Matt Smith Update.

mattsmith

Platinum Member
Hello,

This is just an update to report that things are going very well here in Europe. As some know I spent time here when I was 12-14, and after some thought I decided to leave the States for a time and tighten up away from the main scenes. I felt I would have far more opportunities than I have back home, where I have trouble even getting into venues because of my age.

I am mainly based in Bucharest where I work a great deal in the club scene, especially the two primary jazz clubs. But I work with a number of groups as far west as Belgrade, Prague, Budapest and Berlin. I was also fortunate to hook on to numerous jazz festivals and got to serve drummer duties for great artists that I had always previously enjoyed as a listener. Some of the gigs were a little pressure packed, but I enjoyed it. Next month I will start TV pit work for a game show and a variety program, while gigging and rehearsing with new projects at night.

I didn't really want to come around to debate aesthetic drum issues as much as to simply report on how things were going.

See you,

Matt
 
Funny, I was just thinking about you this morning and wondering how things were going. your father posted here a few weeks ago and gave as a quick update that things were going well. Glad to hear it..
 
Very cool, I never went to Europe to play!

Bermuda
 
That's great to hear Matt. I was wondering how things were going for you over there in Romania.

Would you mind elaborating a bit on this game show and variety program you're talking about? Sounds interesting.
 
Great to hear! Make sure you develop a plan so that on your return, everyone knows what you have been doing!

Take care

Paul
 
Good to hear from you Matt, Glad that all is going well for you. It sounds like you're getting an experience of a lifetime over there. It must be great to be young and accomplished at your art.
 
The kid has left and will return a man. Sounds like you are breaking new ground with your musical experiences.
Have a blast, Matt.
 
Matt, we've had our disagreements but I've seen your clips and I do admire what you do on kit and tuned percussion.

I read that you'd played with Chick Corea. That would have been a buzz! You're having an amazing life.
 
Would you mind elaborating a bit on this game show and variety program you're talking about? Sounds interesting.

Just backing up acts on one of the television networks and outlining triads when someone wins a new car on the game show...nothing special, but it's another experience.
 
I had wondered what happened to you. If you had said you were off you Europe I missed it. I'm glad to hear you're staying busy playing. You've worked hard for it. Stay well, stay in touch and don't go to the "Hostel." Nasty place.
 
I wanted to share that I just did a small recording project that ended up involving direct participation of Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. Now more might be coming from it. So it's one of those things you want to update people about while the possible payoff announcement can't be announced yet for a million different reasons.

I guess that doesn't make much sense. But hopefully it will as things begin to come together. If you never hear any more about this, it simply did a typical music business thing and became a could have been deal. But that's all I better say for now.
 
Hello, Matt.

Keep giving us feedback.....blessings on their way, in your visionary life.

Cheers,

Ian
 
Yea Matt we love hearing what you're doing, along with what all the other pro's are doing too.
It gives us part timers a way to live vicariously through a full time working drummer, something most part timers have always wanted. It's just cool to sorta "know" someone who is living the life.
 
Last 24 hours...

Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park is also managed by Daybreak's /band I am in/ manager. Shinoda does other projects on the side including the band Fort Minor. Daybreak bassist and I laid down drum tracks for his Fort Minor promotional spots. That led to Who's the drummer?

Shinoda then does voice over on a track I already did with someone else. New song on somebody's new album/Linkin Park/ Fort Minor/ or other Shinoda project.Leads Shinoda to ask What exactly is this Daybreak business? Manager plays him new EP and shows youtubes.

Shinoda decides he really likes Daybreak and records/ unbelievably/ a Daybreak cover the same day. Then he adds Daybreak cover to his promotional spots.

Shinoda hears Daybreak is to tour Southern England in December, and says We should do something together.

2 hours hours later/ new tracks show up for Linkin Park's current recording project that it turns out Shinoda is also producing. Tells manager something is missing and is thinking about some alterations. Then says Check on what Daybreak's drummer wants to do with them, then maybe we'll see. I then listen to the track and told to not share any info regarding what the music sounds like.

With all this more or less exploding, band learns that the name Daybreak is liscensed by 40 different bands in something like 60 different countries. Daybreak can only remain Daybreak in Romania alone. Change needs to go down today or no Shinoda spots and covers.

Hasty meeting called for name change discussion. Long suspicious guitarist does not attend. Other agendas are afoot with this guy and they're all stupid including thoughts of band leadership and strangely not wanting to be in new band photo. Last week decides to charge his own band for rehearsal space at his place and has been lobbying for his long time friend drummer from the band he likes better to be Daybreak's drummer/all secretly of course, but because he assumes I am as stupid as him thinks he's keeping all that under wraps/. By far the weakest player in the band and has delusions of grandeur, but isn't smart enough to know what grandeur is.

Band changes name to Silence Before. Not Daybreak, but OK.

Bass player text mesages guitar player about name change.

Guitar player arrives unannounced 10 minutes later. Says bad things, calls everyone losers who will never make it to step one, don't have his name rec, experience etc.

Band remains straight faced not showing hand.

Guitar player calls manager idiot without the connections or motivation to put together a decent tour of Romania which he believes is the pinnacle of this whole thing.

Manager then explains last 24 hours plained to guitar player.

Guitar player quits band 30 seconds later.

Silence Before starts invitation only guitar auditions next week. Plays pop festival July 31 with new lineup.

In the meantime all of this can still end up a fantasy. Personally I don't count on something happening until it does. But now the fantasy has legs.

Aren't bands cool?
 
That's so cool Matt.
Sounds like this could be leading up to a breakout for you and your band.
Keep the news coming, it's really very exciting, thanks for letting us in on it.
I feel bad for the poor guitar player who seems to have a part in him that prevents him from being successful. Oh well at least there are plenty more of them around.
 
As part of this crazy week/ more off the wall drama happened later/ I have decided to work with the Adrian Klein Agency /UK/ I had a great meeting and they want to promote me as an act of my own. I will supposedly get access to the studios where I can learn and produce things that come to me. They also have a little studio here in Bucharest. So I'm going to try to stay for a while and figure out the next steps. This will not interfere with other ongoing projects like Silence Before. If that stuff continues into the future then I plan to be part of it. But this open door where I can explore different ideas while I learn how to do the mechanical stuff is something I've really wanted. I might not make big money in the beginning, but this is probably the first step to getting somewhere.

As things currently stand I will be doing shows in the UK starting in October. That all sounds good.

Will update when development turns into something else. If you hear no more about this for a while then it's still developing.
 
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