New release from LA-based rock band Lost Sons up now! The Lost Sons twosome are recent transplants from Boston who take their craft seriously. Lights is a driving, pop rock ballad perfect for a long drive up the coast or cool evening in. Check it out now!
Plus, I played drums on it!
It's getting Emo up in here...
This came up as a suggestion for me the other day on Apple Music. I went for it and rode my bike along the beach path in Santa Monica. I time traveled back to high school and ended up screaming lyrics to all my favorite emo jams. Plus, when was the last time you listened to Armor for Sleep? Check it out!
Jamie is on the plane...I am not...
“Excuse me, your dog is sleeping on my carry on bag.” She said with a smile on her face. We both turned to random, blonde, LA woman like the little girl from The Exorcist and she shut the hell up.
We had been in the airport for 11 hours. We had slept at LAX on a cold, marble floor. Our bodies hurt. Our eyes red and felt as if they were going to explode from exhaustion. Our hair was greasy and stuck up in every direction, we looked awful, disheveled and smelly. We had missed 3 flights in a row due to cancellations, and now being stuck in the airport was cutting into our vacation time. Not cool.
We had our dog, Piper, with us which added an additional layer of stress. It is one thing worrying about ourselves, but now Piper’s Benadryl was wearing off and she was running amuck. Piper is an 8 pound, brown and blonde haired, scrappy asshole of a dog. I love her. She gets into everything, likes to eat trash and make bed-nest out of whatever is around that you don’t want her making a bed-nest out of…such as other people carry on bags, jackets and neck pillows. She collects them, takes them under whatever piece of furniture she can find and makes a nest. In our current situation, she found a bench in our terminal and was happily making her bed. We didn’t care, we were too tired.
The next flight was boarding and we were waiting to see if we could make it on. Piper, who was now licking some little kids face and barking at things, had to be put back into her travel carry bag just in case we made it on the flight. This is always a scene because she fights like hell against Jamie and I as one of us holds open the bag and one tries to shove her in. “Oh, she’s fine, this is completely normal!” Jamie yells to disturbed onlookers over Piper’s screaming barks, and waves them off with a smile. “Going to Philadelphia? I like your shirt!” Jamie adds for good will.
“Okay, if only one of us gets on you go first and just take all this shit with you.”We discussed as I point to all our bags. “That way everything will just be in Philly when I get there and I will only have to worry about walking on a plane, you will have tons of help at the airport when you land.” Both of our families were anxiously waiting for us on the other side of the US in Philadelphia for our arrival. She would have plenty of help to carry all the bags and Piper.
The plane boarded and was about to take off. We did not get on. This was the fourth flight in a row that we were not able to get on. The gate door to the plane was closing, solidify the defeating feeling in my gut that we were still stuck in LAX. Just as it was about to shut the gate agent busted through the door. “We have ONE SEAT AVAILABLE, which of you wants to go! Now!” We had our plan and I helped Jamie gather our things and got her on the plane. I watched it take off. Scared for her, but a little relieved that one of us was going home. Now it is time to get my ass on a plane.
The adventure in LAX continues…
-YourFriendMatt
Look at her red eyes...this is where we slept...these chairs are super comfy...
"I wonder if we'll ever get the hell out of here?" I stated in uncertainty staring at the clock, begging it to go faster.
It was almost 4am and we had slept in the cold LAX airport on black and while marble floor. Very comfortable and accommodating. At this point a cardboard box on a heating grate in New York would be the Ritz Carlton. Jamie and I stared at each other coldly, hating each other, damp sweat and anxiety poured over us. Silence. We just want to get out of here. "This sucks." Was a common response to our deliriously back and forth conversation as we tried to keep our spirits up.
The clock stuck 3:45am and we packed up out makeshift bedding of carry-on items. With all the strength we could muster, we gathered our bags, which seemed to weight a billion pound now. We had to get through security. Rounding the corner for TSA we could see everyone was already in line. Another 40 minutes later we were there. The first time we went through security check the day before they pulled Jamie aside to rip her bag apart. She had a camera and a bottle of perfume she forgot to take out that set off certain alarm...and I guess she looked like a terrorist. Just for fun, I took her bag and left the exact same camera and perfume in there, we had time and I wanted to see what would happen. We made it through security without any trouble. Feeling safe at the airport yet? Same objects in the bag, no security stopped us. Wow.
We made it to our gate. We still had another hour to see if we were going to make it out. We are flying standby so there is no guarantee. We got coffees through the endless line at the only Starbucks in our terminal, returning to stare at the clock again.
The plane started boarding. Our building anticipation deflated as the gate agent announced over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to begin boarding our nonstop flight to Philadelphia. This is a full flight and all passengers are checked in. We have a full flight. We will not have room for everyone's carry-on bags, if you have a roller bag, please bring it up now to get it checked."
"Welp, we aren't getting out on this one. Maybe we can take a nap." I said, sipping my shitty airport Starbucks. We made a new carry-on baggage bed and laid out watching the happy passengers board their plane tipping our coffees to them. The plane took off and we waved them goodbye.
"When's the next one?" Jamie asked, pulling out her neck pillow and eye mask. "Oh, I don't know, another 2 hours?" I responded. We took a nap and waited it out...
-YourFriendMatt
Photo: Roger Ramirez - IG: @rawgerrrphotos
In a time when people are using Tinder for last minute hook-ups and free pizza, one SoCal DIY band is using the dating app to build a tangible fan base conveniently co-located to their live show circuits. I stumbled upon these guys while surfing Tinder (I had just come out of a serious relationship, don’t judge!). The profile of a faceless (and probably) cute guy in a sharp graphic tee with an adorable puppy peaked my interest. Sold, swipe right. Admittedly, I didn’t read the bio until after they started messaging me about what sort of music I’m into. Once I realized it was a band, I had to meet up with them to get the inside scoop on their music and why they were using dating apps with ulterior motives.
I met up with Christian (Drums) and Danny (Guitar). The explain it has been Christian’s idea to join Tinder as a band while brainstorming ways get their name out to more local fans. Their fan base has been spread through other countries and states from Youtube traffic and other social media campaigns, but how to get more LA folks was the new mission. Tinder was a perfect way to connect with fans locally and increase attendance at their shows.
Dating sites and musicians both have a proven track record of bringing out a few crazies (sorry mom!). As a result of their Tinder fan-scouting, they have invited some intense fans. “There was one fan that showed up by surprise, and drove about an hour and a half to see us,” they told me. “She was very persistent on trying to hang out with one of us after the show, and several times after that night.” The girl has since backed off, but there’s bound to be a few more as they continue to grow in popularity.
The band name (which can be Googled - PAPERFOX - all one word) was actually inspired by the Thrice song “Paper Tigers." They don’t mind sharing their name with girly shoes, though (now Google PAPER FOX - 2 words). “It's amazing! Hope they start making men's shoes so we can rock them during our shows.”
While this band isn’t a first for any of these guys, their roles in PAPERFOX have given them new challenges. Their singer, Richard, had previously been a drummer until they couldn’t seem to find the right singer to front the band. Danny suggested Richard try singing and as you can see he turned out to have a great voice, so it’s worked out so far!
Check out the bands melodic, indie-rock EP Dreamcatcher here now!
This weeks playlist is a throw back to some mainstream punk classics. From The Offspring to Green Day (obviously) this list of songs set the tone for a short, neighborhood jog. If my 17 year old self could see the suburbanite I've become he would be pissed. Go listen and enjoy!
I have 10 minutes to get the next blog out. I promised myself I would post something once a week for a year. I am currently losing sleep, have no idea when I can get on the next plane back to what I call home. Traveling is a blessing. Getting stuck in airports and dealing with traveling is not. During an 8 day vacation I spent 3 days in the airport.
First picture I took when I landed almost 40 hours in airports...at least I am home!
"I left Thursday and I arrived on Saturday. It's only an hour flight. So, no. No. I am not okay." I said to the gate agent.
Over the last few days I got stuck in LAX trying to get home to see my family for a summer vacation. What we thought was going to be a relaxing trip home turned into 3 days of hell in the airport.
My mother works for the airlines so we fly for basically free. I know, I know. First world problem, right? Anyway, we arrived at the airport Thursday night and expected to jump right on the next flight. This is how it has always worked out and I have never had a problem. Sure, I have missed a flight here or there, but have never spent more that a few hours in an airport. Well, I guess all that good luck ran out because not only did we miss the flight we attended to get on, we miss the next one also.
We had our dog with us and decided to take her out to the baggage claim area, it's not fair to her to hold it while we sit in the airport all night, right? We gather our various, humungous, bags and made our way out to baggage claim. when we to back in TSA looked at us like we were idiots. "Oh, Hey Baby!" The overweight wig-sporting TSA agent squawked at us, "You can't go through here, no sir, we are closed until 4 am, we will see you in the morning baby!" She pointed to the clock that indicated it was 12:15am. We could not get back to our gate for another 4 hours.
It didn't make sense for us to travel 45 minutes back home, to get an hour an a half of sleep to just get up at 2 am to make it back to LAX. So. The bench next to the airport exit door is where we set up shop and made our bed for the night on top of our baggage.
To be continued...
-YourFriendMatt
Let's travel back. Way back. All the way back to high school and the emotional tunes that shaped our route to art class. This playlist has it all. Sunny Day Real Estate? Check. Dashboard? Check. The Promise Ring?! Check. Sit back and enjoy!
I don't know why but it seems crazy people are attracted to me. Recently I was sitting on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean working on some ideas. With my Moleskine in tow, I paced, trying to figure out a personal problem. I sat down and stared at the sea when a squirrelly transient took a seat next to me. A short, "Hey" squeaked out of him as I awkwardly turned his direction. "You know there are plenty of benches around here." Rolled through my head but all I got out was a short responsive, ”Hey.”
"Want to write something with me?" He asked as I looked around for a camera filming us. This had to be a set up. He coughed, ”Look, you already have a book. Let's write." I mean, I guess he made sense. I took off my sunglasses and replied "Okay. What do you want to write?” I was in a fun mood. What the hell else did I have to do? This guy was brought into my life for some reason right? Let's figure it out. This opened can of worms that lead to a pretty fun story. He started telling me about the marines that were 100 yards off-shore, underwater, ready for us when we “disobey” and that the Santa Monica Pier wasn’t a pier at all but a portal to another dimension. “So, you want to write a Sci-Fi Thriller?” I responded. “Listen, man! Don’t get caught!” He barked and rose from the seat running away looking through me, as if I was a demon…or there was one behind me.
Something like this happens to me at least two times a month. I guess I just have that welcoming "I am just as bat shit crazy as you are" look about me.
Remember. Don’t get caught.
-YourFriendMatt
This is one year old today. The point of this was to make a short less than 3 minutes and still tell a story. We did that.
Enjoy!
-YourFriendMatt.
And...I'm drunk...
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to play drums on the Santa Monica Pier. This was definitely on my bucket list and I checked it off. The added bonus to the night was that Bud Light happened to be in the bar and picked up my tab, then bought my girlfriend and I's beers all night. Then they filmed me responding to whatever they asked me. Safe to say that I am drunk in the video above but I think they planned that...
This video is available on the Bud Light website...my mom is probably so proud...
-YourFriendMatt
Over the next few weeks I will be posting some of the short films I have been lucky enough to work on. Making these were some of the best times of my life. It blows my mind how lucky I am that I work with so many talented people who let me call them my friends.
This was filmed shortly after I moved to Los Angeles. My buddy Chris called me to tell me he was in Las Vegas and had an idea. One bus fare, a few cocktails, lost footage, a red sports car and a totaled Ford Explorer later...and we had this.
Enjoy!
-YourFriendMatt
This one time Disneyland retweeted me drinking whiskey to 15,000 people...
It is rare that Jamie and I get time to hang with our schedules being so hectic but we recently had a chance to do an overnight at Disneyland. We were having a cocktail before heading to the park and I guess Disneyland liked the photo I posted and tweeted it back to me with a little Pixie Dust.
I'd like to think Walt would approve of this.
Thanks Tink!
Who doesn't love a free pair of cheap sunglasses...
Jamie and I were sitting at the bar enjoying our time off together when I heard "Hey, can I buy you a drink?" I turned to see a petite girl standing there.
Another great night of playing music was in the books. We played the Santa Monica pier overlooking the beach, waves and Malibu. We had finished our set and were done loading out our gear. Everyone was heading their separate ways as the night winded down. I still had an open tab at the bar so Jamie and I decided to stay for a drink before we headed home. While we sat to watched the next band finishing our drinks a red-lipped, 20-something bar-girl approached us and asked to buy us drinks. "Hell yeah!" I said without skipping a beat. Jamie looked confused and the girl picked up on it. "I work for Bud Light and we are out sponsoring a new promotion. You guys look adorable so enjoy!" And she scampered away as fast as she had appeared. I, already perusing the beer list, found myself an IPA and Jamie shrugged and ordered a Bud Light.
We finished the drinks and we were about to close out to head home. Bud Light girl reappeared again like a beer-fairy-god-mother. "One more on us for these two!" She said and handed us free coozies and blue, Bud Light sunglasses. "One thing though, can we get a picture of you two and possibly ask you a question?" She asked as I replied with, "If you're buying I'll tell you whatever you want!" Throwing on the sunglasses and striking a pose for their camera guy. As it turns out I guess they are running a promotion for summer bucket lists and wanted to know if there was anything crazy that we wanted to accomplish before the end of the summer. “Damn.” I replied “You going to be here for a while? I will need to think about this.” My mind exploding with options of insane things I could do with Bud Lights money funding it.
Buzzed Summer Bucket List Bar Brain Storming Session:
My drunken brain went with the last option, as I thought this was the most feasible, as we ran to find the Bud Light girl. They did a video recording of my wish on some tablet and submitted it to their database. “Yes. Score. Totally having lunch with Dr. Emmett L. Brown.” I whispered and we staggered away feeling victorious.
Remember, if someone asks to pick up your bar tab, always let them.
I wonder if that tablet video is online somewhere?
-YourFriendMatt
Laughter. The best medicine.
"Well, shit." As I turned the key and the engine sputtered. Then died.
It was a great night. A fantastic night. I achieved another goal. I checked something off my bucket list. I have played two different House of Blues locations. Once at the House of Blues in Atlantic City playing with Run DMC (yeah, seriously. I have pictures to prove it) and now playing the House of Blues in Los Angeles (where I met Blues Brother himself, Dan Aykroyd. I don't have pictures to prove it. Just believe me).
Most people think being in a band must be glamours. But actually unless you are friggin' Coldplay you are driving for more than half the time and getting made fun of by security when no one is around. And broke, almost always, but for some reason I keep coming back for more. The show was over and everyone had left. Sweaty and tired we loaded out our gear through a half-ass service elevator with each trip, which should have been a few moments at most, taking about 15 minutes.
After what felt like forever we were finally done and I was tried. We said our goodbyes and ran to get in my car to drive home. Whipping my keys out as fast as possible I jumped in the drivers seat and turned the ignition. Nothing. The sound of you car not starting, that almost-going-to-start-clicking noise, made me feel like the car was laughing at me. "Oh, you wanna go home? Well, I guess you shouldn't have left the headlights on the entire time you were loading out your gear! Moron! Ha-Ha!" My car whispered to be as the clicking played on. "Fuck you, car!" I yelled back as Jamie turned from the passenger seat to asked who I was talking too. "Uh, nobody." Having been caught talking to an intimate object but still turned back to the engine to flip it off.
Luckily one of the other bands that night was loading out and their girl singer/bass player was a mechanic. Sure? Why not. The security laugh at me as I accidentally touch the positive and negative ends of the jumper cables while sparks flew and I jumped (and screamed like a little girl).
Huge thanks to Jason at PopCultureRenegades for jumping me and our new friend, bass player mechanic girl!
Yep. We are adults.
This is adulthood. Sometime we have to pay bill or make tough decisions, but I try to get that done as fast as possible and get back to acting like a 5 year old. Recently we took a trip to visit friends in San Francisco. We did the tourist type things and when we finally made it to the Golden Gate. We did actually take a nice photo under the bridge but these are always the best ones to share. You know it is love when taking a silly photo is the first thing you guys want to do together...and being forced to take a nice picture is an afterthought people have to persuade you to do.
Can't wait to do this in front of the Mona Lisa...
A new world of possibilities...
I recently received my Apple Watch in the mail and I am already in love with it. Judge away. I tried to explain to a friend how important my tech is to me and he elegantly looked to the sky paraphrasing the Rifelman’s Creed, “This is my watch. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” Then he gave a salute. Insanity aside, I feel this accurately depicts how I feel about my tech. I know, I know, everyone is wondering why you need it or what the hell these things actually do. I guess I am an early adopter. I have been using it as a fitness tracker, which is something I never thought I would do. I have also replied to messages, viewed emails and stayed up-to-date with news all by raising my wrist. I don't even know where my phone is right now, I am doing everything from my arm. Apple Watch is pretty friggin' awesome. But, besides all the formal things you can do with it. What about some of those informal things you can do with it? Well, here you go, these are some of the informal things I do with my watch.
New vehicle to send phallic drawings.
Dick pics for days...
What is the first thing I did when I turned on my watch? Send a penis drawing to anyone I could. I don’t care, I know I am not a kid anymore, but dick and fart jokes will never get old. Period.
Taking calls in the shower.
Gotta take this..
Why not? It’s 2015, why shouldn’t I be able to take a phone call or respond to a text while exfoliating my face? This is one of the weirdest things I am getting used to. Sure, you don’t have to take your watch in the shower, but I figured screw it, I am.
Running my metronome.
And it stayed on my wrist...
This is actually pretty productive. I mean, sending a phallus to your friends for fun is great too. I recently played with my friends in Lost Sons at the House of Blues in LA (and met Dan Aykroyd!). I play to a metronome in my in-ear monitors to create a consistent set. I ran the entire show from my wrist, changing tempos with my metronome app, cleverly named Metronome from my wrist. Green sports band and everything.
As more and more of these hit the market and more and more apps hit the Watch App store I am sure we will see even more weird shit people are doing with their wearable tech. I am an app junkie and always looking for new ones. Evidently there is a spin-the-bottle watch app, another watch app to track your moles, along with a Whack-a-Mole app (your choice), and even a Magic 8 Ball watch app. Here's to the future, if you need me, you can call me...in the shower.
Will today be a good day?....Thanks Magic 8 Ball...
-YouFriendMatt
Don't mind that "no trespassing" sign...
"Do those signs say no trespassing?" I whispered. "Well, I mean, it can't be trespassing if I am just walking down the street right?"
A few years ago I hated technology, couldn't stand it. (Honestly, still not the biggest fan). The thought of typing on a keyboard and the frustration that comes when your computer isn't doing exactly what you want it to do in 10 seconds was enough for me to stay completely away from them. I had a dumb phone and I thought the internet was an evil place, mainly because I didn't understand it. And I was right...the internet can be an evil, dark, weird, scary place if you look in the wrong spots, you weirdo's. That all sort of changed when I got my first iPhone a few years back. The ease of use and craftsmanship that came went into every feature, button and app hooked me. I guess I drank the Kool-Aid and became a part of the worldwide cult.
Last weekend Jamie and I went up to San Francisco to visit with some friends and venture around a new city we haven't explored. We took he scenic route up the Pacific Coast Highway along the golden pacific coast on our way. It added about 3 hours to our trip so on our way back we decided to take the direct route back to Los Angeles. One scenic drive, and 8 hours in a car accompanied by our small dog, is enough for any road trip. Typically when we are driving around America, especially in a new city, we will do some research to see if there are any off-the-beaten-track attractions for us to check out. When we were driving through Cupertino on our way home, we used the RoadTrippers app to see if there was anything around that we could check out quickly for fun and get back on the road. "Steve Jobs Childhood Home" was the first thing that populated and it was .05 miles from us on the highway. So, we pulled over to check it out.
I guess they had just wrapped up filming for the latest Jobs' movie because the small town was still in a buzz, but there were not cameras or film crews to be seen. As we pulled onto the neighborhood street I couldn't help but think "This is just a regular neighborhood." I guess when things seem bigger than life you expect them to be this grand experience. But, all the world's most famous people, leaders or your role models...are just that, people. They all came from some neighborhood somewhere.
We did a quick drive-by of the house and there we signs all over the street and front yard stating the house is under "surveillance" and "no photo please." Pfft. I can't help it if I take a photo from the street and your house happens to be in the background. We quickly jumped out of the car, ran down the street, got into position, snapped the photo and ran away like we had just played ding-dong-ditch (that game you play as a kid ringing someones doorbell, running away as fast as possible and then hiding behind something to see if they answer the door, such fun). Jamie took a bunch of great pictures and obviously in this day and age where instant gratification is a must we reviewed them while sitting in the car before we took off from this quiet neighborhood.
I love traveling and I love my phone. I use this technology to stay in touch with my family across the country. It's friggin' awesome.
Remember, when there is a sign that says don't take photos, pretend like you didn't see it.
Photo: Stallions
It's officially summer. I don't know about you but when summer hits I want nothing more than the sun, the beach and some flawless, poppy jams. Luckily, I did not have too look to far to discover the new single "Still Chasing" by rock foursome Stallions. "Still Chasing" is a sample from what we can expect from the bands new EP due out in July, One Track Mind. "Still Chasing" opens up with a effortlessly, upbeat tempo and leads to an undeniable chorus that gets stuck in your head until you are screaming it over and over again. We had a chance to catch up with Stallions recently to see what is going on.
YFM: Your new EP One Track Mind took a year and half to finish, what was different from this writing process than prior releases?
Stallions: This was the first album that we all wrote the music together. One of us would come to practice with a riff or idea and then we would expand on it as a group. We would record a quick demo of that song and Andrew would write lyrics and a melody to it. After getting the principle tracks done for the album Shane and I [Steve] spent a ton of time programming drums and writing keyboard parts for the songs.
YFM: Any plans to hit the road to support One Track Mind?
Stallions: We are hoping to build enough buzz to make touring a viable option. We already have a tour bus!
YFM: What can we expect from Stallions in the next year?
Stallions: We will be recording another music video in the next couple months for "Five More Steps." One of the other songs from One Track Mind. We would love to be able to make this our careers.
Give the new track "Still Chasing" a listen and look for Stallions in a town near you soon. One Track Mind will not disappoint. The musicianship, the voice and the good summer vibes are all accounted for and ready to take over your summer speakers. Stallions are here. Check them out now!
For Stallions info click here!
