Matt's Bio

I started on piano when I was 5 years old, and at the age of 7, was one of the youngest students ever to be accepted to The Julliard School of Music (Pre-College program). It wasn't long after that I discovered Rock, so at 16, I picked up a guitar and started teaching myself how to play. I've always been left-handed so I didn't think twice about holding the guitar like a lefty. What I didn't realize was that the guitar I was using was right-handed. So I learned to play on a right-handed guitar and just flipped it over and played it left-handed. I didn't realize until much later that most left-handers restring the guitar so that the strings lay the same way, but by that time it was too late. I was already acclimated to my "upside-down" technique. Furthermore, I was coming up with some original voicings and was playing things differently, so I enjoyed the originality of it. I started playing in bands in high-school and was accepted to The Manhattan School of Music soon after. I received a Bachelors of Music Degree in Jazz/Commercial music on guitar.

After graduating, I started to do some touring. I played guitar for a tour of "The Who's Tommy." I did that for about a year and a half. After that, I played Guitar and Keyboards for the tour of "Rent." I did that for about two years.

Right now I'm back in New York City. I currently play guitar and keyboards for Matchbox 20 and Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories. I did a tour of Japan with Lisa Loeb and we're now doing U.S. dates in support of the latest CD "Hello Lisa"(Artemis). Just finished up some T.V. shows with Matchbox 20 and I'll be doing their world tour in support of "More Than You Think You Are" (Atlantic)

Here is a list of instruments that I play: Guitar, Keyboards, B3, Mandolin, Banjo, Baritone Guitar, Lap-Steel, Dobro, Bass, Cavaquinho and Vocals.

Of course, being the obsessive "sounds junkie" that I am, I have many different kinds of electric and acoustic guitars as well as amps and effects.

These are some of the companies I endorse:
Hamer Guitars, VHT Amplifiers, and D'Addario Strings.