As I mentioned over the weekend, I have been completely enthralled lately by the newest release from Austin singer/songwriter Matt Sever, AKA Matt the Electrician. While this is Matt's seventh official release (including EP's and live recordings), and while I've seen his name pop up in numerous places in the blog world over the last couple of years, Accidental Thief is my first introduction to his music. I should have come on board sooner. For those of you like me, who weren't too familiar with his music or his story, here's a brief primer [...]
I've found myself quite mesmerized lately by the new release from Matt the Electrician. It's called Accidental Thief , and it really is quite stunning. Here's the title track... ...and the first official video from the album... ...finally, the title track from Matt's previous record Animal Boy .
Austin's Matt Sever really is an electrician. But like so many of us who struggle with a day job, he has an artist's heart and a poet's soul. So, he's made some truly beautiful music. I can't tell you how much I'm digging the simplicity here: Banjo, guitar, gentle voices, and moving lyrics. I don't get a whole lot of submissions like this. This is possibly one of the best albums of the year. TOUR DATES: May 30th - The Saxon Pub [...]
Everyone knows that it's a very lucky few who get to make a living playing music. For the rest, music may be an all encompassing passion, but when push comes to shove, you still gotta pay the bills. We at MOKB really dig featuring these musical moonlighters, and today we're tipping our hat to Matt the Electrician . Yes kiddies, Matt Sever is a real live electrician, who also just so happens to be one great devil of a songwriter. In fact, since 1998, this wizard of wiring has self-released 6 studio records, 2 [...]
SHOCKING! MATT THE ELECTRICIAN TO RELEASE 7th ALBUM "ACCIDENTAL THIEF" JUNE 14 ** "All I Know" video premiers on Baeble Music today! ** "…songs wrapped around rootsy arrangements so casually perfect that you'll need a twelve step group to dislodge your ears from the sheer pleasure." - Sing Out! Magazine Once upon a time, there was a young man named Matt Sever. He lived in Austin, TX, and worked as a journeyman electrician. Every morning, when it was still dark outside, he would go to work and wire [...]
No one does pre-school fundraisers quite like Austin: this Friday at the Primavera Montessori campus, you can see both Matt the Electrician and Eliza Gilkyson performing under the stars. Bring a picnic...apps, drinks, desserts provided. I feel confident saying you won't hear better music at a preschool event all year. 7-10 pm Friday April 1st, 1934 Berkeley Avenue, more details here .
No time for a full SXSW update but I did want to share these amateurish video's I took of Sam Baker, Danny Schmidt, Storyhill, Matt The Electrician, and Slaid Cleaves from various showcases. Although the quality may be lacking the songwriting and emotion behind the songs does come through. Danny Schmidt - " Serpentine Cycle of Money " Untitled from craig bonnell on Vimeo . Sam Baker - "Mennonite" Untitled from craig bonnell on Vimeo [...]
by teepoo L.L. Bean Matt the Electrician - Got Your Back Nike- Destiny Wolf Like Me- TV on the Radio Chevrolet Cruze Janelle Monae- Tight Rope (feat. Big Boi)
I'm liking this idea of revisiting unheralded but important records I have reviewed in the recent past (see earlier posts on Corin Raymond and Chris Coole ). Today's update is about everyone's favorite Austin singer songwriter Matt The Electrician . I've been a fan of Matt's for awhile and I knew he was a big deal in Austin, but had no idea of his success in that city so full of musicians and singers. At SXSW I was flipping through the Austin Chronicle's music issue with their annual Austin Music Awards and Matt [...]
Dylan, Etc's Top 40 Albums of 2009 Part 2: #1-20 A Memphis punk who relieves himself onstage. A Somalian rapper who describes his country's civil war in blood-curdling detail. A mysterious group of ABBA wannabes about whom nothing is known save a few cryptic videos. All these artists produced some of this year's best albums. Yesterday we counted down #21-40 of the Top 40 Albums of 2009, but those were [...]
Harps come up a lot when talking about rock and roll. In the mid-'60s Bob Dylan brought the harp to the masses. The harp was soon adopted from everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Stevie Wonder. Currently, younger groups like Wilco to My Morning Jacket are bringing the harp mantle to a new generation. This isn't surprising – pick a harp in the right key and there are no bum notes! If you haven't already figured it out, this is the mouth harp we're talking about, the harmonica. When writing about rock music, the [...]
We liked the story of Matt The Electrician, which we got from his website."Once upon a time, there was a youg man named Matt Sever. He lived in Austin, TX, and he worked as a journeyman electrician. Every morning, when it was still dark outside, he would go to work, and wire houses all day long in the blistering Texas heat. When he would come home, again, it was dark outside. And then, sometimes,
Matt The Electrician is an all around great dude. You'll hear that from his friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. He's also a pretty great songwriter and instrumentalist. Unlike some artists that release dozens of records but never show you their true face, on Animal Boy , Matt leaves no personal or autobiographical stone unturned. It's all in there for the good of the song and I suppose Matt's sanity. Even the cover songs are used to relay Matt's heartfelt emotions and made his own like on "Faithfully" where he pledges lifelong fidelity to his lover. Or [...]
What with finals coming up, I've fallen behind on my feedreader, and just today discovered Heather's notice of Before the Goldrush , an amazing new covers compilation to benefit Teach for America . The digital-only release includes a huge set of new-generation, predominantly indie-folk artists paying tribute to the singer-songwriters of the sixties and seventies who laid the foundation for their own success. As an inner city teacher and a coverfolk blogger, I cannot recommend a better way to support the totality of the things I love. [...]
It's shocking that when I do a search on Elbo.ws for an artist that I've written about in the past and discover that I'm still the only one to have profiled the band. Jonathan Byrd is one such artist. He's a known commodity in the Americana world but apparently that doesn't translate well into the blog world. His most recent record delved into his southern roots and is titled The Law And The Lonesome . Jonathan describes it thusly: "The ghost of Townes Van Zandt meets Hank Williams [...]
i know it's only Tuesday, and i'm supposed to be workin' on my online class. But i got fever, and the only perscription is....... New Digs . But seriously folks, i've gotten my hands on a bunch of new tunes the last couple of weeks. Enough to do a installment today and Friday, and still have some left over. After 5 long years, i'm finally getting my Aggie Ring on Friday, so we'll see how much time i have for [...]
Want to hear a music blogger's wet dream? Here it is: An artist that you love emails you out of the blue announcing a new song from an as yet unnamed new release. They kind of like your blog and would like you to have an exclusive. If that's OK with you. Um....yeah. This is what happened recently when I received an email from Austin singer-songwriter Matt The Electrician . That said it'd all be irrelevant if the song didn't cut it. "Got Your Back" does. [...]
Attention to you Californians, Oregonians and Tucsonians.... Matt the Electrician is coming to your area in the next couple of weeks, and you should go out and support this talented singer/songwriter from Austin. Matt kicked off his swing through the West here in Phoenix earlier this week. Derek (my buddy of 25 years) and I headed down to the Rhythm Room to check it out, and possibly tip back a couple of cocktails. Matt's tools of the trade for the evening were an acoustic guitar for most songs, and a shortened banjo for a [...]
I've been spending a good amount of time with Matt the Electrician . No, my marriage is not in jeopardy. Matt the Electrician is Matt Sever, a singer / guitarist / songwriter from one of America's music hubs, Austin, Texas. Matt has been playing his gigs and building his fan base since the late 90's. His latest CD, One Thing Right , is a clever, melodic ride through the neo-folk alt-country landscape. His bio likens his voice to "a young Paul Simon wrapped around a Tom Waits heart." I dig his voice. It has a nice light [...]
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