Latest News!

Nov. 28th, '06

Hello everyone. Time for an update. I've been real busy here in NYC for the last few months. I've been doing shows with Ari Hest, James Katz and Marwood. Recently I've started playing with a few new artists. I've been sitting in with NYC songwriters Julian Velard and Jonah Smith. Definitely check these guys out. They have great songs and great voices. Julian's got a baritone soul that's gotta be heard. Great voice. He does a lot of solo shows on piano, but from time to time he expands to a small combo. Watch for shows. Jonah's latest CD is out on Relix records and he's about to do some touring so definitely watch for him. He's got this real classic sounding style (a la The Band or The Jayhawks) but with some soul mixed in. Great stuff. I also did some recording with a band called Small Town Sleeper. They have a CD coming out on VM Records/Upper 11. I tracked a bunch of guitars and some keyboards and even a little mandolin, lap steel and melodica. My first time working with producer Ken Lewis too. An absolute pleasure. Watch for their CD. Lastly some big news. I just got offered a gig with Rod Stewart. Amazing huh? I'm going to be playing Keyboards/Guitar for his upcoming world tour. I did one show with Rod so far and it was amazing to be on stage with him. What an amazing singer and performer. A killer band too. All great players. I'll be giving you all updates as I start to rehearse and tour. Very excited to be part of it. I've posted tour dates on my myspace page: www.myspace.com/mattbecktwenty so I hope some of you can make it out to some of the shows. That's about it for now. Hope to see as many of you as I can out there. Stay well, - Matt

Sept. 24th, '06

Hi there. Popping back in here to give you all an update of what I've been up to since ending Rob Thomas' tour. I've been doing a lot of studio work. I did a day of recording guitar with Gwen Stefani for her next solo CD. What a blast. It was a great song, very 80's. (Think Duran Duran or Cyndi Lauper) Tony Kanal (No Doubt Bassist) was producing. They were both extremely cool. We recorded at Electric Lady Studios (famous NY studio where Hendrix recorded) I got to use the "Hendrix piano" as well. Also did a couple of songs with Tracy Bonham for her new ep. Just did a few tunes with Ari Hest for his forthcoming CD as well. Watch for all of them. They're all great records! I've done some gigs with my usual bands here in NYC (Marwood, James Katz and a new singer Alec Smith) Coming up I have a small tour with Ari Hest (check my myspace page for dates) and possibly a CMJ show with Paul Doucette's Break And Repair Method. Stay tuned for info. As always I'm making baby steps towards finishing more of my own tunes as well and I hope to have some stuff to show you all in the not too distant future. Oh and hey, that online fanclub chat thing last night was so much fun. Thanks to all who attended. One more thing, 2 CDs I'm obsessing over right now: 1.) Mike Viola "Just Before Dark" and 2.) The Weepies "Say I Am You" Pick them up if you can. I love them!! Hope to see all you guys out there some time soon. Stay well

July 23rd, '06

Hello again, I'm finally back home from Rob Thomas' "Something To Be" tour. We went to 5 countries and countless cities. What an amazing time we all had. I helped Rob put together a band of wonderful musicians who gave all of themselves (musically and personally) night after night and did an awe-inspiring job. I wanted to thank each and everyone in my new musical family for such an amazing tour. So thanks Abe, Al, Frank, Jenny, Marc and Vivian for a year and a half of great music and great times. Like rob said, we are what we are because of everybody who's here and the individual and unique contributions that we all make. (I'm paraphrasing here, but y'all get the gyst) Thanks to all of you for making Rob's tour such a success!

Now that I'm back home, I'm starting to settle in and think about what I might do with my time now. Gigs, projects and sessions are starting to roll in, so check my myspace page (www.myspace.com/mattbecktwenty) for details on all of it. I'm sure I'll be back out there doing shows this coming year, so I hope to see some of you out there. Thanks, as always, for showing the love that you all do time after time and tour after tour. It makes it all that more special than I could ever imagine. Thank you!!

Apr. 11, '06

Hi everybody, It's been a really long time since I've updated this page (like 4 months, geez) I've got a lot to say so get comfy. I just got back from the Canadian leg of the Rob Thomas tour. It was probably the best time I've had so far. So many great people in Canada. The highlight was getting to meet a bunch of the cast of the Canadian T.V. show The Trailer Park Boys. Our whole company have become devoutees of this show. If you haven't heard of it, it's a mock-umentary style comedy series that airs on the Showcase channel. It is brilliant to say the least. Our Lighting Designer Benoit Richards (who hails from Montreal) saw to it that everyone in our camp saw the show and became fans. When he heard we were to play Halifax on our Canada run, he reached out to the cast of the show and they came out and hung with us for the day. It was an amazing night that I'll never foget. They were all so friggin' cool and I've made some good friends with some great people. There is a Trailer Park Boys movie coming out soon so look for it and you can buy the T.V. episodes on DVD if you do a search. Definitely check it out. Ok, other news: Having spent the last few years working with some of the best songwriters of today (Rob Thomas, Lisa Loeb, Chris Trapper, Peter Stuart, Tracy Bonham and James Katz, to name a few) I've been bitten by the bug. The past few months I've been writing songs and hope to have an album's worth of material by the end of the year. You can't spend any extended time working with the talents I've mentioned and not be inspired yourself. I'll keep you all posted on it. Right now I have some time off. Although "time-off" will still be spent doing lots of shows and sessions. I'm going out with Lisa Loeb for a few and have started working with a new band called Marwood. I will find a little vacation time in there somewhere though. As for what's coming up next, there will be one more Rob Thomas tour through the U.S. for about 7 weeks starting in late May. Watch for it because it's the last one for a while I believe. After that? Who knows. The musical future looks very interesting though with another Matchbox 20 record to happen and perhaps another Rob Thomas album after that. And in between the end of this tour and the beginning of the next Matchbox 20 one? We'll see. Something unexpected and wonderful always pops up. I will definitely keep you all posted. As always, thanks so much for being there and supporting everything. Also, thanks so much to the people who keep the fan sites and boards alive (Shirlise, Julia and Abby) You guys are the heart and soul of it and if it weren't for you, there'd be nothing. Thanks. And of course, thanks to everybody for making this tour so special to us. It makes all the difference. Can't wait to see everybody out there this last time through with Rob. Hope all is well. All the best.

Dec. 14th

Just finished the first leg of Rob Thomas' solo tour. It was amazing. The show was so well received with most of them being sold out too. Highlights for me were the 2 days at The Beacon Theater and playing on the American Music Awards. Right now I'm sitting in rehearsals with Matchbox 20 for a New Years show in Las Vegas. We haven't all played together for close to 2 years. It should be a blast. Most of Jan. will be off for me and then Australia in Feb. and canada in March. So great to see all of you out there and I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

July 24th

Fresh off the plane from Australia. I'm so jet-lagged. Oz was so incredible. We were in Melbourne and Sydney. The people are just amazing. We did a couple of TV shows and a couple of small club shows. All were great. We go back in Feb. I'm told. I have a little time off from Rob right now, but it doesn't mean I'll be bored. I have a couple of shows with Lisa Loeb coming up.(check www.lisaloeb.com for venues and dates) I'll be playing with her in Exton, PA and Haddon Hts, NJ. I just did some recording with Ari Hest. Look for an ep from him soon. We had a great time and the new music is so good. I wound up playing guitar, banjo and mandolin on 3 or 4 tunes. Watch for it. There is a new solo CD coming from Push Star singer Chris Trapper. I wound up playing Lap-Steel on a couple tunes. His new stuff is so beautiful. Most of it is of a Jazzy nature too, but still very Chris Trapper. Great songs. Watch for it. That's about it. Can't wait to see you all when I'm out there with Rob in the fall. I'll post tour dates as soon as I get them. cheers!

July 4th

Just got back from an amazing few weeks of shows. I was in Manchester, London, Cologne and Berlin for more promo shows with Rob Thomas. They were amazing and the people in these cities were the best. I can't wait to go back for the proper tour. After we got back from Europe, we went to Philly to be part of Live 8. It was so amazing to be around all these great acts and getting to see them all perform and to hang out backstage. What had to be the highlight for me was getting to see Stevie Wonder perform. We played right before him so when we left the stage, I just hung out on the side of the stage to get the best view I possibly could. Stevie sounded amazing and his band was hot! Rob even got a chance to sing "Higher Ground" with Stevie. It was amazing. I'm getting ready to leave to Australia in a few days for a week of promo with Rob. I was down there with Matchbox 20 on their last tour and it was an incredible experience. I can't wait to get back down there. I'll have a full report when I get back. As always, it's so great to be out there and it's always great to meet you all at the shows. Thanks for all the kind words. See you all soon.

Getting ready to depart to Europe for some more promo dates with Rob Thomas. I've posted them in the "Tour Dates" section on the front page. Really looking forward to getting back over there. We played a couple more T.V. shows too. We performed on The View and The Today Show. I hope to have all of our T.V. stuff posted on here before too long. Watch for it. We've also been asked to play at Live Aid (actually called Live 8 this time around). We'll be playing in Philly on 7/2 I believe. Other acts include: Stevie Wonder, Jay Z, Maroon 5, 50 Cent and Bon Jovi. Should be a blast.

Did a show in L.A. with Dog's Eye View on 5/31 at The Viper Room. It went really well. The band is gearing up for the release of "Tomorrow Always Comes" on Vanguard Records. The single "Gone Like Yesterday" went to radio this week. I played a lot of guitar and some keys on the record. Watch for it. Awesome sounding record and I love the tunes. Also, Tracy Bonham's latest "Blink The Brightest" on Rounder Records comes out on 6/21. I played guitar on the song "Did I Sleep Through It All?". A beautiful, beautiful record. Definitely pick it up. That's about it for now. As always, thanks so much for coming out to the shows. It so great to see all of you out there. Thank you so much for the kind words too. I really appreciate it. See you out there. All the best, Matt

May 2nd

Just got back from the first bunch of Rob Thomas tour dates. It was an amazing experience. To see this thing start from the very beginning all the way through to now has been such rewarding work. Rob's album "Something To Be" came out at #1 on the Billboard charts. An amazing accomplishment for Rob. I appear on the title track of the record singing some backround vocals. There is a companion album that came out as well called "Something More" that is only available at Target stores. I played guitar on 2 tracks of that release. We appeared on Jay Leno 2 nights in a row (a very rare occurance), The Ellen DeGeneres show and have some more TV dates coming soon. After that, there will be much more touring here and abroad. So, check back soon for those dates.

In other news, :-) Tracy Bonham's CD "Blink The Brightest" will be released on 6/21 on Rounder/Zoe records. I played guitar on 1 track and have been playing in her live band. Also, there is a new Push Stars release entitled "From The Cradle To The Stage". It's a live album and I appear on 3 tracks. Also, Paul Doucette has a debut solo record called "The Break And Repair Method" I did a lot of guitar, keys and some singing. Watch for a release date. also watch for the new Dog's Eye View release "Tomorrow Always Comes" on Vanguard Records. I played a lot of guitar and some keys on it. Also did some sessions for a new Virgin artist named Hope Partlow. Watch for that too. Alot of watching. Are your eyes tired yet? Right now I have a little down time that I'll be using to just relax a little. There will be a show with Lisa Loeb in Providence, R.I. on 5/28 and a show with Dog's Eye View in L.A. at The Viper Room on 5/31. That's about it for now. Thanks so much to all the amazing people who have been coming out to the shows. You all make it so special for us. It's been so nice meeting you all at the shows. See you all out there very soon. tchau, Matt

April 4th

Finishing up rehearsals with Rob Thomas for his upcoming promo tour in support of Rob's new CD "Something To Be". The rehearsals have been going amazingly well and I know you all will love the show. We have a truly amazing band configured. I'm taking on Musical Director duties this time around which is new and exciting and also exhausting. So far a wonderful experience. As for recording, I wound up singing backrounds on one song on the record and played guitar on a few "b-sides" that will surface at some point. I'm posting dates in the tour section so take a look and I hope to see you all out there.

January 19th

Thought I'd try something a little different and do an update from the road. I'm in Tokyo, Japan right now on a day off from touring with Lisa Loeb. The shows have been going great (all sold out). We are out together as a duo for the first time. It's really different and fun musically. We can change up things on the spot and be really adventurous with the songs. I'm playing mostly electric guitar and piano. Lisa on acoustic. We have a couple of more dates here and then we go to Hawaii for a couple. My 10 favorite things in Japan are (in no particular order): 1. The people (if you ask directions, you get them and usually a personal escort to the destination you're looking for from a total stranger) 2. Pocky (pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate) 3. Sushi!!! (all types, my favorite is Uni) 4. CD/Video stores (they have all kinds of rare bootlegs) 5. No noise pollution (no pollution for that matter) 6. Onigiri (triangular rice patties with stuffing and covered w/ seaweed) 7. Black Black gum (Eucalyptis flavored gum, yummy) 8. Architecture (everything from ancient shrines to modern skyscrapers) 9. Respect (everyone seems to give it and receive it ALWAYS!) 10. Unsweetened Iced Tea (everywhere, it's as common as coke!)

December 9th

Hello. A quick update. I'm back home from touring with Ari Hest. I've spent most of the last few months playing guitar in the band while promoting Ari's 1st CD for Columbia records "Someone To Tell". Highlights included a performance on The Carson Daly Show, shows at Irving Plaza and The Bowery Ballroom in NYC. I've finished work on Paul Doucette's (Matchbox 20 drummer) solo album. No release date yet. Great, great songs and production. Look for it. I've started work with Rob Thomas. Now that his solo CD is nearing completion, I have been asked to be musical director and play keys/guitar/lap-steel. I'm so excited about Rob's solo stuff. It's in a new direction but still has all the stuff I love about Rob's songwriting in there. Definitely watch for it. should be released in late March. Dec. brings a little time off and there is a Japan tour with Lisa Loeb coming up in January. 2005 should prove to be very busy. Hope to see some of you out there. Happy Holidays.

October 6th

Hi everybody. I wanted to check in to say thank you all so much for the Birthday love. It really made my day (which was spent working). It's been a while since I updated and I apologize. Things have been so crazy. So here's what's happening: Rob Thomas' CD is nearing completion and the closer it gets to the release, the more promo will be done for it. I will keep you all posted on it. Lisa Loeb's new record "The Way It Really Is" is out and I've been doing a lot of duo dates with her in support of it. Maybe some of you caught the Leno appearance? We will also be on the McEnroe show on 10/19. I'll find out if it airs the same day or not. Also been working with Ari Hest a lot. We've been doing a lot of college dates and maybe some of you caught the Carson Daly appearance? We just did the "Cold Pizza" morning show yesterday and will know the air date pretty soon. Work on Paul Doucette's solo album are under way and I'm blown away. I love his stuff. I had no idea Paul was such a good songwriter. Watch for it. In other news (I sound like an anchor man right?) The new single from Antigone Rising is now available on line and at iTunes. It's called "Don't Look Back". Rob Thomas produced it and I played B3 on it. Came out really well. Also, Tracy Bonham is in gear with various full band shows. We've done two, one in L.A. and one in N.Y. and it's amazing. I'll keep you posted on the next one as there will be more coming the closer it gets to the release of her new CD "Dumbo Sun". I've updated my "Tour dates" section too, so check it for upcoming shows. Thanks again for all the emails and kind words. You make all the work so worth while for me. Thank you and hope to see you all out there before too long.

August 30th 2004:

Checking in. Been very busy as of late (That's good). Haven't had a lot of time to rest (That's bad). Not complaining though, I'm doing some really cool things right now. I leave tomorrow for 2 weeks with Ari Hest ending on 9/15 with a performance on Carson Daly (I forget if Carson tapes and airs on the same day, will find out and post). I've posted Ari's dates in the "tour dates" section on the main page. On 9/10 I'll be taking a day off from Ari's tour to do The Tonight Show with Jay Leno performing with Lisa Loeb. After Ari, I go out for a week of Canadian dates with Lisa Loeb. These will be duo shows and are always so much fun. Add to that a show with James Katz in NYC on 9/15 and you pretty much have it. Hope all is well and thanks so much for all the nice emails and posts. As I get busier I'm finding it harder and harder to answer every email I get, so for that I apologize, but I do read them all, so thank you all so very much. Hope to see some of you out there on the road.

New Tour Dates:

Doing a bunch of shows coming up. Playing with Rob Thomas, Lisa Loeb, Peter Stuart, The Push Stars and Ari Hest. Rob Thomas' gig is a benefit for Sidewalk Angels (a foundation started by Marisol Thomas that helps many unfortunate people and animals) check out www.sidewalkangels.com. Lisa Loeb's show will be opening up for Heart. Ari Hest is a new artist. His CD comes out 8/10 on Columbia Records. Check out www.arihest.com. James Katz' show will be a CD release for his latest "Glow". All shows will be great I'm sure. Click on the "New Tour Dates" link on the main page to see dates. So looking forward to them all. Hope to see some of you out there. That's it for now. Will be in touch. Hope everyone is well.

A few things:

A brief update. The new Matchbox Twenty DVD "SHOW, A Night In The Life Of Matchbox Twenty" is out now. It came out very well and there is some footage of yours truly in there. Check it out. Also, have done shows with Tracy Bonham and Peter Stuart that went very well. Both have new CDs coming soon. Hope to do some more with each. Will keep you posted. I started working with a new band too. Their name is Cantinero. (www.cantinero.com) They have a CD coming out on Artemis records on 10/5. Very cool stuff. Check it out. That's about it for now. I'll be in touch.

A quick note:

Just a couple of things. I did some guitar and keys on the forthcoming Tracy Bonham CD. It's an amazing batch of songs. Check it out. There's a chance I may do some playing with her live as well. Also, please check out the latest release from James Katz. It's called "Glow". I play guitar in James' band here in NYC. We recorded this CD not too long ago and it's just been released. James is one of my favorite songwriters. Check him out at www.jameskatz.com

Back in NYC:

Been back in NYC for a couple of weeks now and I'm starting to settle in. Did a really cool session for a new band called "Antigone Rising". They're an all girl band with a CD coming out soon on Atlantic. Rob Thomas co-wrote and produced two songs on the CD and I played piano and B3 on them. Great stuff. Look for it soon. Played on some demos for Rob Thomas' solo CD as well. Amazing stuff. Very different from Matchbox. Can't wait for you all to hear it. Thanks again to all the people who made it out to the Lisa and Dweezil tour. Is was so great to see you all! Thanks for the support. I'll be updating again soon. Hope everyone is well.

Dweezil and Lisa tour:

I'll be touring with Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb on guitar and keyboard duties. This tour will be a lot of fun especially because we will be playing Lisa's music as well as Dweezil's and Frank Zappa's. Check the "View Tour" link from my front page to see confirmed dates. More to come too.

2004 New Year news:

Just came back from L.A. where I did some playing with Five For Fighting. If schedules permit, there's a good chance I'll be doing some touring with them as guitarist. Finished work on Peter Stuart's forthcoming CD "Tomorrow Always Comes" and heard final mixes of The Push Stars forthcoming CD "Paint The Town" Check back to see release dates and touring dates with these bands. I am slated to start working on Rob Thomas' solo CD and will give updates on that as I have them.

Notes from the road with matchbox twenty:

The Matchbox 20 Tour is finally over. After over a year of traveling the world, we played our last show on 12/16. What an incredible experience this has been. There will be tons of tour photos and video to be posted very soon. Also, there are a lot of very exciting projects that I'll be working on in the coming year so check back for those announcements.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Tour is almost over. This Fall leg has had some amazing stops. Most notably our Madison Square Garden show. It was my first time ever playing there and it was everything I thought it would be. I've been dreaming about playing MSG since I was a kid and used to go see shows there. The show went perfectly and it was sold out too. What an experience I'll never forget.

The new Matchbox 20 release "ep" is out. It's an enhanced cd of rare and live audio that has video of the very first show I did with MB20. It was a small unannounced show at The Troubador in L.A. Very cool. There's interview and behind the scenes footage as well. Check it.

A couple of T.V. appearances to mention. We did "Hard Rock Live" which aired on MTV on 11/24. It went really well. Also, the VH1 awards are airing on 11/30 on VH1. We did a version of "Bright Lights" with a boys choir and orchestra. Very cool.Check it. As always, it's so great to meet you guys at the shows. You all show me so much love. It blows me away.

Through the tireless efforts of Shirlise, (one of MB20's biggest fans and an amazingly sweet person) I actually have a fansite now. My first one. People actually post there too. Check it out: groups.yahoo.com/group/MattBeckTwenty/

We're into our Fall tour now. The first three weeks we had The Push Stars as our opening act. Since I played guitar and mandolin on their forthcoming CD "Paint The Town", I was more than happy to help out when they asked me to join them on stage every night. It was an amazing time and we had such a blast playing every night. A highlight was when Rob Thomas jumped up on stage when we covered MB20's "The Difference" on our last night. We were all very sad to see The Push Stars go. I will probably tour with them when they promote "Paint The Town" in the new year. Watch for it.

We've been in and through Canada. Very Beautiful (and very cold). We're in the states now and will continue here until the end of the tour. We'll be doing Jay Leno again on 11/4. We'll be playing "Bright Lights" the current single. Also, the "Bright Lights" video is in current rotation right now. If you look really close you can make me out in some shots. It's a live video taken from the forthcoming DVD. Watch for them.

Had a few days off and flew out to L.A. to play on Peter Stuart's forthcoming CD. It went amazingly well and I can't wait to hear the finished product. For everybody who knows Peter's music, the new CD is simultaneously in a new and different direction AND the same as what we all love about Peter's music already. You just have to hear it! Watch for it.

I'll be checking in again with an update. It's been so fun getting to meet a lot of you at the shows. I'm looking forward to the rest. See you out there.

Fall Tour Dates: check www.matchbox20.com for current itinerary.

Matchbox 20 Australian Tour: Just got back from sunny down under. The tour was a great success. We played Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, New Castle and Brisbane. The shows were great and the people were even greater! We held Koalas and fed Kangaroos and did all the usual touristy stuff. Really glad to be home. We're off to Europe in a couple of weeks and then we start our fall tour. I will have the dates posted soon.

I've been playing Keys/Guitar and Lap Steel for Matchbox 20. We appeared on The David Letterman, Conan O'Brian and Carson Daly shows and we're in the midst of a world tour in support of the new CD "More Than You Think You Are". View Tour Dates Here!

While in L.A. doing Matchbox 20 tour rehearsals I was asked to play on the forthcoming Push Stars release. I wound up playing a lot of Mandolin and Guitar. It was great fun and a great experience. Truly great songwriting. Produced by Greg Collins.

Just did a gig with Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories at The Bottom Line. It was great to play with the band again after a long hiatus. Hopefully there will be more band gigs to come. I'll keep you posted.

I've been doing some tour dates with Peter Stuart. Some may know Peter from the band Dog's Eye View who released a couple of CDs for Columbia and charted well with the single "Everything Falls Apart". Peter has a new CD out called "Propeller" on Vanguard Records. I've been doing Keyboard and Lap-Steel duties. I've been having much fun with this project. An excellent, excellent band too.

I've been asked to play guitar and keyboards for the Frank Zappa Halloween Tribute Concert at Madison Square Garden. Terry Bozzio is the musical director and some of the alumni slated to perform are: Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew, George Duke and Vinnie Colaiuta . I'm so honored to be part of this event. It looks as though the concert may be postponed and therefore not happening on Halloween '02. Hopefully it won't be postponed for too long. I'll post more info as soon as I get it.

I did a festival gig with Lisa Loeb called Earthfest in Boston. It was a blast! We played for 125,000 people. Other acts on the bill were Bonnie Raitt, Garbage and Midnight Oil. Definitely the most people for whom I'd ever played.

We did a taping of the The Rosie O'Donnell show with Lisa Loeb. We did Lisa's single "Someone You Should Know". Just before that, I went to Charleston WV, where Lisa and I did a radio show called Mountain Stage. Also, my video page is now up with the Craig Kilborn appearance. Lastly, the video for "Someone You Should Know" is done and has been playing on VH1. The band appears in a shot.

The "tick,tick...BOOM!" Original Cast Recording was released by RCA/Victor. I've heard the finished product and I think it came out really well. The sounds are good and the mixes are pretty hot for a cast recording. We recorded at Clinton Studios and did it all in one day. Everything was pretty much 1st and 2nd takes. Thankfully, there was a little time to do some overdubs. If you get a chance to hear it, let me know what you think.

"Uncharted Territory", the latest CD from Stephen Schwartz was just released by Fynsworth Ally. I did some nylon and steel-string acoustic parts and some mandolin and Ebow parts too. Very nice production as well.

That's all for now,
Take Care,
Matt