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In recent years I've been trying to broaden my musical horizons, as I've usually let alternative and class rock radio stations and what I heard growing up influence my tastes. I made the leap to jazz after college and with the advent of the podcast I've been listening to more independent musicians thanks to all the podcast safe music that is available. One such musician is Matthew Ebel, who I first heard on the Accident Hash podcast.
Matthew has been called a soulful white guy, an acoustic geek-rocker, and the love child of Elton John and Billy Joel. In listening to his music you can hear the influences of Ben Folds and the vocal stylings on his song 'Goodbye Planet Earth' are very reminiscent of the aforementioned Elton John. One song that he has out that I find downright funny is 'Everybody Needs a Ninja'. If you've never heard it, you'll be rewarded at the end of this interview.
He has released four albums the most recent being 'Goodbye Planet Earth', an EP titled 'Wee Hours' and a collaboration album with the rock act Threshold. Matthew also offers a subscription service to his fans where they can get his newest music before he makes it available to the public. I had the opportunity to speak with Matthew about his music, influences and the advantages of being an independent musician in this digitally connected, social media world we now live.
The Crossroads: What is your musical style and where do you draw your inspiration from?Matthew Ebel: My musical style is piano rock. Some might call it piano pop, but to me that brings up images of Alicia Keys. I'm more of a Ben Folds guy. Besides, I don't listen to "pop" music, most of my play list is alternative rock and indie stuff.
The Crossroads: I definitely can pick up some of that influence, like from the song 'Drive Away' for instance.
M E: Yeah, Beer & Coffee was a bit more organic-sounding than the things I'm doing these days. I had a lot of Counting Crows, Caedmon's Call, and Dave Matthews Band influence back in the late 90's. Now that I'm running an all-software rig, it's easier for me to experiment with a wider palette of sounds.
The Crossroads: Of the six albums (includes his EP and collaboration album) you have put out, which would you say that you are most proud of?
M E: As for pride...it's actually kind of a tie. I'm proud of Beer & Coffee because I did that one entirely in Garage Band. The writing for that one also took about 4 years. MUCH longer than most albums take to produce. Since that one told a lot of the story of my exodus from Christian Pop, a lot of people seemed to relate to it as a tale of their own major life change.
Goodbye Planet Earth, though, was the first time I'd tried to do a concept album. And I produced that one on my own, save for D's drumming and the guy that mastered it over at Georgetown. I loved how that one turned out, and it seems to have really hit a lot of people the way I intended - as a single piece of work in 17 movements.
The Crossroads: I didn't realize you started your career in Christian pop, what was the impetus for the change?
M E: Well, a couple of things... I realized that as soon as you say "I do Christian music", 90% of people stop listening. You could be better than the Beatles, but no sound can penetrate the door of a closed mind. Matthew Ebel: I also realized that I'd have to write all my material- every song, every album, for the rest of my career -about the same thing. The same subject. Sure, I could cover other topics, but it would all have to somehow relate back to Jesus if I wanted to see any success in the industry.
One of my most requested live songs is about a Christian boy discovering that he's gay, taken from a character in an adult (very, very adult) comic series. No way in hell that'd be popular in a CCM crowd, but like I said... I get a ton of requests for it. Those kinds of subjects and topics just aren't in the box of crayons for someone who's trapped in that industry, even if the message is what I believe Christ would teach. I'd much rather be a Christian in a secular world than a bad Christian in a fundamentalist-run world.
The thing is, the first question out of everyone's mouth (including yours) is "what kind of music do you do?" If the genre hits someone before the music does, you're toast. Piano rock is such a broader horizon, kind of like my mind. Chris Penn and John Wall once said "nobody wants to be sold to but everyone wants to buy". Well, nobody wants to be evangelized to, but everyone wants to believe. Unless they're already INTO that genre, a listener is highly unlikely to stick with it for long. A new listener, that is.
The Crossroads: That's true, I'm not much of a country fan, but I recently heard Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish and didn't realize that he released a few country albums since the band broke up.
M E: Yeah, that's what I love about podcasts and Pandora... CC plays all kinds of music on Accident Hash. So do a lot of podcasters with good taste. Pandora, even though it's slowly succumbing to ye olde radio business model, is still my favorite place to discover new music outside the podsafe world.
The Crossroads: Wow, that's a great point and leads to another question I had. I noticed on your website that you utilize a number of social media and networking channels to connect with fans and promote your music. Which avenue has been most successful for you? How has offering podsafe music helped you as an independent musician?
M E: Well, podcasting is an interesting thing. I jumped on board when it was shiny and new. From 2004 to about 2006 or 2007, all the creative types and new media geeks out there were really hopped up about it. Since I was one of the few artists who'd gotten into it early and I was fairly active in the community, I got picked up along with the hype.
Cut to 2009 and people realize that podcasting isn't an overnight revolution, it's just another channel that has to compete with TV, radio, etc. People aren't as excited as they used to be. Corporations aren't pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the pockets of anyone who can print out a "New Media Consultant" business card.
So, long story longer, my biggest success has been podcasting and the people that make their own media, but I think I got to where I am because I was on the crest of a wave. That wave's become just another swell in the ocean now, but there are always more waves. Right now I'm gung-ho about UStream and people seem to be loving the live videos.
The Crossroads: Ustream is definitely a very interesting concept and like I said I've caught one of your shows on it. I definitely agree with you about the channel logic with regards to podcasting. I thought it would be cool to have my own podcast, but, like you said, how do you differentiate these days. I didn't think I had anything different to say and there is a lot of static to cut through.
M E: Well, that's the beautiful thing about it, though. It's why the medium hasn't faded. Anyone can do it. Even if your audience is tiny, there is an audience. What network would pick up a talk show about vacation ideas for single moms? The important thing is that the people creating the content don't get sidetracked by commercial aspects. Being paid is good, but it requires so much bread to drive network TV and radio that the content is lost behind the loud sucking sound of commercials and product placement. Besides, MatthewEbel.net is a podcast.
The Crossroads: Again, you make a great segue to my next question. One of the things that intrigued me is that you offer a subscription service. Say I'm a new fan and I'm really digging your music that I've found online, what does this service offer me?
M E: Well, there are a few benefits to the dot net subscriptions. First of all, I release a live concert recording every month. If you can't make it out to my shows because you live in Singapore, this is the next best thing. And yes, one of my VIP members lives in Singapore.
MatthewEbel.net subscriptions are also for the people who have heard my music and believe that I will consistently release stuff they want to hear and they want to get it before anyone else ever does. For the VIP and All-Access members there's new music every month. NEW. It's a direct brain-dump from me to the keyboard to your ears. If you think you're going to like most or all of what I release, you'll get the goods at least a year before I decide which songs ought to go on to bigger and better things.
I had no idea "Night Train" would be such a big hit. And nobody outside of my subscribers has heard anything but the live version So that one's going to end up on an album someday, probably with a live drummer and definitely with better mixing/mastering. But my members got the first version, and they seem to love it. To be honest, this is the only way I think an indie artist can make a living any more.
One last thing I forgot to mention, tho, and it's important... My favorite part of the subscription thing is the fact that my subscribers TALK to me. A lot. They comment, they tweet, they email. It's wonderful.
The Crossroads: Building on this, what is your creative process like?
M E: Sometimes it starts in the studio, sometimes it starts in my field office (coffee shop). I write my best lyrics in a coffee shop for some reason.
The best thing to happen to my creative process, tho, has been matthewebel.net. Having a deadline twice a month to produce SOMETHING makes for a great fire under my creative ass. Some months the fire's greater than others, but it's like a constant NaNoWriMo going on in my studio
The Crossroads: who are some of your favorite indy musicians you like to listen to when you aren't playing or creating your own music?
M E: Mike Errico is a big one, tho he's on an "indie label". I love the DIY musicians, tho, that aren't represented by anyone and still manage to make good stuff. Geoff Smith is kicking a lot of ass. nelo is another, too.
Thank you to Matthew for taking time out of his schedule to speak with me about his music. If you haven't heard Matthew's music before, then I encourage you to visit his main website MatthewEbel.com. There you can listen to full-length tracks on his Music Page, buy tracks from iTunes, or even get 3 free songs by joining his mailing list. If you like what you hear, then you can also check out MatthewEbel.net to learn more about his new music subscriptions.
And, as promised, here is 'Everybody Needs a Ninja':
Do you know someone I should interview for Center Stage? Leave a comment or drop me an email at pj@realmendriveminivans.com so I can work on it for a future article. Also, if you're new here, consider joining Dad-Blogs and grabbing the RSS feed so you can get this and all of the other awesome columns delivered fresh directly to you. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the ride!
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written by pjmullen, July 14, 2009
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written by Joeprah, July 14, 2009
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written by Stevie Wilson, July 14, 2009
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHJdve7GNuE