Biography
There are two musicians by the name of Matt Rivers,
1. Matt Rivers an American musician born and raised in California
2. Matt Rivers an English musician performing in South East London.
1. Matt Rivers has produced an album with the name "Pancake Record Sessions v.I" which contains his original works along with covers of other artists. The album was recorded live at Pancake Records and is available in digital format.
2. Matt Rivers and his band tend to like grabbing an audience by the emotional proverbial's and giving them a bit of a shake. The music bounces from upbeat & funky to thought provoking and melodic, with a smattering of foot-stomping and tantrum in between. Tunes pour out in a weather-beaten type style, earthy, wind-bashed and raw, as they wend their wily magic, mixing all the ingredients into a big indie/folk/rock cake.
Motivated by a need to increase the depth and range of his songs, Matt brought in Francesco Bonini (Lead Guitar) in 2006 after being awarded a place on an exclusive professional music development course at prestigious live venue - ‘The Stables’ in Wavendon. Funded by the Arts Council and Leverhulme Trust, the course involved working with artists such as David Knopfler (Dire Straights), Boo Hewerdine (Eddie Reader) and Cara Dillon (Transatlantic Sessions). The course funded his debut EP, Some Elsewhere which came out in July 2007. James WG (Bass) was recruited to record the bass lines. In the same year, the band got into the regional finals of South Coast Idol and Matt was awarded ‘Best Male Act’ by the judges. More recently, Chris Fox (Drums) has joined, adding an extra dynamic and much needed rhythm section to the sound.
Over the last three years, the band has played extensively in the South East and London at established venues, clubs, acoustic showcases and festivals. In April 2009 the band had the pleasure of playing with upcoming band, Gypsy Squat Pop Project and in the same weekend, supported Mark Chadwick from the Levellers.
Matt has been creative since he was a nipper. Initially trained as an actor, after numerous stage productions and the odd TV appearance, Matt decided to channel his energies into singing and song-writing. A self-taught musician, he was playing solo before forming the current line-up.
Incidentally, Matt was weaned on a diet of Beatles, Stones and Roses, whilst gleaning all he could from Acid Jazz, Indie, Rock, Classical and Pop. He cites major influences as Bowie, Blur, Cat Stevens, Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Iron and Wine, Kate Bush, Weller, Stevie Wonder, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Pachabel, Elton John, Jamiroquai, Rod, Jane and Freddy and Bruce Forsyth.
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