I can't wait to write with you." It's going to be great. So, we're excited. It'll be fun.
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WC:
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What was the first complete song you ever wrote?
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MN:
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'It Was Only a Dream' written in fifth grade..., sixth grade...,
no! Seventh grade. I played it in front of the assembly. It was really bad.
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WC:
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What's the oldest song you still play?
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MN:
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Probably 'Lost Myself in Search of You,' or 'Continue
Dreaming.' The other night I was
playing in Fort Lauderdale. Most of
'Please' is written about this one girl.
And her roommate from high school, the girl I used to confide in, showed
up at the show in Fort Lauderdale. It
was really weird.
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WC:
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Did you recognize her?
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MN:
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Fuck yeah! I was
like, "Dude, you totally know that song was about _____." And she said, "Totally. You used to play them for me back
then." This girl I gave a friendship
pin to in the third grade and invited her to Friendly's, she hung the phone up
on me. I said, "Do you want to go have
ice cream with me?" And she went,
'click.' She showed up two nights ago
in Boston. I haven't seen her since the
fifth grade. She was like, "How are
things?" She was really nice, but it
was like sweet revenge. She had a wedding
ring on, but didn't mention anything about a husband.
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WC:
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Do you ever feel like, "Look at what you could have had!"?
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MN:
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Not in that sense because I don't think I'm any great
shakes. But, I do feel like, "I bet
you'd like to be with somebody who you think is famous!"
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WC:
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At least famous in their own mind.
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MN:
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In my head, I'm playing in front of 50,000 people. I bet you were with me! So, it's that kind of thing. It was cool. She was super nice, but it was still...
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WC:
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Did she remember she hung up on you? Where's the closure?
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MN:
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We didn't talk about it, but I'm sure she does! And there will be closure!
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WC:
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What's the best collaborative experience you've had?
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MN:
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I would say playing with Matt Chamberlain and David (Garza)
when I made ('Beneath These Fireworks'). That was the most fun because they're my
idols. They just fucking rule. So, that was cool. And Mark and I writing is like the most (fun). When we finished 'I Saw' and 'Bare' and
'Angel' and 'Suspended' because that's the shit.
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WC:
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So when you put out a new album, do you think you're going
to stay with Universal or explore other options?
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MN:
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I don't know the answer to that.
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WC:
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How has it been for you?
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MN:
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Super good people.
Not the most effective. Not the
most effective label on the planet, but we'll see. I don't really care about it actually. I don't really pay that much attention to what they do. I really don't. I pay attention when they fuck up, but I don't pay attention
because I don't really give a shit. I
can't really control it. If they do
their job, they do their job. My job is
to play shows and try to excel at that and excel at writing songs. If I get to play a radio station, to play it
the best I can. And I do feel like I've
held up my part of the bargain, so I just wait for them to do theirs.
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WC:
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So the CD has been out for nine months. When can we expect a new one?
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MN:
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It's going to be a while.
'I Saw' is going to radio now.
It just got added at Alice, which is a big radio station in San
Francisco. So it'll start to take, I
think. We'll be out until December and
I probably won't start to think about making a new record· If the single
doesn't take, then I'll be on the road until December and call it a day. If the single does take and things go really
well, then I'll probably be out all of next year. So, I'd kinda like for the single not to take. I would love that.
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WC:
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What constitutes the single 'taking?'
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MN:
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The song catches on and you start to hear it on the radio
and people react and we do a video and all that stuff.
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WC:
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Have you heard yourself on the radio yet?
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MN:
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A couple of times. I
don't pay attention to that stuff. I
can't get too attached that sort of thing.
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WC:
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Even the first time?
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MN:
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On yeah! That's
always fun! But, after that I don't get
into it.
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WC:
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Do you have any new songs written?
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MN:
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A bunch in the process.
It takes me a long time so I promise myself that I will... like this tour,
I'm writing, and I got little pieces, like six or seven structures of songs.
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WC:
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When will you be home next to work with Mark and finish up?
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MN:
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August. A couple of
weeks in August and we'll get together and bust it out and fuck around. You should hear the tapes. My wife makes fun of me because the tapes
are literally like us playing something we dig and then laughing and being
like, "Oh my God! That's so good!" and
then getting up and hugging each other.
"We nailed that part! Oh my
God!" It's pretty funny.
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WC:
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At least you're taping them.
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MN:
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Dude, you gotta tape them.
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WC:
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We know there are a lot of lost songs out there.
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MN:
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There really are.
Lost moments.
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WC:
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Speaking of which, other than 'Measure for Measure,' which I
know I'll never hear live, what other songs have you decided, "No more."
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MN:
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Most of 'Please,' except 'Hold Me,' which I'll play
occasionally. 'Lost Myself,' 'Continue
Dreaming,' 'Illusions,' 'Harbor,' but the rest of the songs, I'm not
feeling. 'Everything You Say Sounds
Like Gospel' probably won't be popping up any time soon. But, maybe.
I like it, but it's just...
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WC:
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Can you physically still sing and play it?
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MN:
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I don't remember it.
I'd have to listen to it. We did
'Amazing Again' last night. We're
teaching ourselves and we're going to figure it out.
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WC:
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With the band, did you start with a handful of songs?
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MN:
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Yeah, we had 15 songs.
We took three days to rehearse and then played our first show.
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WC:
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What was the process of choosing the band?
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MN:
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David (Garza) recommended, Blu Sanders recommended, and Matt
Chamberlain recommended another guy.
So, I rehearsed with everybody's people, about three different groups of
people and these guys were my favorites.
They're great! And they all know
each other from Austin, so it turned out to be pretty cool.
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WC:
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And
you've had a good time touring with them? |
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MN:
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Yeah! They're really
good human beings. It's great.
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WC:
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What are some of your recent music purchases? We know "New Releases Tuesday" is a big day
for you.
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MN:
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I know. I've skipped
the last three of them because I didn't feel like buying things. The new records I've wanted to buy, I
decided to hold off because I knew when I was on tour, I'd want to buy them.
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WC:
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Like?
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MN:
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The other day I had Beastie Boys 'Check Your Head' in my
hand. I had Bobby Bare Jr. I had Elvis Presley. I had the Cure. What else? I had a bunch
and then put them all back. The new BoDeans. There's just a bunch I'm really excited to
get. I'm actually really excited about
the new Ashlee Simpson record. I think
that single is really catchy. That will
probably be when I go out and buy my next round of records. I kinda have a crush on her.
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WC:
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Yeah? When she went
dark-haired?
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MN:
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Oh yeah! Jesus!
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WC:
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Have you seen her TV show?
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MN:
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Yeah. She's dating
fuckin' Ryan Cabrera!
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WC:
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What's up with that?
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MN:
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It's a long story!
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WC:
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We have a few final questions called '7 Questions.'
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What's the worst job
you've ever had? Oh
my gosh! Office furniture mover. Stacking pallets and fuckin' wrapping them
and breaking down cubicles. That sucked
a fucking dick!
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What's your favorite
movie or lyric quote? I
don't know. There's a lot. That's a heavy question. Bob Dylan has a bunch of them. I mean the entire 'Don't Think Twice, It's
All Right.' That entire song.
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Who would you want to
star in the movie of your life? Oh my
God! I have no idea. David Boreanaz.
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What's your favorite TV
theme song? Hill
Street Blues or Greatest American Hero.
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WC:
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Believe
it or not, I'm walking on air. |
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MN:
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Maybe
Hill Street Blues. |
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If you were a
superhero, what would your name be?
Oh
Jesus..., 'Moody.'
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What do you want to be
when you grow up? Satisfied
with myself.
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Finally, why are there
so many songs about rainbows?
"Cause
of what's on the other side." What the
fuck is that lyric? Rainbows...
Kermit
was a jackass!
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WC:
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You
know it isn't easy being green. |
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MN:
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I
know. It isn't easy running the whole
Muppet Show either! Give me a break! |
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WC:
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Well, thanks Matt!
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MN:
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Take care!
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To find out more information about Matt Nathanson, visit his website at www.mattnathanson.com.
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