Matthew Carefully » mp3

Free Live Recording

Matthew — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:14:29 +0000

Thanks to the folks at WAMC and CRUMBS, an audio document of the live performance I put on at the Linda Norris Auditorium on February 25th, 2010 is now available to email list members and Facebook Fans. Please sign up for the email list or become a fan on Facebook if you would like to listen to this recording!

Selections include songs from Kentucky, Penny Riddle, Community Balloon (to be released in May!) and a few from the next-NEXT album I’ll be recording over the summer.

Enjoy!

Thank you!

Peter Broderick’s Numbers! / My Numbers!

Matthew — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:19:56 +0000

Last Friday, I found the above image at Peter Broderick‘s Flickr page! ( please click above to read about it! )

I was up for a challenge, and for something interesting, so I made a piece of music…

For my version of this piece, I wanted to use the image as a score, so I imagined each number as corresponding to frets 1-8 on an instrument. Then I “assigned” each line as a successive ascending string on different instrument, so 7 different strings on 6 instruments. Each number/note would be played on a different beat of a bar of 7/4 time.

Here are the instruments I chose for each line;

the first line was played on the first string of my mandolin, repeating twice

the second line was played on the second string of my mother’s old guitar that she used to sing weddings with in the 70′s, repeating twice

the third line was played by the third string of my banjo, repeating twice

the fourth line was played by the fourth string of my octave mandolin, repeating twice

the fifth line was played by the fifth string on this blonde nylon string guitar, repeating twice

the sixth line was played on the sixth string of my dobro, repeating twice

the seventh line was played on the seventh string of my mandolin, repeating twice

After recording this, I panned tracks 1-7 from hard left to right…

Stay tuned for more Numbers from other folks on Peter’s Flickr!!!!

(I’m also hoping to write something more melodious using these numbers…)

Low – “You May Need a Murderer” (plus bonus Low cover)

Matthew — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:51:11 +0000

It’s been eight years since I first heard the Duluth, MN band LOW. I’ll never forget hearing “Two Step” from their album “Secret Name” – time just simply stopped for five minutes and forty-nine seconds. Then, the mad-dash to soak up their back catalog, and the waiting with bated breath for each future release, and the traveling decent -> hefty distances to watch them perform live at least six times since that first listen. I’d say I’m a devoted fan bordering on obsession.

Last week, Pitchfork.TV streamed a recent documentary about the band that follows the married, Mormon band founders Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker to their home in Duluth and on tour for several weeks. The film features live performance snippets, interviews and plenty of family moments that tackle with the complexities of their relationship together, with God and with their community. Despite continuing to release excellent recordings (“Drums and Guns” was one of my favorites last year), there has been some publicized unraveling of Alan’s behavior including a canceled tour in 2005 and subsequent self-hospitalization. I found the candid moments in the documentary that deal with the tumultuous time quite powerful.

The title of the film, “You May Need a Murderer” comes from the song “Murderer” which has two different versions – one appears on “Drums and Guns” and the other on one of my most prized pieces of vinyl – the “Murderer” 10″ released by Vinyl Films (Cameron Crowe‘s label). The song is a prime example of what I love about Low’s music, the mystery and dichotemy behind the lyrics, gorgeous harmonies, and a grand tension and release that is just simply unmatchable.

(Click for “Murderer” lyrics and perhaps a little cover of it by yours truly, recorded in 2005 by my lonesome…)

One more thing before I go
One more thing I’ll ask you Lord
You may need a murderer
Someone to do your dirty work

Don’t act so innocent
I’ve seen you pound your fist into the earth
And I’ve read your book
It seems that you could use another fool
Well I’m cruel
And I look right through

You must have more important things to do
So if you need a murderer
Someone to do your dirty work

“Murderer” – Low cover by Matthew Loiacono recorded in 2005 in Round Lake, NY.

Thanks to Nathan Giordano for the recording gear lend.

Please visit Low online.