For the next couple of weekends, I'll be singing in the modern dance performance of Smoke Soup. It is the newest show presented by BodyVox in Portland.
The run is almost sold out, but we've just added another show on April 7th. If you want to come please buy tickets soon... it would be great to see some friendly faces. More info at www.bodyvox.com
Ramona Falls on tour with The National
Sat, February 27th, 2010
Ramona Falls will be opening for The National this May in California. Headlining shows in the northwest are in the works as well, and I'll post when I know more. We couldn't be more excited about this tour...
21 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA - THE WILTERN // w/ The National // ->Buy Tickets
22 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA - THE WILTERN // w/ The National// ->Buy Tickets
23 MAY: SAN DIEGO, CA - SPRECKELS THEATRE // w/ The National // ->Buy Tickets
26 MAY: OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATRE // w/ The National // ->Buy Tickets
27 MAY: OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATRE // w/ The National // ->Buy Tickets
Forestry vs. Music
Sat, February 27th, 2010
Last Sunday my boss informed me that I would be spending the coming week in Shelton, Washington.
I knew, as usual, that would mean that I would be spending my days tromping around the woods and the nights in a small motel. The motel room would be small, I would watch movies I would normally never watch, and I would eat a lot of mexican-american food.
I mentioned this to Brent, who is currently producing my new album, and he elected to join me on the "adventure". As you can imagine, I was thrilled.
above: (left) that's me inside the Sagrada Famalia, (right) a giant puppet representing femininity . Below: the scoundrels in Vargas! What wonderful travelling buddies. Special thanks to Pep and American Typewriter.
I Say Fever
Tue, January 26th, 2010
Some of you may know that I play guitar and sing for Ramona Falls, Brent Knopf's solo project. This new video for "I Say Fever" is well worth spending a few minutes of your time on...
FYI:
looks like you can buy your tickets online for our show on March 8th at Mississippi Studios. Just click here to do so...
here's a snap shot of the venue under construction: . .
BTW: Tigerphobia art has changed colors! Because these things are hand made we plan to change the colors each run. The new covers look like this:
what's new?
Fri, November 21st, 2008
I'm getting ready to plan spring touring and I'm getting pretty excited.
Who knows where I'll end up? Seems to be the case often these days.
Good news: American Typewriter, a record label based in Spain will be releasing Tigerphobia on VINYL shortly in Europe! At last we reach those of you who may be technophobic (like myself) or hopelessly romantic and nostalgic (like myself). I'll have copies available at shows here in the US as well, and we are hoping to get the whole band over there for a tour before long. Keep posted! If we do, I'll be sure to book a return to Italy as well.
War: If We Only Knew What We Were Doing
Thu, January 1st, 2009
recently, I came upon this story at Telegraph.co.uk:
A former German World War II fighter pilot has claimed he shot down French literary hero Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, 63 years after the event.
However, Horst Rippert, 88, said he would have held his fire on July 31, 1944, had he known his victim was one of his favourite authors.
"If I had known it was Saint-Exupéry I would never have shot him down," said Mr Rippert.
"He knew admirably how to describe the sky, the thoughts and feelings of pilots", he added.
"His work inspired many of us to take up our vocation." Saint-Exupéry's 1942 memoir Pilote de guerre (Flight to War) recounts a terrifying mission above the French town of Arras as the pilot of a reconnaissance plane during the Battle of France in 1940.
Today he is widely considered to be the greatest author-pilot. The Little Prince, a children's fantasy in the form of a novella, is one of the top 50 best-selling books of all time, and has been translated into 100 languages.
Mr Rippert confessed to the killing his idol after being tracked down by a French diver, Luc Vanrell, and the founder of an organisation researching aircraft shot down during the war, Lino van Gartzen.
Their findings are to be revealed in a book, Saint-Exupery, the last secret, co-written with French journalist Jacques Pradel, to be published in French on March 20.
"I didn't target a man who I knew. I shot at an enemy plane that went down. That's all", he told the authors.
Mr Rippert said he spotted the author's twin-tailed Lightning P38 while flying a Messerschmitt Me-109 over the Mediterranean near Toulon, and was amazed it was flying alone.
"He was below me. I saw his markings and manoeuvred myself behind him and shot him down", said Mr Rippert, who brought down 28 planes during the war, and became a radio sports journalist afterwards.
For decades, mystery shrouded Saint-Exupéry's disappearance on what was to have been his last mission.
He had been serving with a Free French air force reconnaissance squadron based in Corsica when he failed to return from a mission to prepare for the landing of the allies in southern France.
Many believed he had committed suicide. In 1998, a fisherman found inside his fishing nets what was reported to be Saint Saint-Exupéry's silver chain bracelet.
Six years later, a diver - Mr Vanrell - found the wreckage of the plane. Debris from a German Messerschmitt was found in the same area, sparking a search for Luftwaffe pilots that ultimately led to Mr Rippert.
Feedback
Wed, November 5th, 2008
My friend Dan mentioned that my previous post regarding the sleeping baggage claim attendant left him feeling unsettled. He suggested that I should add more to the story. I appreciated his comment and it got me thinking: why don't I open this forum to anyone wanting to add to the conversation?
So right now I'd like to invite anyone to comment on this blog and I'll post the emails as a conversation. To kick off this experiment, I'd like to breach a topic that has been vexing me for a while - the separation of music and politics.
At my show at Doug Fir last weekend (which, by the way, was a blast) I found myself wanting to say something from the stage regarding the then upcoming election. Something along the lines of "yes we can", or "we can't handle four more years" or some other catch phrase- now cliche- of the Obama campaign. But all that I ended up doing was giving a small non-partisan pep talk about heading out to the polls. Why? I don't know. It just felt weird... in a way I believe t's a musician's job to say things through music. Perhaps not to talk about things that are going on in this world but to feel about things that are going on in the world.
Again, a couple of weeks ago, I was giving an interview and answering questions regarding my song on the Dearly Departed comp. My and Alea's research regarding Chinese Immigrant laborers that ended up buried and forgotten at Lone Fir was very disturbing and shed light on the very racist (and shameful) policies that shaped the way Portland looks today. All of those emotions were put into the making of the song. I just don't know if I was the right person to be running on at the mouth about it.
What do you think? Please let me know your thoughts and I'll post them up here. Email me at: matt@matt-sheehy.com
And BTW Dan, my pedals made it to Indiana just fine. Thanks for caring.
Prison
Tue, October 14th, 2008
On Sunday I spent many hours at the Vancouver, WA Humane Society working on a film project.
It's hard not to put yourself in the place of the animals... not unlike when I visited the Lemon Creek Correctional Center as a young Boyscout in Juneau. On that visit the warden of the prison thought it would be a good idea to show us what it would be like if someday we were unfortunate enough to get "booked" into his prison. We went through the process of getting fingerprinted, escorted to an empty cell, and having the door shut and locked. We were given a few minutes alone to contemplate our situation. Looking back, I'm fairly ashamed of my adults for making us do this. At the time I could not have been more thrilled. photo by sita
San Francisco, 9/8/09
Mon, September 29th, 2008
Ryan and I played our duo set at the Swedish American Hall, opening for Mirah. Since then I've shaved. Alea says we look like two hobbits. Ryan kept time with his giant clock pendulum (seen behind us in this photo).
photo by Aimee Friberg
A video I took in the woods.
Wed, September 24th, 2008
As some of you know, I have a day job as a forester. What is a "forester"? A forester, in my case, is a person who walks around in the deep woods and looks at plants and trees all day while thinking about music. I get to see amazing views and all kinds of animals and inclement weather
I might be the only person in the field of forestry who also nightlights as a touring musician, and even more likely the only forester who has been caught wearing fashion pants on the job.
I will oftentimes carry my camera phone while working, for safety reasons and because I need to be available to answer calls regarding booking and what-not. The other day I saw this amazing creature and managed to capture it's moving image.
Thanks for coming to the release show!
Mon, June 16th, 2008
O
It was great to see everyone who came and sat by the fire with us, click, click. Thanks Heather for the photo.
Tigerphobia is now available! This limited edition first run are screen printed by hand by our wonderful friends and family at Horizon Screen Print and are only $13. The bum will ship to you within two days. The digital release will be available soon.
CD Release Party on Saturday, June 7th in Portland
Fri, May 16th, 2008
Less than two weeks away!
We'll be playing at the Doug Fir on June 7th to celebrate!
We'll be joined by some special guests and will play the album front to back.
Helping us celebrate will be friends PWRFL Power, and Brothers Young!
Doors @8, $7.
Also available will be the Go Missing single, released later in June but we'll have copies at the show...
No Label, No Sweat
Sun, February 10th, 2008
Okay...
Tigerphobia is mastered and ready to be duplicated. Also, I just confirmed some dates as support to Kaki King for another west coast run. More regional dates are materializing for the spring, also. I'll be sharing some of them with Portland's Weinland.
Sadly, I've ended negotiations with LA's Eenie Meenie Records for the release of my new album and am currently planning to release Tigerphobia myself, in grassroots fashion, with the help of some very dear friends. I'm excited about the developments and will be setting the release date for either this May, or October, depending on how quickly I can muster up resourses.
Rest assured, though, a special early release edition of the record will be available at shows starting in March. An EP featuring alternate versions of Go Missing and Lunatics (both produced by the uber talent Brent Knopf) will be made available by then as well. Please keep posted!
Also, if you know anyone with a spare $10k or so to kick around, please send them our way:)
Matt Sheehy on the Lumberyard
Fri, November 30th, 2007
Listen to Ken Cormier's
The Lumberyard, a forum for music and poetry. You'll be happy you did.
more than a feeling
Fri, November 30th, 2007
Winter Touring!
Looks like I'll be playing a bunch this winter... including a short tour with Loch Lomond and Johanna Kunin. Also on the map are Eugene, SF, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. Official dates will be posted shortly.
No Label, No Sweat
Sun, February 10th, 2008
Okay...
Tigerphobia is mastered and ready to be duplicated. Also, I just confirmed some dates as support to Kaki King for another west coast run. More regional dates are materializing for the spring, also. I'll be sharing some of them with Portland's Weinland.
Sadly, I've ended negotiations with LA's Eenie Meenie Records for the release of my new album and am currently planning to release Tigerphobia myself, in grassroots fashion, with the help of some very dear friends. I'm excited about the developments and will be setting the release date for either this May, or October, depending on how quickly I can muster up resourses.
Rest assured, though, a special early release edition of the record will be available at shows starting in March. An EP featuring alternate versions of Go Missing and Lunatics (both produced by the uber talent Brent Knopf) will be made available by then as well. Please keep posted!
Also, if you know anyone with a spare $10k or so to kick around, please send them our way:)
back from tour...
Thu, July 5th, 2007
Crazy, isn't it.
Just got back from tour with Kaki King. It was so much fun... got to do all sorts of things I never thought I'd do. The highlights:
*Playing with Kaki, obviously, was a blast. Her music just keeps getting better and her newest material is no exception.
*Watching John, Michael, and Shannon play every night. I was watching them at our show in San Francisco and I think i might have found God, in a way. The music just seemed so real, so true. Amazing.
*Kaki and I went to Skywalker Ranch where I got to meet Sean Penn and was privy to a few scenes from his new movie "Into the Wild". Kaki worked on some of the music for the film, excited to see the final product.
I've been out to see shows every night since I got back... my ear must be aching for loud music. Addictive, like being hung from hooks in the back.
I'll be headed back down to LA in a couple of weeks to play at the Hotel Cafe. I'll be doing it solo, with my loopers and gizmos. If you are in the area, please think about coming down. It would be good to see you.
I'll be posting video and pictures soon. I promise.
Touring a bit, waiting things through
Sat, June 9th, 2007
Alrighty...
Looks like I'll be cruising up the coast with Kaki later this month. Not sure what to expect from the show, but it should prove exciting. It's been a while since I've been down to California, and I'm going to be booking a show of my own soon for the LA area,at the beginning of July.
Last night, I played with a bunch of friends - Matt Weiers, Justine Flynn, Andy Parker, Thomas Dietzel, Chris Mosely - at a little spot in the country to play some improvised music. The stars were so bright... we got down and there was even some freestyling.
Big things afoot.
Sun, May 13th, 2007
Hey everyone.
So... things are done with the recording and we are getting ready for the release. I'll be posting more frequently, as I've got a bunch of new pictures. I haven't posted in forever, and I have photos of SXSW, of us playing in Portland and all kinds of stuff, that I'll be posting soon. I've also started planning tours to California, Nevada, Washington, and Arizona for the summer, with a bigger stint around September (when Tigerphobia will be released).
Some pictures and some thoughts.
Wed, October 18th, 2006
There I was, walking down Mississippi in Portland when I saw this.
Tom D. plays the bass in my room. We recorded the sound and it was good.
This was taken on the 4th of July. We met a woman who had just gotten back from india. She bought us drinks and told us long stories.
Matt's Music featured on the MastanMusic Hour Podcast
Mon, September 11th, 2006
Mastan Music, a cool recording studio (pictured here) here in Portland run by an equally cool guy, Jeremy Wilson, is featuring an old G&H tune, Trigger/Response and one of the tunes that was only released on the tour CD... so if you weren't in Italy for the tour and couldn't pick up a copy... check out episdode 6 of the MastanMusic Hour podcast! You can subscribe to the show or download individual episodes as mp3s.
2006 limited edition tour cd
Tue, May 2nd, 2006
This CD is permanently out of stock
this is a limited edition tour cd created for matt's 2006 solo tour through italy with kaki king - a compilation of 11 demo recordings and rough mixes of material written and recorded over the past two years in portland, oregon usa and other oregon cities.
matt finished this just before hopping on a plane to go on tour, so we're not yet sure whether he'll be making this cd available for sale online, but if you'd like a copy, contact matt and say "hey, i want to buy your tour cd!"
tracks:
1. freeway
2. go missing
3. three planets by the sea
4. elevator (instrumental version)
5. about piano
6. death by misadventure
7. top of the world
8. lunatics
9. hold your breath
10. glass jaw
11. pink and blue (instrumental version)
Stand up, Stand in.
Wed, October 18th, 2006
Lunatics
Sun, August 13th, 2006
Matt with Jen and Phil, horn and trumpet.
what's happening? recording sooooo close to being done...
Fri, July 7th, 2006
It's been a while since I posted anything. Sorry about the silence from out here. Thank you for the emails, those of you sending them. Especially the ones from overseas (was that really just over a month ago?)
Tracking has been going really well and things are shaping up at last. It's odd... doing this all at home. Occasionally going out to the raspberry bushes outside my window. Petting a cat with no tail that bites.
A video is in the works... I'm very excited about it. Lots of really talented folks helping out. I'll post more as it developes.
tour report...
Mon, May 22nd, 2006
I Candelai in Palermo. The stage from above and the crowd from the stage.
Night in Palermo (don't drive a van here), Maria in front of the Coloseum
Kaki King at B-Side club in Rende (ti amo Kaki), me at Rombo Club in Messina
Kaki and Chris breaking the law in Rome.
.
We will be playing on OPB's Live Wire this Saturday at the Aladdin Theater! 
Kaki King at B-Side club in Rende (ti amo Kaki), me at Rombo Club in Messina
