We recently got the chance to interview singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson who will be playing a sold out show at the State Theatre this Monday. Nathanson spills the dirt about his live show (which apparently is comparable to Cirque De Soleil), admits his love for Dawson's Creek and comes clean about how he really feels about State College, PA.
Q: How has the tour been going so far?
It's been great, we did five days on this Rock Boat craziness at the beginning where a bunch of fans get on a boat and we play shows constantly for, like, five days and we go to the Grand Cayman Islands and Jamaica. So that's the way to start a tour in case anyone asks you. [laughs] So everyone's in pretty high spirits when we started, so we did a couple shows in Florida, moved up the coast and we'll end in Boulder, Colorado. It's been great so far.
Q: You've been doing this for a long time, like 13 or 14 years, so when you hear you've sold out a venue, does it still excite you?
Fuck yeah, it does, it's great. All this stuff is great, like all the positive stuff. Especially because I feel like I've been taking the stairs in my career. [laughs] It's great, every step has been really cool, so when a show sells out or...like we just heard this morning that we're going to do Conan O' Brien tomorrow night, which is super fucking exciting...these are the kind of things that make it all right to just get in a van and be away from your house and travel around and stay up 'til 4 in the morning. It's just been really cool, I feel like there's a nice momentum happening with the record and all that stuff.
Q: What was the main inspiration behind your new album Some Mad Hope?
The inspiration behind the record was just relationships and the thing that happens over the course of time and learning how to be in a relationship and learning how to not be so self-focused. The record was written over the course of three years and when it was all said and done and when I put in sequence, it ended up being this sort of - this sounds really cheesy - sort of this journey I took. The record is about relationships, it's about learning how to not be so destructive in your life to others and to yourself.
Q: Do you feel that you've matured or changed since your first album Please?
I feel like the records and the songwriting and stuff has gotten better for me, at least for what I think records and songs should be. I feel like every record is a progression and every record gets a little bit better and this record was definitely the first time that I was able to just...I decided before I started the record that I was going to take as much time as necessary until the record kind of did what I wanted it to do. I made all these records before where I would come up to these limitations like not enough money or not enough time or the label was like, 'This is great,' and they were all enthusiastic. I went with their enthusiasm instead of my desire to make the record better.
So, with this record, I got out of the deal with Universal and I was like, 'Fuck it, I'm going to make this record by myself. I'm going to spend as much money as it costs and take as much time as it takes to kind of figure out this process for me,' because the live show has always been second nature but the recording stuff has always been like the most fucking foreign, weird trip. It never really worked the way I wanted it to. For me, I feel like the records have gotten better, and with this record being the point where I was like, 'Oh, this is how it's done, this is how you make a song that goes like this.' I demystified it a little bit and dug in more.
Q: Do you have any surprises planned for the audience during this tour?
Yeah, but I couldn't tell you because then they're not surprises any more. [laughs] We have a cake and we've got dwarves and, um...this crazy elephant we spray-painted pink. Don't tell anybody, but it's going to be good. It's a lot like Cirque De Soleil. The guitar players just come out hanging by their teeth and spinning. It's really good. We're so over touring clubs and we can't have explosions anymore so we might as well just have colored lights and pink elephants. [laughs]
Q: A lot of fans not only dig your music but they seem to really appreciate that you talk to them in between songs. One fan actually said you were part stand-up comedian, so as an artist, how important do you think that crowd interaction is during a live show?
It's crucial. Playing the song is great, connecting with the band is great and all that sort of stuff. But it's all about connecting with the crowd because the crowd's energy is what elevates the whole event from just being rehearsal. That cycle of energy between the crowd, that's what makes the songs great. That's what elevates the whole moment. So for me, to interact between songs just feels like the most natural way to sort of connect with people, to continue that cycle. If I just got up there and played the songs, I would feel uncomfortable because it's sort of like I'm throwing a party and you want to mingle with everyone there so they have a good time. Of course it's a party with really depressing songs being played [laughs], but the idea is how do you get people to break out of their watching-you-not-interacting-feeling that they get when they go to shows? The interaction with the crowd, for me, is a natural way of making me feel at ease and at the same time loosens the crowd up.
Q: Speaking of live shows, have you seen any good ones lately?
Yeah, I went and saw Tegan and Sara before The Con came out. That was great. I went and saw The National play...they were fucking amazing. Those were the last two shows where I was blown away. I get kind of jaded about music. It's sort of like, when you go see a band, you know what's happening so it doesn't have that mystery. So, whenever a band captures me and keeps my attention, that's a really great feeling for me to be taken out of my head and taken out of my thoughts about all the bullshit. That's what our shows should be. Shows should be these events where people don't get so caught up in what's going on in their lives. It should just be a moment like, 'just fucking let go, here's a song, here's a story, and here's a Duran Duran song.' All this stuff is what breaks down the whole thing so that show becomes a connection.
Q: Where do you write most of your songs?
I'm always journaling lyrics, always recording little melodies and little guitar ideas but most of the writing usually happens in a room amidst chaos. I was doing a remodel of my house and it was a fucking zoo. Like everything was ripped up and overturned and there was only one room that wasn't being totally gutted and destroyed. And I just sat amongst all the stuff that was piled in this room and finished the record. It was fun to hunker down and focus and get it done. Songwriting has not yet come very easily to me. After seven records it still feels like shitting a small city. It feels like I'm passing a watermelon but it's fun to be able to hunker down in these rooms and get things done. I wish I had something cool. Like 'usually, it's when I'm in a hammock in the Bahamas, sipping margaritas. That's when the songs really flow.'
Q: How do you feel when you hear your music featured in television shows like Scrubs and One Tree Hill?
I dig it. It's really validating in a weird way to hear your song in a movie or on TV. It's fucking cool. We all grew up watching television and we all have moments. We all remember in Say Anything where 'In Your Eyes' was being played when John Cusack held the boom box above his head. Who wouldn't want that? In my opinion, bad television done well is kick ass. There are moments in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek and all those shows that people make fun of, that I love. It's like I'm married to that for 30 seconds. It's pretty fucking cool. It's validating and it's like something to tell the grandkids for sure. And I did that song "Laid" for the American Wedding movie and I didn't like the movie but it was still kind of cool to be in the theater and hear my voice and be like, "Oh yeah, I remember when I did that. That's fucking cool." You kind of move from those moments whether it's meeting someone who's your hero or playing a sold out room, that's what makes this job so much fun.
Q: What do you think of State College?
I used to play at the Crowbar before it closed. I love it, I totally love it. College towns are fucking great. State College is a great town. There's always great food and there's always great stores, I love State College.
Q: Plan on doing any partying after the show?
I don't drink much at all, actually. So, partying for me is... we usually have to haul ass to the next town, but maybe. We can always be enticed to go out and about. State College is fucking nuts. You guys are nuts. I half-expect big fires to break out downtown at like one in the morning after the bars spill out into the street.
