Matt C White - IndieView #11 | Music Tips & Tricks

In this Eleventh episode of the IndieViews Series, we are going to chat with Matt C White a great and prolific musician, composer and songwriter from Brooklyn.

Only in 2018 Matt have released these projects:

With is Meditative, relaxing Guitar-Centre project

Realizer

Serender:

Away:

Slipstream

Halcyon Days

Late & Wake

With his heavy psychedelic band

Grandpa Jack

The self titled Debut “Grandpa Jack“:

Matt C. White:

Wallow in the Hollow:

“wallow in the hollow is an expansive and colourful passage through the forest we all forgot we grew up in. Boasting a fat bag of folk tricks Wallow In The Hollow takes listeners along an eerily familiar trail of tribulations through the voices of guitar, mandolin, bass, slide, stomps, claps and soulfully layered vocals.” ImMusicMag

and the EP called Rose Door:

With Dead Seconds:

The sophomore EP The Ground:

ABOUT YOU

If we cast your mind back to when you were a kid and a teenager: what are your earliest musical memories?

I have these weird memories of hearing windchimes from outside through the walls of my house. I think this is my earliest memory. Like from my nursery or something.

Which musicians do you particularly admire and which one do you think influenced your music?

Hendrix all the way! Then later Doc Watson was a big influence.

Which is the best concert that you have been to?

Thats hard. I think one of my favorite shows in a while was seeing The Sword in Denver. They put on an awesome live show.

What does music mean to you?

Love, Communication, God, Freedom.

Matt C White - IndieView #10 (Interview) Guitar — Matt C White – IndieView #10 (Interview) Guitar

Are you still in love with your profession as musician? How do you keep your enthusiasm always live?

I just keep putting out music for whatever emotion Im feeling at the time. If none of my projects fit the bill for the sounds Im making, I just make a new project.

At the moment are you a full-time musician?

Right now I’m like 75% full time. I still have to balance music with a side job just for monetary reasons.

How do you manage your music life with your “common” life? What is your typical day like?

Wake up, coffee, check emails, do some graphic design work for a couple hours, then try to just record or do music the rest of the day until band practice.

STUDIES

Are you self-taught or have you studied music? You think is important studying music to be a Pro?
I took lessons when I was younger but not for reading music or being classically trained or anything. I was also in my high school jazz band.

Did you keep on studying?

I just keep playing but I wouldn’t really call it studying.

ALBUM PRODUCTIONS

Can you describe the process you go through when you are writing a song? What inspires you to write?
Nowadays, I get a lot of my songs from my voice memos. Ill hum, whistle, or just kind of freestyle a tune and that will end up being the genesis for a song.

Album/Ep/Singles any favorite way to release your music? and why?
I like listening to full albums, especially when the artist has really tried to curate a journey.

How do you plan an album production and his release?
Lately I’ve been doing most of my mixing and I have some go to people for mastering. As far as release, I just wing it :).

When you release an album how much is important for you the tracklist? And the time between the tracks?
Of course! it has to flow! especially with a wallow in the hollow. I definitely wanted it to feel very cohesive.

Do you produce your records by yourself or do you prefer to have some extra ears or a producer to guide you?
I produce it myself.

Did you record your music in a rented professional studio, home studio or in any other way?
Home studio!

How did you choose the musicians for your album?

For wallow in the hollow, I was the only musician on the whole record.

Matt C White - IndieView #10 (Interview) Guitar Realizer

ALBUM PROMOTION

Are your records only digital or also physically distributed?

Most are only digital, but Grandpa Jack released our first record on yellow vinyl as well!

What types of promotion and marketing have you found to work best for an independent artist?

Getting a small network of blogs and just staying in contact with them. They typically are interested in what you have going on so I just try to stay in touch.

“White performed, recorded, produced, and mixed every track on wallow In the hollow. So, every stomp, every clap, and every drunken slide guitar is pure Matt C. White.”

There are some music industry analysts who argue that the CD is dying. What percentage of your sales are physical CDs and what percentage of your sales are in other forms (e.g. online)? Do you see that changing significantly in the future?

I’m mostly digital Spotify streams at this point.

How do you normally promote your latest releases? Do you use only social networks or also other ways?

Social networks, blogs, and cross promotion.

Do you use Facebook/Twitter/Instagram sponsored post for promotion? You think could be they helpful?

No I don’t. For the amount of money I make off of sales its hard to justify the extra money.

Have you a mailing list? You think is a “must have” as most people in the music business said?

My labels have mailing lists.

Have you a favorite way to distribute your album?

I like using a service called Stem: https://app.stem.is/get-started

Do you think that, with all the digital alternatives, radio airplay still has an effect on the success of a release? And how does an independent artist get radio airplay?

Not sure. I have only really had success with hitting up my college radio station.

What do you think about streaming services like Spotify and Pandora?

I use Spotify almost exclusively and have grown to really like it.

Did you work with booking agencies or you manage your own gigs?

We manage our own.

How do you promote a gig in a new town/country/region?

I don’t really tour that much but hope to more in 2019.

“From the whimsy of “Oath” to the boot-stomping angst of “Don’t Look Over Your Shoulder,” or the chain gang cadence of “Lost On The Way”, each song stands on its own. Each song is discernibly different from any before or after, yet every one works together to serve the whole. It’s not just solid songwriting, it’s the stuff albums are meant to be made of.

Somebody says that House Concert are the future of live music as many club are closing. What do you think about it? Have you organized any?

I have. I really like house shows a lot. The party vibe is more fun than a stuffy club sometimes.

Do you have any favourite tunings for your guitar? And why?
I play almost exclusively in drop D. I think I got turned on to that playing fingerstyle blues stuff and just kinda never turned back. Sometimes I’ll play in dadgad or even open D minor. My latest jam is drop D with a capo on the second fret but only covering the lowest four strings. It’s makes this cool open E tuning with the top 2 strings be open and ringy. I’ve been digging that lately

Matt C White - IndieView #10 (Interview)

Tell us more about your guitars, brand, models and why you play these instruments.
All my electrics are things that I’ve Frankensteined together or built from scratch.

I really like p90 neck pickups so my main guitar is a strat with a p90 in the neck, a tele neck pickup in the middle, and a big fat humbucker in the bridge.

I basically just tried different pickups and eventually settled on this weird configuration just to kinda be able to cover any sound I might want.

For acoustic I mainly play a 70s fender dreadnought. I got it at a goodwill and paid like $120 and I just love the way it sounds and plays.

I added a brass nut and dropped in new tuners. I’ve played really nice acoustics and between the price and me just being loyal to my current acoustic, I never felt the need to switch it up or retire it.

Any favourite brand of strings and gauge? Why?
For electric I play Ernie ball skinny top heavy bottoms.

I just feel like it punches really well with drop d and stays in tune well.

As guitar player each of us at least discover his favourited techniques, did you have one? How do you discover and learn?
I started out without a pick when I was 10 and so I really love finger picking.

I’ve also been mixing in more slap style because it reminds me of drums.

Coordinating the two hands and fingers in separate rhythmic assignments kinda reminds me of playing drums. Love it!

Listen to Matt’s Music on our Spotify Playlist with the other IndieView’s Artists and don’t forget to follow and share it.