Matt White

Take one listen to the music of Matt White and you’re hooked. His songs are relatable—you’ll think of the one who got your heart, the pains and pleasures of growing up and the remarkable journey in discovering just who the heck you are. Drawing inspiration from Elton John, Jeff Buckley, and Coldplay, (He’s like Maroon 5 in one person), Matt White’s self-titled debut marks the arrival of a gifted songwriter who draws from his own experience. Matt delivers a song with a smooth voice that will immediately put the listener at ease.

Music is in Matt’s DNA—his grandmother was among the first jazz orchestra leaders in the 1930s. He grew up in New Jersey and started taking piano lessons when he was three-years-old. Sure, he was a member of the swim and lacrosse teams throughout high school, but it was making music that made him happiest. Being the romantic he is, he followed a girl to the University of Wisconsin where he taught himself to play guitar since he “couldn’t fit a piano” in his room. Upon graduation, Matt returned to his favorite place in the world, New York City, and had a different kind of education. Knowing the streets of the city as well as he knows his own songs, he took his guitar to Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village and Bleeker Street, performing on the sidewalks and in the parks. “I think I always knew deep down I would be a musician but after graduating, I was still trying to figure things out,” he says. “I think everyone around that age does.”

He started playing with local artists in clubs like Joe’s Pub and the Living Room and gradually built up a strong following on the net—he currently has over 50,000 friends on his myspace.com page. Soon after, he signed with Geffen Records and released the EP Bleecker Street Stories. Released in the spring of 2006, Bleecker Street Stories has sold over 40,000 songs on iTunes.

It also only takes one time for you to meet him to know that you already like him. Tell him your name once and he’ll remember it. He cracks jokes and can laugh at himself with a raw honesty that’s refreshing and his album is proof of that.  Getting dumped, being spontaneous are the themes on the album, along with his favorite topic of all: girls. “I fall in love easily and the album is almost like a diary about my different relationships” says Matt.  “My first girlfriend thinks the whole album is about her and she tells everyone that and it drives me crazy. Actually, all the girls I dated think the songs are about them.”

His first single, “Best Days,” is “about a girl, whom I cannot name, who challenged me to go camping—I’m the guy who’d rather sleep in a hotel and watch Spectra Vision,” Matt admits. “So we went but she never called me after that. Maybe my second album will be about abandonment.”

“I’ll Be There” has a darker melody, and the grand piano will remind you of The Fray. “It’s about a girl who wanted to leave me and follow her dreams. It’s a love letter to her telling her I’d be waiting for her,” he says. “But I didn’t stay there,” he pauses.  “Get it?”

The melody to “Miracles” came to Matt one night and the lyrics were inspired by a “very pretty girl who was out of my league,” he says. “So I thought it was a miracle in and of itself that I got her!”

Since Matt spent so much of his youth in New York City, it was inevitable that the people there would have a major influence on his life, hence the song, “New York Girls.” “I felt that all these New York girls were kids that had adult problems and I’m like dude these girls are crazy.”

“Love” is a different and classic love song describing “how crazy and stupid and silly and kind of absurd the whole game of love is.” It was also prominently featured in the 2005 film, Little Manhattan.

Matt’s a doer. He’s played over 100 shows this year alone and hosts weekly online chats. Chances are you’ve already heard his songs on Laguna Beach, One Tree Hill, What About Brian, The Hills, Men in Trees and in the 2005 movie, She’s The Man.  His first single “Best Days” will also be featured on the Shrek the Third soundtrack.  Matt’s “best days” are ahead and chances are once you listen, you will agree.

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1/07
www.geffen.com
www.mattwhitemusic.com