Matt Nathanson

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.

Way Cool: 

At what point did you pick up the 12-string and why?

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.

WC:

And your uncle knew about metal?

MN:

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!"

WC:

Is that what you learned on?

MN:

Yeah, I learned on that for an acoustic.  I didn't buy a 6-string until college.  I was a 12-string guy.

WC:

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?

MN:

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.

WC:

What kind of routines do you do every day that you're on tour?

MN:

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.

WC:

Do you warm up before the set?

MN:

No.  I just go out.

WC:

How long have you been doing that routine?  Has it changed at all over the past couple of years?

MN:

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.

WC:

Have you ever lost your voice on tour?

MN:

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.

MN:

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.

WC:

Do you take to him the lyrics as well, or just the music?

MN:

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. 

WC:

When did you guys meet?

MN:

College.

WC:

Does he do music as well?

MN:

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.

WC:

Now, do you do for Mark what he does for you?

MN:

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.

MN:

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.

WC:

Do you ever feel like, "Look at what you could have had!"?

MN:

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!"

WC:

At least famous in their own mind.

MN:

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...

WC:

Did she remember she hung up on you?  Where's the closure?

MN:

We didn't talk about it, but I'm sure she does!   And there will be closure!

WC:

What's the best collaborative experience you've had?

MN:

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.

WC:

So when you put out a new album, do you think you're going to stay with Universal or explore other options?

MN:

I don't know the answer to that. 

WC:

How has it been for you?

MN:

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.

WC:

So the CD has been out for nine months.  When can we expect a new one?

MN:

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.