Published: December 06, 2008 9:05 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight
Matthew Squires
Matthew Squires
Our newest interview comes from Matthew Squires who has just completed recording his first EP. Matthew took the time to speak to Junior's Cave Online Magazine about his music, his influences, and what he is working on next.
Isaac: Please take a moment to elaborate on who you are and your upbringing.
Matthew: I'm 19 years old. I was raised in a pretty standard upper-middle class family. I'm from Austin, Texas, which makes things difficult as an indie folk musician, because all the clubs are like honkey-tonk and upbeat stuff.
Isaac: Was there any one musician that spoke to your heart so profoundly, you were
inspired to do your own thing?
Matthew: From ages 15-17, I was obsessed with Bright Eyes. Though I still think he's a talented songwriter, I've grown out of a lot of the angst that his songs pandered to, and therefore grown out of a lot of his songs. But I'd say he was the first musician that really hit me. There aren't many musicians I've heard recently that I've been so enveloped in.
Isaac: Which singer/group would you say you would most like to do a duet with?
Matthew: I'd like to do a duet with that girl from She and Him probably; really anyone who can carry a melody, because I can't really, and I think that it sounds good when a bad male singer sings with a good female singer.
Isaac: What singer/songwriter do you most connect with?
Matthew: I guess Bob Dylan. I mean in interviews I see us thinking the same ways about things. But I might just be projecting the way I feel about things into the vague words he says.
Isaac: Out of your entire song collection that you've written thus far, which song(s) would you say is/are the most personal/meaningful to you?
Matthew: I only have five songs on my first EP, but I have written other ones people probably won't hear. One of them is called Corner of the Earth. I wrote it amidst a lot of panic attacks. That one helped me the most, but it's not that great of a song.
Isaac: Which singers/groups do you enjoy/like from some of today's music genres?
Matthew: I like my friend's band Burywood. Out of non-locaI bands I like Islands, Destroyer, Cat Power, and I don't know... My friends are a lot more informed on indie musicians than I am... I should ask my friend Jack Still about some really obscure bands and then I can sound cool.
Isaac: What charities are you involved with or support and why should people get involved?
Matthew: I'm at way too low of a level to help support any charity other than my own.
Isaac: Have you (or would you ever consider) writing a song about any of today's particular world issues/problems? If so, what world issue would speak to you the most to write about?
Matthew: I am not very concerned with things that are happening in the world. I should be I guess, but I'm too lazy to keep up with it.
Isaac: What is the main reason why should people listen to your music?
Matthew: I write good lyrics I think. And my production isn't awful.
Isaac: What has been your main inspiration to toss out such great music?
Matthew: I don't know what that means.
Isaac: How far into the creation of a song do you share any of it with anyone? Who would you play it for? Would it be a chorus, a verse and chorus, or a complete song?
Matthew: I usually make demos of whole songs and post them on my MySpace for a while, which means it's just piano and vocals. Then later, I put it together with my friends instrumentation and make an album.
Isaac: How much do you let others "mess around with" one of your new songs?
Matthew: If you mean how much do I let fellow band mates have input on songs, I just let them mess around and come up with something, and if it sounds good then it can go on the song, if not then I'll tell them ideas for how they can revise their parts.
Isaac: Do you have to be a tortured soul to be a singer-songwriter?
Matthew: You certainly don't have to be. Some are and some aren't. I think most talented songwriters are troubled to some degree; my friends that are good songwriters are all screwed up in some way or another.
Isaac: Are your songs strictly autobiographical or are they embroidered autobiography?
Matthew: I sometimes write really auto-biographically, but it's usually less introspective, and more observational.
Isaac: How long does it take you to process your emotions and turn them into songs?
Matthew: I don't write if I have to force it out, so it usually comes in spurts, and that'll take maybe three days to write a song.
Isaac: The best piece of advice you actually followed?
Matthew: My friend Philip told me to wait for things to present themselves to me, instead of trying to force my way into the music industry. I guess I still haven't made it to any degree in music, but more things have been happening recently, and a lot of that comes from following his advice, I think.
Isaac: Give Shutouts to your family and friends.
Matthew: I'm supposed to give "shout-outs" so thanks to the dudes that helped me make my first EP - James Lavery, Ben Humphreys, Phil Aulie, Jack Still, Kayla Klepac, Cory whatever his last name is that engineer ed the album. Hey family. Hey Philip. Hey Ben Humphreys. Hey Charlie and Chris Goodson. Hey other friendships.
Isaac: Last but certainly not least, what are you working on, now?
Matthew: My first EP (titled Pompous Pilot) will be up for free download December 6 on my myspace (www.myspace.com/matthewsquiresmusic). I also have another project called Electric Toy Danger whose album will be coming out soon on its MySpace (www.myspace.com/electrictoydanger). I'm currently focusing on writing new songs for Electric Toy Danger.
