Blog Home

Hey guys -

Here's a blog I posted on MySpace last week about my thoughts on the untimely passing of the legendary Michael Jackson. Just figured I'd share it here as well.
_________________

Wow. I’ve been sitting here for nearly an hour, trying to figure out how to start writing this blog. I can truly say that I’m speechless. I simply can’t find the words to express the absolute shock I’ve felt since about 2:30PM yesterday.

The King of Pop is dead.

Over the course of time, many memories fade. But some days will always stand out more than others. And yesterday is going to be one of those days. I will NEVER forget the day Michael Jackson died.

Say what you will about the man, but the fact remains - Jackson will always be one of the most iconic and influential artists in the history of modern music.

Honestly, if you asked me to name my biggest influences as a singer and songwriter, MJ might not even make the list. But the truth is, Michael Jackson absolutely had a major role in my musical development. I grew up listening to the albums Thriller and Bad, watching MJ’s music videos, and singing along to nearly ALL of his songs. Hell, I think I even had a copy of that really cheesy Moonwalker video game for the Sega Genesis. Remember that? Don’t lie, you know you do

During my childhood, Michael Jackson was HUGE. There was truly no bigger star in the world. I remember watching old concert videos, and seeing women pass out right and left at his live shows. He’s on a short list of entertainers that have been known for that, along with Elvis, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles. And with good reason - the guy was an absolute phenom on stage. In fact, a quick search on YouTube reveals any number of awesome MJ concert videos, complete with tons of women being carried out on stretchers, lol.

Check this one out. It’s Michael Jackson performing arguably one of his best tunes, the classic “Man in The Mirror”. For extra fun, count the number of girls shown fainting during the song



The bottom line is, Michael Jackson has shaped the lives of every single musician, dancer, singer or songwriter in the modern music world. Without him, the entire boy band/pop scene of the late 90’s would never have occurred. Justin Timberlake, Usher and other artists in that realm wouldn’t even be around. And bands like Maroon 5 would have a totally different sound.

The saddest part about his untimely passing is the fact that Michael Jackson was about to make an incredible come-back. 50 sold-out shows in London. A three-year long world tour. And a Thriller themed casino in Las Vegas. The King of Pop might have finally found the redemption he had been looking for over the last 15 years. But the truth is, as millions mourn his death, no redemption is needed for Michael Jackson. As time marches on, MJ will not be remembered as a circus freak. He’s going to be remembered as one of the most significant driving forces in the history of modern music. And I’m pretty sure that people all over the world will be singing his songs until the end of time.

Rest in peace, Michael. You will always be a true legend. And you will never be forgotten.

To conclude this blog, here’s my personal tribute to the great King of Pop. It’s my own performance/arrangement of Michael Jackson’s great song, “Smooth Criminal”. This video is in no way meant to be opportunistic. The strange truth is, I’ve been working on a version of this song for a couple months, and was planning on putting up on YouTube next week. The Universe can be an awfully strange place sometimes.



Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video, and that the music of Michael Jackson lives on in your heart... just like I know it will live on in mine

Hey everyone –

Alright! Two blogs in just one month. I’m pretty sure this ties my personal record. I know, pretty sad right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I’ll make it up to three because it’s already January 31st. But hey, there’s always Februrary

Anyway, as you may have already noticed I did a pretty major MySpace update last night. At long last, there are some new photos and a brand new tune on my page. This one’s a stripped down piano ballad called “One Thing Right”. For those of you who have already checked it out & commented, thanks SO much! To anyone else reading this… please take a listen and be sure to let me know what you think

In other news… last weekend, for the first time in almost 10 years of playing gigs, technical difficulties beyond my control totally derailed one of my shows. I was all ready to go at Borders Books in Valencia..... My keyboard was set up, a big crowd was waiting, and I was about to start the show. Imagine my surprise when smoke literally started pouring out of the Borders PA System! After fiddling with the thing for 20 minutes, and trying in vain to find a replacement, I finally decided to call it a night. To all those who came out for the show – I’m incredibly sorry it didn’t work out. Hope you enjoy the free CDs I handed out, though! I’ll be back at Borders Valencia on Saturday February 21st and I promise the show WILL go on this time.

Matt’s pick of the week: The Wrestler. No matter how you feel about professional wrestling, this is a movie that I’d recommend to anybody. Mickey Rourke gives an amazing performance as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, and he truly deserves to win the Academy Award this year as far as I’m concerned. Watching this film, you honestly forget that you’re watching an actor play a part. It’s that realistic.

Bonus pick: Bruce Springsteen’s song “The Wrestler” that plays over the end credits. It’s a truly haunting ballad that does a fantastic job of capturing the feel of the film. The Academy made a BIG mistake not nominating The Boss for “Best Song” if you ask me.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the new song, and that I see lots of familiar faces at my big birthday show at Genghis Cohen on February 13th and back at Borders Valencia on February 21st. Later!

Rock on,

Matt

Hey everyone --

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I figure there's no better time to write my first blog of 2009. If you'll recall, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to be better about blogging and keeping in touch with all of you guys. So yeah, I better get busy

To celebrate the beginning of '09, I got the chance to head up to Mammoth for a weekend with some friends. For those of you unfamiliar with Mammoth, it's a Winter resort town in the California mountains. Anyway, rather than skiing or snowboarding, this time we decided to go snowmobiling. Now I love roller coasters, but I'm hardly what you'd call an "Extreme Sports" kinda guy. Sky Diving and Bungee Jumping aren't all that high up on my "things to do" list. But I have to say, going snowmobiling was *amazing*. Flying down that mountain at about 40 MPH was the perfect amount of extreme for me. I've heard it's very similar to riding a jet ski, so that's next on my agenda. Sky diving will just have to wait for now, lol.

Check out these photos of me on the snowmobile:





One thing that I've been getting involved with this year is a new website called "MTV Soundtrack". It's essentially a Myspace clone, but with one major twist. Once you sign up, you're supposed to vote for the artist or band you like the most. Those bands/artists with the most votes get featured on the front page of the site, and will probably get their music used on MTV shows! I've been pushing this pretty hard for the last few weeks, and currently am ranked 78 out of about 2,500 artists/bands on the site. Not too shabby, but I wanna get even higher. So please take a couple of minutes to sign up and vote for me

My page is located at http://soundtrack.mtv.com/matthewjordan, and you can find the sign up link pretty easily from there. Oh, and one more thing... you're allowed to vote up to once per hour. So if you feel like having no life on my behalf, by all means knock yourself out

Matt's Pick of the Week: Harps and Angels by Randy Newman. Some of you might not know Mr. Newman as much more than the guy who wrote and sang "You've Got a Friend In Me" from Toy Story. But I have to say, Randy Newman has much more to offer than that. The man is one of my song writing idols, and I actually got the chance to meet him a couple years back at a function for the USC Thornton School of Music. It was a terrific experience, and I was thrilled when Santa brought me Newman's new album Harps and Angels for Christmas. Some of the tracks are pretty "out there" - anyone who has heard Newman's other music knows he has a crazy sense of humor. That said, the tunes that resonate the most with me are his melancholy ballads "Losing You" and "Feels Like Home". Randy Newman finds a way to be incredibly straightforward with his emotions, while still finding a unique way to put his feelings into words. Check out Harps and Angels, a fantastic outing by one of America's finest songwriters.

Anyway, that just about wraps things up for this blog. '09 is off and running, and I can't wait to see where it ends up. I've already got a few shows booked, including a couple of acoustic shows at Borders Books out in Valencia and a very special birthday gig at Genghis Cohen in Hollywood in February (It's on Friday the 13th... creepy, huh? lol). Check my MySpace page or official website for more info. Also, I'm happy to report that some new music will be making its way to the internet (and your ears!) in the VERY near future. As always, keep checking back for updates.

Thanks so much to all of you for your continued support and friendship. Have a great 2009 everyone, and rock on!

Till next time,
Matt

PS: I almost forgot! Some of you may not know this, but I have an official message board. I'd love to keep in touch with all of you better, and I post very frequently on the board. So please, sign up and join the party The link is: http://matthewjordan.proboards13.com. See ya there!

Hey guys –

So the other day, I was cleaning out my closet, when lo and behold I found this blog in a box on the top shelf. It was covered in dust 5 inches high, and moths flew out of the box when I opened it, lol. Don’t know how I managed to forget about this thing for so long! Happily, I’ve taken it out of the box, cleaned and polished it, and it’s good as new again.

Wow - so much has happened since I last blogged. There was the fire at my family’s place (check my MySpace blog for info on that), the economy has gone stark-raving mad, we have a brand-new President, Britney Spears has made yet another come-back… the mind boggles. It’s so hard to believe that it’s already December. Then again, 2008 wasn’t exactly the best year ever (at least in my mind), so I can’t wait for January 1st. In fact, from now on I’m gonna pretend like 2008 never even happened. After 2007, we went right into 2009. Who’s with me?

Seriously though, I believe that ’09 is gonna be a great year. Without getting too political, let me just say that I think President Obama and his administration will be a real fresh breath of air for this country. I’m just looking forward to new energy in Washington DC, and a prevailing attitude of hopeful optimism for the future. No matter what, one would think we can only go up from here, right?

On top of that, I’m really hoping for some big things next year on a more personal level. In 2008, I was so bogged down with day-to-day craziness that my music took WAY too much of a back-seat, to say the least. Now, I’m looking to the future with big plans. I wanna hit the road again, record some new music, and maybe put out a new digital EP. It’s time to get back in the game!

In totally random news, apparently I’m being featured on Nokia billboards all around the world! After my image and song were featured in press releases for Nokia’s N96 phone, the same photo somehow crept its way into an International ad campaign for their N78 and other phones. Now, I’ve had friends everywhere from the UK to Singapore tell me that they randomly saw me on a poster or a billboard somewhere. Check out this photo my awesome friend Joyce took for me – it’s a Nokia ad in an underground train station in Singapore.



Obsession of the moment: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Have any of your guys seen this show? It’s been referred to as “Seinfeld on crack”, and I’d say that’s definitely a good description. The entire cast is amazing, but in particular Charlie Day has to be one of the funniest individuals on the face of the planet. Be forewarned though, if you don’t like twisted, incredibly dirty humor, this show probably isn’t for you. Otherwise, be sure to grab some of the DVDs and watch it – at your own risk! Do not hold me responsible if you’re scarred for life

Alright, well that about does it for this entry. Till next time, Happy Holidays everyone! If any of you happen to be hanging around the LA area on December 13th, come up to Borders in Valencia around 8PM… I’ll be playing a couple of acoustic sets and hanging out. See ya then!

Catch ya later,
Matt

Hey guys –

Remember me? Your old buddy Matt? You know, the guy with the cheesy sense of humor and messy hair who plays the piano? Long time no see! How have you all been since I’ve been gone? LOL. Seriously, I know its been forever since I posted a blog. If you really want to know where I’ve been, well… I’ve been undercover as a real estate loan officer. I’m researching for a new concept album I’m working on called “Day Jobs Suck”

In addition to the day job, I’ve been in the studio a lot… we’re writing and recording a bunch of new stuff and I can’t wait to share it all with you. I’m also gonna be getting out there to play some shows again within the coming months. In the meantime, I figured I’d dust off this ol’ blog and post some brand-new comments, rants and maybe some cool news too.

First up on the agenda: music industry lame-ness. Yeah, I know… three-quarters of the stuff I blog about involves music industry lame-ness, but this particular story reaches new and improved levels of uber-lameosity, lol. The other day, I went to check the mail at my apartment and noticed I’d received something from a pretty well-known, cool management and production company called Nettwerk Music Group. I tore open the envelope, only to find that they had apparently passed on (rejected) my demo submission because my work “is not what [Nettwerk] is looking for at this time”. Fair enough, but there’s one problem with that: I never, ever, EVER sent anything to Nettwerk Music Group. Yes, it’s true. The music industry is so brutal that you can be rejected without even sending a CD to someone, lol. That’s sort of adding insult to injury. Like, “we know you didn’t send us anything, but just in case you were thinking about it, don’t bother – we’re not interested.”

I actually can’t believe Nettwerk would have sent me a letter if they hadn’t received one of my CDs. The really odd part is, barely anyone knows my home address. I never use that for business stuff. So, how did they get it? What did they hear of mine? The mind boggles. I’ve asked around to some people I know that might have sent out a CD or two, but so far have had no luck. So, this is where you come in, my awesome blog-reading friends. Have any of you ever sent my music out to people in the industry? Particularly Nettwerk Music Group? Please let me know if you have any insight as to how Nettwerk may have gotten their hands on my music. My head’s gonna explode trying to figure this out.

Now for some cool news. As some of you know already, I’ve been featured in a bunch of online promotion and press releases for the new Nokia N96 – their high-end new phone! So far they’re just using my image (basically making it look like “Shine” is playing on the phone) but we’ve got our fingers crossed that the song “Shine” will eventually get used in the promos as well. Here’s a photo from the official press release:



For more photos, info and promo videos, you can check out the links in my official message board forum: http://matthewjordan.proboards13.com. Just click the topic “Nokia Website feature!” and follow the URLS

In other random news, for the past few months I’ve been a featured artist in EVA Air’s in-flight music catalog! EVA Air is a Taiwan-based airline that flies all over Asia, Australia and Europe. Next time you find yourself flying to Taiwan, you’ll be able to choose from a music selection including Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, Paul McCartney and my album Horizon. (BTW, I owe this honor to Dain Rezo, a great friend and fan from Malaysia who set this up before he tragically passed away in an accident last year. Dain was always hanging out on my message board, and I miss him and think of him frequently.) Check out this image from the in-flight magazine:



Thankfully, there are other ways to hear my music besides having to catch a flight to Taiwan I was recently informed that MTV is interested in using a version of “Someone’s Waiting” as background music for a bunch of their shows including The Hills. Keep your ears open, and be sure to let me know if you hear it!

Finally, I just want to give a quick shout-out to my friend and fellow Los Angeles singer-songwriter, Brooke White, who has gotten all the way to the Top 24 on this season of American Idol. Way to go, Brooke! I’m pulling for ya

Till next time (which will be sooner than the last time – I promise!),

-Matt

So I’m back from my summer tour, and I can safely say I broke some records along the way. That’s right, I’m pretty sure I’m now in the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most Times Getting Lost in Major US Cities”, lol. I thought Los Angeles was hard to navigate, but yikes… nothing could have prepared me for the insanity that is East Coast driving. Anyway, I’m back in one piece, and after a week and a half of decompressing it’s back to business as usual. That means it’s blog time!

To go into serious detail about the my trip would result in a blog of epic proportions (possibly longer than War and Peace). That said, I’ve decided the best thing to do is to post a couple of sentences summarizing each of my three main East Coast stops. I’ll save the rest for my memoirs, Piano Dork: 88 Keys, 10 Fingers and No Clue (due out March 2050)

Washington DC: From the Washington Monument to the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial, there’s an endless supply of famous sites in DC. There’s something kind of magical about standing in the presence of such iconic structures – it’s pretty overwhelming. Even so, my favorite DC experience was seeing the original “Kermit the Frog”, the “Ruby Slippers” from The Wizard of Oz, and the “Puffy Shirt” from Seinfeld at the Smithsonian. Yeah, yeah, I’m an uncultured swine. Or would that be a cultured swine in this case? Who knows, lol.

Anyway, Ebenezers is an amazing coffeehouse and a great, though mostly undiscovered DC music venue. I highly recommend that you guys stop by if you’re ever in the area. Try the vanilla chai latte - it’s fantastic!

Philadelphia: I’ll admit I didn’t have much time to sightsee in Philly. Guess I’ll have to get around to that next time! Memorable experiences include having a fantastic (yet MASSIVE) cheese steak, and then taking a wrong turn on the way to the venue, ending up in a neighborhood where we were immediately offered some bootleg DVDs, lol. Side note: If anyone wants a copy of Transformers, drop me an email (just kidding!). Despite that craziness, Philly was cool. Grabbing ice cream with a big group of awesome friends & fans after my show at Grape Street was especially great

New York:I spent about a week in NYC, and could literally go on forever about that place. I’ve lived in Los Angeles my whole life, but never actually knew the definition of the phrase “Big City” until I visited New York. Los Angeles and New York may be the two largest cities in the United States, but they’re so different it’s like being in two separate universes, each with their own set of rules and way of life. Being the nerd that I am, I was excited by such simple things as riding the subway for the first time. Of course, that quickly wore off as I realized how many different diseases you can probably catch off the subway poles, haha. In NYC, antibacterial hand wash is definitely your friend


At the grand piano @ The Bitter End, NYC

My list of awesome New York memories includes: Ordering a “Larry David” sandwich at the Stage Deli (corned beef, turkey & swiss on rye – absolutely delicious, but $6 for a side of cole slaw is pretty crazy), visiting the “Strawberry Fields” John Lennon Memorial in Central Park, walking past the Brill Building (at one time home to some of pop music’s greatest songwriters), going to the Museum of Modern Art to see Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” among other classic paintings, and catching some fantastic shows on Broadway (check out Spring Awakening and Avenue Q if you’re in town – you won’t be disappointed!).

One thing, however, easily tops my list of New York experiences: my show at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. The Bitter End is one of the most famous clubs in New York. It’s been around for nearly fifty years, and is where some of the most influential names in the history of rock got started. Walk in the door and you’ll see a mural that includes the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, Stevie Wonder and many others. At the top, it reads “We Played The Bitter End”.

Sharing the stage where so many amazing performances had once occurred, playing a grand piano no doubt touched by the fingers of those I idolize the most, I can without a doubt say that my show at The Bitter End was one of the greatest experiences of my life so far. An experience that I hope to relive many times over… and soon!

Some of my awesome friends and fans in New York were kind enough to take some video of my show at The Bitter End. This blog wouldn’t be complete without including some of the footage, so here it is... a brand new song called "Better Than Nothing":



There you have it. The “Matthew Jordan Gets Lost 2007 Summer Tour” in a nutshell. I can’t wait to get back on the road again, and next time hopefully it’ll be a bit easier to find my way around (well, at least in the cities I’ve visited before). Thank you SO much to each and every one of you who came out to a show, or helped me promote in any way. It was seriously great to meet so many amazing people, especially those who I’ve known online for so long. Big shout out to anyone who I got the chance to hang out with after the shows... those are some of my favorite tour memories. Btw, for a select few of you who came an especially long way to see me (you know who you are), I can't thank you enough - I'll make it my priority to play closer to your area next time

This wouldn’t have been possible without ALL of you guys, and I can’t wait to see you again. I’ll be back soon, I promise!

Rock on,
Matt

Well, I'm officially back from my trip to Chicago... and let me just say, I love that city. There's really nowhere else quite like it. Where else can you lay out on the beach, catching some rays, while looking up at an amazing skyline with some of the tallest buildings anywhere? Plus there are some seriously beautiful suburban areas, with really dense trees and foliage. Growing up in Los Angeles is cool, but boy, does it feel good to get away for a bit

As far as the show goes, well - Chicago, you ROCK! Uncommon Ground is a really unique venue. It's a great restaurant, that sort of winds around into a few different rooms, ending with the music room in back. While the music space isn't huge, the vibe is great. Really friendly, almost like you're playing in your own living room because people are sitting so close to where you're performing. The place was packed, and it was truly great getting to know all the awesome Chicagoans who made it to the show. Major thanks to everyone who helped pass out flyers for me. Chicago, you can be sure I'll be back again real soon. Thanks for the great experience.

Before I wrap up the Chicago-talk, I want to share a list of three absolutely fantastic restaurants I got the chance to check out while I was in town. Two of them involve more traditional Chicago fare, while the other is... well, a bit more original

1) Gino's East of Chicago - Want authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza? This is the place. It takes 45 minutes to cook, but it's worth every minute of the wait. I'm telling you, this pizza was probably 3 inches thick! The average person can't eat more than 2 slices. I was no exception, lol. The decor is pretty awesome too - people have scribbled all over EVERY surface in the place, including the booths, for years. I wonder what sort of hidden messages are on the walls? Haha.

2) Superdawg - A drive-in style hot dog joint, in a suburban area of Chicago. Absolutely perfect Chicago-style hot dogs. This place has been open since 1948, and for a reason. Just try it if you're in town - you won't regret it.

3) Heaven on Seven - Like spicy food? This is your place. The best Cajun/Creole-style food I've ever tasted. Their gumbo is out of this world. And every table is covered with approximately 25 bottles of various hot sauces, all of which could probably put you in a coma if you drank too much of them. I'm not kidding! With names like "Ass on fire", "Ass in space", "Hot as a Mutha" and "Slap My Ass and Call Me Shirley", this stuff is only for those with tongues of asbestos. Check out this quick camera-phone shot of all bottles of hot sauce on our table!



My last Chicago recommendation isn't a restaurant, but just something plain fun to do in town. The famous sketch comedy/improv group, The Second City, was founded in Chicago. I got to catch one of their shows, and these guys are hilarious. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Steven Colbert and others got their start here. Awesomely funny, but this also brings us to...

Matt's Pet Peeve of the Week: People who SPOIL things! Like the new Harry Potter book. At the end of the Second City show, one of the actors decided to work a possible spoiler on the ending of Harry Potter into one of the sketches. Every jaw in the room simultaneously hit the floor when that happened. Seriously dude, not cool. It was sort of ambiguous, so hopefully he wasn't being serious. But damn, was I stressed about it after the show. Oh well. Not like that's gonna stop me from reading it! Any of you guys finished yet? Don't tell me anything, lol

Alright, well that wraps up my Chicago-blog-o-rama. I'm off to exercise away all the great Chicago food, read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and go get ready for my East Coast jaunt next week. DC, Philly and NYC, here I come! In the meantime, here’s a video clip from the Chicago show... it’s my cover of Carole King’s “Way Over Yonder” (sorry for the cut off ending).



Catch ya later

Rock on,
Matt

Hey all,

Recently I got the opportunity to do an interview and live performance segment on Rock Remedy, a show on the awesome internet TV network MusicPlus TV. Figured I'd upload the performance footage to a blog so you could all check it out

"I'm On My Way"



"Jessie"



"Someone's Waiting"



Thanks to the amazing crew over at MusicPlus TV for doing such a great job. Hope you guys have as much fun watching these clips as I had filming them!

Rock on,
Matt

Happy belated 4th of July, everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday full of fireworks, friends, family and fun.

My apologies for going AWOL over the last couple months. Long story short, I was abducted by aliens who held me hostage on a planet in some distant galaxy with NO internet access at all. Er, well… ok, so that’s not quite true. They did have internet access, lol

But seriously, I’ve been crazy busy lately. Figure I might as well use this blog to fill you guys in on all the details.

1) TOUR UPDATE!

Way back in February, I mentioned my plans for a summer tour. Well, let me tell you – I had no idea how difficult it is to book a tour as an independent artist. Many clubs and venues get back to you right away, and are always polite and helpful. But a select few put you through a sort of demented booking obstacle course, making you jump through all kinds of hoops and deal with massive quantities of BS before they’ll give you a show. Even then, those places usually end up screwing you over.

You’d think that clubs would be very receptive to new musicians, since it’s their job to book shows. Frustratingly enough, venues in a couple of cities led me on for months, telling me they’d book me, but never nailing down a date and time. Because of that, we decided to just do a one-off show in Chicago, and then an East Coast swing (DC, Philadelphia and New York). Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville will have to wait till my next outing. Sorry guys! I promise, those shows will happen soon.

2) Auditions & Stuff

Over the past month, some cool new opportunities have knocked on my door. First, I auditioned to be the keyboard player/back-up vocalist for Miley Cyrus’ touring band. Miley is Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter - you may know her better as Hannah Montana, her Disney Channel alter-ego. I had a blast learning the songs and auditioning with some great musicians, but they ended up deciding to use a female keyboard player. Doh! It’s all good though, because now another opportunity has come up which probably wouldn’t be possible if I was on the road with Miley…

Last week, I auditioned for the Broadway show Spring Awakening! For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Spring Awakening is a new rock musical, scored by Duncan Sheik. It just won “Musical of the Year” at the Tony Awards, and is an absolutely kick-ass show. The director, casting director and producer (the incredibly talented Tom Hulce) were all out in LA scoping out fresh faces for the Broadway cast, and I was honored to have the chance to meet with them and audition for the lead role, Melchior. It went really well, and I’m gonna check out the show when I’m in NYC this August. Can’t wait to see it! I highly recommend that you guys check it out as well, should you get the chance. We’ll see what happens re: the audition… I’ll keep you posted.

3) Genghis Cohen Residency

Last month, I did a residency at renowned LA acoustic venue, Genghis Cohen. “Residency” is music industry lingo for a once-a-week show at the same venue. Seeing as how Genghis just so happens to be my favorite Chinese restaurant in LA, I was pretty excited The shows went great, and I debuted some new songs which I’ll also be playing during the summer tour. Big thanks to all the awesome people who made it out in June – you guys rock! However, this brings us to…

Matt’s Pet Peeve of the Week: Musicians who don’t support other musicians. There’s an unspoken code among local artists, whereby one songwriter (or band) should reciprocate the support of another. The number of people you get to your shows (AKA your “draw”) is very important. It helps you get rebooked, and also impresses any important people who might come to see you. If my friends and I were the only four people to come to your last gig at Joe’s Bar and Grill, you kind of owe it to me to check out one of my shows at some point in your life. Most artists have no problem adhering to this agreement. Unfortunately, a select few think it doesn’t apply to them. If any of you are reading this (and you know who you are), just know that I notice… and well, you probably won’t be seeing me at any more of your shows, lol

That pretty much does it for this update. I’ll do my very best to post blogs (maybe even some video blogs!) while I’m on the road, barring any more alien abductions or other unforeseen insanity. Catch you guys later

Rock on,
Matt

PS: I recently got the chance to see John Mayer (with opening act Ben Folds) play the Hollywood Bowl. WOW. Totally blew me away. Mayer will absolutely be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame one of these days. You’ve gotta see him when he comes your way!

Question of the day: Who knew there were so many other Matthew Jordans out there?

A couple weeks ago, I was casually browsing iTunes and was pleasantly surprised to find Horizon available for download. My old EP Book of Days took a few months to make it online, so I wasn’t expecting to see it for a while. Unfortunately, my excitement soon turned into a pretty big headache…

Here’s the deal: There’s another Matthew Jordan, and iTunes seems to think he and I are the same person. Nothing against the other guy - he’s been around for a while and used to run songwriter forums on AOL – but the fact is, he’s not me. That Matthew Jordan is primarily a gospel songwriter from the Midwest. And yet, click the "See All Albums" link (on the page for Horizon) and you’ll be linked to two other albums called I Will Let the Hammer Lay and Instrumental Cognition, which aren’t mine. Don’t get confused!

That said, the last two weeks have been spent e-mailing about a thousand different people at Apple. The other day, I finally managed to find someone who claims they can fix this problem and give us separate listings. It hasn’t been taken care of yet, but I’ve been told it’ll be done by the end of this week.

All the same, this made me wonder if there are in fact even MORE Matthew Jordans out there. And a quick Google search indicates that, yup, there’s a rapper named Matthew Jordan from Colorado. Hmm. Hey dude, I don’t think the name “Smooth MJ” is taken, so you might want to consider using that instead – it’s getting crowded in here! And let’s face it, no rapper should want to share a name with me. I’m pretty much the polar opposite of anything that could remotely be considered “gangsta”, lol.

On top of that, in the non-musical world, there’s well-known photographer Matthew Jordan Smith, and a USC football player also named Matthew Jordan. Which makes things even MORE confusing, because I also went to USC. Yikes!

Bottom line: just keep in mind there are two different Matthew Jordans on iTunes. My only albums are Horizon and Book of Days

Moving on, big thanks to everyone who made it out to my solo shows in the OC and San Diego over the last couple of weeks. An acoustic show has a totally different vibe than a show with full band… it’s much more intimate, almost like the audience is sitting in my living room. Of course, I live in a studio apartment, so I don’t even have a living room, but that’s beside the point

Anyway, I can’t wait to get out on the road for my acoustic tour this summer. Speaking of which, I just booked my first ever New York City show at The Bitter End on Thursday, August 9th, and I’m psyched! More dates in Nashville, Atlanta, and possibly Charlotte should be announced soon. Keep checking the website for updates.

Finally, I just want to send my deepest thoughts and prayers out to the families of the victims of the VA Tech tragedy earlier this week. In the grand scheme of things, I realize that my random ramblings and petty problems don’t matter… especially when there’s crazy stuff like this going on in the world.

Thanks for reading guys. Catch ya later!

Rock on,
Matt

UPDATE: It appears iTunes has fixed this problem. Whew! Glad to have that straightened out. Thanks iTunes