MATT THE ELECTRICIAN: Long Way Home

Matt the Electrician

Long Way Home

© 2004 Matt Sever (750532938424)

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acoustic-based roots pop

tracks

1 Valedictorian
2 Water
3 I'm Sorry Hemingway
4 Half Magic
5 Sad Lisa Waltz
6 Hammer on the Ladder
7 Let Me Down
8 Dinosaurs
9 $100 Bill
10 You and I

notes

The Mostly True Bio of Matt the Electrician

Mussed hair and work clothes be damned, Matt Sever's been known to schlep directly to gigs disheveled from his real-life day-job: keeping people wired and lit. Yet the moniker is more than just a humorous takeoff on life's realities...

Born Matt the Electrician on a frosty San Francisco morn, Matt and his family soon moved to Oregon in search of culture, nice weather and vineyards. Once there, Matt spent much of his youth obsessed with Woody Guthrie, The Hollies and the soundtrack to Godspell. The Electrician's were a musical, yet thrifty family, so they found a swell garage-sale trumpet to encourage this musical interest.

The Electricians moved back to California in the early eighties. And while the trumpet was discarded, the expensive private lessons were not a complete waste, as it was here that Matt met and fell in love with the guitar.

Unfortunately, because of the elder Electrician's spiraling origami habit, money was not only extremely tight but intricately folded and beautifully hung all around the Electrician household, so Matt was limited to the only three chords his parents could afford. His dad assured him this was plenty, that kids in China only get one or two.

And strangely it all worked out, Matt headed to Austin, a serious music town, with aspirations to become a serious musician.

Mission accomplished. After years of a steadily built, devoted fan base, some would say that Sever's unassuming baby-faced slacker image and "nice guy" blue-collar charm belie a very complex and intoxicating energy that is equal parts gritty neo-folk, frenetic boyish pulse, and tangled life experience - all held cohesive by his deft guitar skills and liquid vocals reminiscent of a young Paul Simon wrapped around a Tom Waits heart. Some wouldn't be able to say that. Some would rather type it. Others might yodel.

Matt's first record, Baseball Song, was an impressive first showing by a young talent, capturing youthful emotions yet showing the direction of new found maturity. Landing him firmly on the map, No Depression called it "an impressive debut that makes Matt The Electrician a songwriter to watch."

Sever's second record Home. continued to radiate with the heat and grapple of youth: the unbridled eruptive green energy, the wry optimism, the epiphanies of burgeoning love and the booze-soaked nights and vinyl booth mornings of life on the road; a record The Austin Chronicle calls "an acoustically amusing postcard of life in Slacker Central."

Made For Working, Sever's new record, offers a slight departure from the real or imagined boundaries of home... to a place where love evolves and grows comfortable, where new families and priorities are built, and where life reduces to a concentrated clarity. Where people grow up.

Sever lives and works with his family in Austin, Texas.

reviews

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  • A new fan but now a fan forever.
    author: Kevin

    Simply incredible. Another fantastic CD from MtE. Buy it! You'll be very glad you did.

  • author: Caroline

    I love this CD! It remains me of a very good time I´ve had in the States!

  • woo-hoo i like this cd
    author: Kelsey

    this cd is great. i love the water song...i could listen to it over and over again. get it and you wont be sorry.

  • Perfect new CD find - I just want to hear it over and over again!
    author: Alex

    I heard Matt at a bar in Austin, came home and bought the CD. First, CD Baby was a great online shopping experience, but more importantly, the music is fantastic! I can't stop listening to this CD!!

  • Love the Music. Love the Man.
    author: Miss Sarah King

    I have loved this cd HARD. In fact, it is so well loved, that it is almost unplayable. But a few songs still manage to play skip-free. Matt is a master. I admire him and wish I could eat his music for breakfast!

  • author: Steffany

    I can't believe I waited this long to buy this CD. I became attached to Matt when I saw live him in San Antonio at our local neighborhood hangout almost 2 years ago. Ever since I have listened to These Boots Are Made For Walking off and on and was in the Matt mood when I purchased Long Way Home. It is everything I hoped it would be....wonderful! His lyrics and song styling are excellent, a great continuation of These Boots, I only wished I lived in Austin so I could get more of Matt and his live show. Good on ya!

  • Give the man his due--he's an original
    author: Ross Drake

    When it comes to double-edged compliments, none cuts both ways more efficiently than "sounds just like..."--as in "[some guy you've never heard of] sounds just like Springsteen (or Dylan or, if such a thing is possible, Tom Waits)." It can't be a bad thing to sound like Springsteen; look what it did for him. On the other hand, no one does Bruce better than Bruce, and anyone who tries is destined for a place--likely a very small place--in the Boss's long shadow. But imitation is no problem for Matt the Electrician. In the teeming universe of up-and-hope-to-be-coming singer-songwriters, what sets him apart (other than the fact that he could check out your wiring) is that he doesn't sound like anyone but himself--and at that he's the best. His material is imaginative, personal without being obvious, sentimental without being cloying, country without being corny. On this, his fourth album, he comes across, in his engaging, slightly gravelly baritone, as a shrewd observer of the smaller things in life--sunrise after the birth of a child, the loneliness of a long night ride home--and the kind of person you might like to know. Here's your chance.

  • A true wordsmith...
    author: Sassy

    Matt is a writer somewhat similar to that of the other Texan troubadour Creede Williams, wrapped up in bluegrass, with a fresh coat of Paul Simon on the vocals. In a nutshell, perfect.

  • Fun, interesting, worth a listen
    author: Jennifer

    After hearing an interview with Matt the Electrician on the University of Texas NPR station a couple of weeks ago, I hurried to CD Baby and bought this CD. I was not disappointed. It's fun, interesting in terms of lyrics and instrumentation, and definitely worth listening to. You'll love it!

  • LOVE it!
    author: Carolyn

    Matt the Electrician's latest cd is fantastic. I can't stop listening to it! After hearing solo versions of the songs at Matt's live shows, hearing these band versions was a real pleasure. The greatest part is Matt really achieves a perfect balance so that the band brings out new & interesting dynamics without overpowering or leaving the original acoustic sound behind. As usual, his lyrics are insightful, clever, and very well crafted. As a folk snob, I officially recommend this to anyone with a hankering for creative songwriting and melodic ear-candy.

  • One of the CD's I'd take on a desert island
    author: Amy

    How many times have you been asked: "If you could take 3 cd's on a desert island...what would they be?". Maybe you've never been asked that question. Or maybe you have already been stranded on an island and know that the chances of actually having CDs and a CD player are slim to none. BUT...regardless...LONG WAY HOME by Matt the Electrician is a CD that you'll want to take with you wherever you go. I don't like to compare musicians to other musicians, so I won't. And I don't like to compare musicians new work to their prior work, so I won't. Simply put: this CD will help you to rediscover yourself and your emotions. This CD will help you reflect upon your life, but in a nostalgic, comfortable way. If you want to discover music that isn't on the radio (because it's too good for that) by a really good group of musicians and one amazing songwriter- I strongly recommend Matt the Electrician's LONG WAY HOME.

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