If you’ve missed the sound of Matt Nathanson’s voice, you fortunately won’t have to wait too much longer to hear it. The San Francisco based singer/songwriter will be serenading fans at the Crystal Ballroom Friday, September 20 as he kicks off a US tour promoting his newest album, Last of the Great Pretenders.
Over the course of his 20 year career, Nathanson has slowly but surely become a heavyweight hit maker in the pop music scene, with his last two albums Modern Love and Some Mad Hope catapulting his notability a notch or two. Massively popular singles like “Come on Get Higher,” and “Faster” helped him to sell millions of copies. His success can in large part be attributed to an affinity for infectious chorus hooks and romantic yet ironically laced lyrics, but it’s also a relentless commitment to making new music that has made him a star.
Last of the Great Pretenders is album number 9 from Nathanson. The tone of the record is a bit of a departure from his seemingly exclusive standing as a pop star, as he’s deviated a little from the strawberry bubblegum flavor to spice things up with a more variable zest. While his tonal sensibility for making chorus’ that really swing still equate to ear grabbing tunes, he’s become freer to wade through some of the darkness and raw honesty of melancholic waters.
Upon first listen, “Mission Bells,” is one of the standout tracks from the album. Who would have thought that lyrics like, “I had a dream you died,” could make for such a catchy chorus? Songs like “Kinks Shirt,” still show the playful lightheartedness akin to his previous work. Although the album is perhaps a little more gritty than his fans may be used to, multiple plays will likely help listeners find that they’ve acquired a taste for Nathanson’s latest musical concoction.
While getting ready to hit the road from Los Angeles to Portland for the first leg of his national tour, Nathanson shared some insight into his extensive musical career and where he still finds inspiration for creating new material.
You’ve been playing music for 20 years.
Oh, Jesus, yeah. (laughs)
Does it feel that long?
If feels long when you say it (laughs). No, it feels long when you say it but it feels sort of natural. It feels like breathing.
When was the first time you picked up a guitar? What made you do it?
Oh my God, Kiss. When I was a kid I loved Kiss. I was in 6th grade so I really wanted to start learning like Iron Maiden songs and Def Leppard songs and Poison songs. In my school there was a guitar teacher and I told him I didn’t want to learn any chords or any of the structure-y shit, I just wanted him to teach me how to play “You Shook Me All Night Long,” or something.
So hard rock and metal was your forte.
Yeah it was kind of my starting point. That kinda got me into it.
Are there artists today who still keep your faith in music?
Oh man, constantly. That’s the best part about music. It keeps giving. No matter who it is, whether it’s like a new artist that blows my mind or someone that you counted out that makes a great record, music has never let me down. It constantly regenerates itself and gives you new, amazing shit.
I go to record stores all the time. Every week. I’m still that guy, like buying vinyl and CDs and stuff like tactile music listening experiences, so I haven’t given up a thing on that. I’m always in search of something that kind of gets me going. So yes, always. My faith can be renewed instantly when you hear like the new Queens of the Stone Age record. There’s just always moments that kinda blow your mind.
Does that help inspire you to make music and test new boundaries yourself?
That’s pretty much the main motivation yeah. I’m real fortunate to be able to do this for a living. To be able to kind of dip my toes into the same ocean that people who really inspire me do is always a place I get energy from. Most of my heroes are musicians.
Are you more comfortable with being a solo guy or would you rather be in a band type of situation?
I like the collaboration of the team, whether it be in the studio or on stage. The team part is great but I like having final say. I don’t think I’d do well in a democracy band situation, but I do love being on a team with other people.
Is there a moment in your career that you can point to and say that’s when I made it?
I guess at the beginning of the making of this record. It was the first time that I kind of stopped feeling any sort of pressure about what was expected or what I expected of myself and it sort of felt like, you know, I’ve been doing this for a long time and I don’t think I’m going to have to go back to a real job. There’s always this feeling that you’re one step away from going back to your job, and with this record it was the first time that I felt like “Wow, I think this is what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life.” I could let up the gas a little bit on constantly strangling these experiences and I just kinda let them be.
I’ve been doing this a long time as my sole thing, but for some reason I was able to not worry about it. No matter how successful my songs got or my records got, I always felt like I was one step away from going back to like a normal job. I think with this record I really came to the conclusion that in fact I was going to be a musician for all my life. And that was a nice relief. My non-reality anxiety left.
Have you gotten tired yet of playing any of your biggest hits?
No dude it’s so much fun. The energy that people give when you play them a song they want to hear… it’s inspiring shit. I don’t think I’d sit around my house playing those songs, you know what I mean? (laughs) But when you get the energy of other people, it’s for real. It’s like they’re not my songs anymore and it’s nice to be able to play these people a song they like. And then you get their energy. It’s a great little cycle.
Last of the Great Pretenders seems to have a bit of a heavier tone. Was that intentional?
Yeah it sort of felt like it was okay to be me, and to kind of let the songs dictate what they wanted to as opposed to me dictating what I thought the songs wanted to be. It was a much easier process. The song tells you what it wants and if you just follow it and you let it sort of un-self consciously be itself. To me I found that was much more enjoyable process. The result sounds much more like me, and less like what I thought I wanted to sound like.
And this is your 9th album?
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Do you look back at your catalog and cringe a bit, or do those old albums hold up for you when you listen to them now?
No, major cringing (laughs). There’s always major moments of like “holy shit!” It’s like looking at pictures of your hair cuts back in the day. You’re like “I can’t believe I had a mullet,” or like “is that a faux hawk?!” That kind of shit.
There are a lot of San Francisco references on this album, especially in the first half. How has San Fran influenced and inspired your song writing?
I got real self conscious when I was assembling the record in the order that I wanted. I realized that, holy shit, San Francisco is in the first like five songs. San Francisco is really the only place in all the places I’ve lived that I felt like I had a home. It was huge to kind of open myself up to writing about my home. Not like the “idea” of home or the blurred-out concepts of home, but to really talk specifically about home and my life there and reference specific events.
It was the first time I’d ever done it, and it was freeing to be able to un-apologetically sort of like reference things in my own life. As opposed to try to lop the specifics off of it in fear that people won’t understand this if I use certain references. What I realized was that all the records that I’ve loved all my life, that have like changed my life, had this specific element from the writer and from the artist. And that’s what I related to. That was what made it so incredible for me. So I felt like “I gotta leave this in.” The things I used to take out… I think when you extract those things you end up extracting the things that make the song lyrically special.
On stage you’re known for your witty banter and comedic timing. How did that start and has that been part of your live performances from the beginning?
Yeah it’s always kind of been there. For me it puts me at ease to kind of have a rapport with the audience that’s less like third wall and a little more personal. It puts me in a place where I feel ready to play and feel comfortable. When I’d go see artists that would really engage me in a way, where even if I didn’t know the song they would sort of tell a story about it and I’d be drawn and automatically in the story before the song even started. Old folk singers used to do it. That was really where I learned that stuff.
Is it hard to go from a comedic moment and transition to a heartfelt song?
Yeah, it’s okay. It feels very much like how I am as a person, to kind of get heavy and get funny. It feels real natural to me. It’s never felt super disconnected, it’s always felt like, “Cool, that was a sweet moment. Now let me lay the heavy down,” or vice verse, “that was a heavy moment, here’s some levity.” So yeah, it feels natural.
You’re kicking off your tour at the Crystal Ballroom?
Yeah, I can’t wait.
What can fans expect to see at this show and shows throughout the whole tour?
I have no idea (laughs). So the way it’s been working with the band, there’s been this real sense of me not dictating what people do, and more like what the band wants to do. We’re playing as a unit in a way that I’ve never experienced. It was kind of an off-shoot of how the record was made. This record was kind of a team process instead of me trying to direct and drive this ship myself, which is how it’s always been in the past. We’re playing in this way that’s really exciting and powerful. On that level it’s been super rewarding and I can’t wait to kick it off in Portland and I think we’ll gain this momentum and power as it goes.
My shows are like throwing a house party, you know what I mean? People are bringing bean dip (laughs) and it’s my job to kinda welcome them at the door and then make sure their cups are full. Sometimes we talk about heavy shit, and sometimes we talk about funny shit. My job is to be there and sort of be the ringleader of the party. That’s kind of how it feels.
Will you be pulling out old tunes from the vault?
Totally, and there’s a whole acoustic section where we started putting in a ton of old stuff so it’s gonna be great. The setlist is real full, which is nice. That’s part of what’s fun about having a new record too, is to be able to bring the new songs and then you just have that many more songs that you’re excited about playing. It’s gonna be way fun.
Have you played the Crystal before?
Yeah we played the Crystal on our last tour, and I’ve played in Portland a ton. What’s great about Portland… is everything. Powell’s. The record stores. Voodoo Donuts.
Last question. What keeps you going musically?
For me it’s other music. Or a film. Or any kind of art. When you see people creating things that move you, at least for me, it just makes me wanna try. Push, and try. Whether it be a great author who writes a great book and it blows your mind or you walk out from a film reeling on how great it is, and how this artist created this thing. You just go, “I wanna do that. How do I do that?”
Matt Nathanson: Last of the Great Pretenders Tour w/ special guest Joshua Radin Friday September 20 at Crystal Ballroom.
6:30 P.M. doors, 7:30 P.M. show $25 advance, $27 day of show
The post Q&A: Singer/Songwriter Matt Nathanson – renewing his faith in music appeared first on Oregon Music News.