Album Notes

Matthew grew up in the Pacific North West. He started taking guitar lessons when he was 7 and sang in the boy’s choir for the Portland Opera Company when he was 12. He began writing folk music in college in the mid 60’s and sang with Duke Ellington in the early 70’s. He formed a band that played the Benson Hotel in Portland, OR, The Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, The Olympic & Washington Plaza Hotels and Rosario Resort in Washington. In 1980 Matthew was hit by a drunk driver and lost the strength and control of his left hand. Although he continued to write songs it took years of work before he could play again. The “The Journey” is Matthews first CD. It took 10 years to the day to complete it. If you have ever dreamed of having the world hear your music then take a moment and listen to “Street Musician”.

Just a little bit about production:

“A Child”, “Written On The Rails”, “Listen”, “Nobody Loves My Baby”, “Street Musician”, “Eyes of A Poet” & “If I Were A Carpenter” were recorded & mixed at CedarHouse Studios just outside Nashville, TN by four time Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Johnny Pierce. Johnny also played guitar and bass and sang backup for me. Sadly we lost a great talent when Johnny passed away in December of 2005. The quality of the sound is a testament to his love for music.
(Johnny’s daughter Jess is the child’s voice on “A Child”)

"So Many Young Men", "After Dark" and "I Should Go" were recorded at Carport Studios in Nashville, TN. Earl Drake and I produced them together. Earl did the engineering & mixing and added his considerable skills to the arrangements. When you listen to “Listen” it should be noted that Earl added the clicks and bells. They made a huge difference. But it’s just a small reflection of the care and vision Earl brings to a project. Earl was also able to call in Johnny Garcia from Trisha Yearwood’s band to play guitar (really sweet guitar) on all 3 songs and Chester Thompson, from Genesis, to play drums on “After Dark”.

The mastering was done by Jim DeMaine at Yes Master studios in Nashville, TN. When you have spent all the time and effort to write, arrange, record and mix your music you want to make sure to take it to someone who will share your vision. I learned a lot in a short time working with Jim & Earl during the mastering of “The Journey”. For instance, I didn’t know that the spacing between tracks could have such an impact on the pace of the album.