By Patrick Luce May 14, 2007, 23:24 GMT
Geffen Records has announced up and coming singer-songwriter Matt White debut album will be released this July on Geffen and his first single “Best Days” will be featured on the Shrek the Third soundtrack.
His first single, “Best Days,” is “about a girl, whom I cannot name, who challenged me to go camping - I’m the guy who’d rather sleep in a hotel and watch Spectra Vision,” Matt admits. “So we went but she never called me after that. Maybe my second album will be about abandonment.”
In his short but distinctive career, Matt has already toured with artists such as John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and Lifehouse, and his music has been featured on Laguna Beach, One Tree Hill, The Hills and in the films She’s The Man and Little Manhattan. ys/00.ram
Matt White’s music is described as “relatable” - you’ll think of the one who got your heart, the pains and pleasures of growing up and the remarkable journey in discovering just who the heck you are. Drawing inspiration from Elton John, Jeff Buckley, and Coldplay, (he’s like Maroon 5 in one person).
Music is in Matt’s DNA - his grandmother was among the first jazz orchestra leaders in the 1930s. He grew up in New Jersey and started taking piano lessons when he was three-years-old. Sure, he was a member of the swim and lacrosse teams throughout high school, but it was making music that made him happiest.
Being the romantic he is, he followed a girl to the University of Wisconsin where he taught himself to play guitar since he “couldn’t fit a piano” in his room. Upon graduation, Matt returned to his favorite place in the world, New York City, and had a different kind of education. Knowing the streets of the city as well as he knows his own songs, he took his guitar to Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village and Bleeker Street, performing on the sidewalks and in the parks.
“I think I always knew deep down I would be a musician but after graduating, I was still trying to figure things out,” he says. “I think everyone around that age does.”
He started playing with local artists in clubs like Joe’s Pub and the Living Room and gradually built up a strong following on the net - he currently has over 50,000 friends on his myspace.com page. Soon after, he signed with Geffen Records and released the EP Bleecker Street Stories. Released in the spring of 2006, Bleecker Street Stories has sold over 40,000 songs on iTunes.
Matt’s a doer. He’s played over 100 shows this year alone and hosts weekly online chats. Chances are you’ve already heard his songs on Laguna Beach, One Tree Hill, What About Brian, The Hills, Men in Trees and in the 2005 movie, She’s The Man.
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