Matt Rodela

Artist Information

Biography

Born in the sunny foothills of Northern California, music was always a big presence in Matt Rodela's life. Matt started taking piano and trumpet lessons in elementary school. These lessons ignited the fire of the musical passion that would continue on throughout his life. In junior high and high school this love affair with music was focused primarily on the trumpet. During this time, Matt played with several honor bands at the county, state, and regional levels. At the age of 19, he enlisted in the Army as a full-time trumpet player.

Matt’s military experience had a profoundly positive impact on his musical talents. Not only did it boost his confidence as a performer, but it broadened his horizons by exposing him to a wide range of musical styles and cultures. Matt finished his enlistment in the Army, but continues to serve his country part time in the 229th National Guard Band and continues to look for collaborative opportunities whenever he can.

Now living in Germantown, MD, Matt's talents as an entertainer have come full circle. In 2010 he released his debut full-length album "Insert Coin". This collection of original songs highlights Matt's talents as a songwriter, musical arranger, and performer on acoustic guitar, trumpet, and vocals. On the disc he's joined by many of the DC area's finest musicians to provide a rich tapestry of contemporary horn rock with a dash of jazz and funk. With "Insert Coin", Matt is only getting started on his musical journey. The best is yet to come...

Instrumentation

Matt Rodela - Trumpet, Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
optional 1 - Drums
optional 2 - Saxophones
optional 3 - keyboard
optional 4 - Cello

Discography

"Insert Coin" (2010)
Debut full-length album includes 11 original tracks written, performed, and produced by Matt Rodela.

"Rock 4 Life Vol. 8" (2008)
Contributed a single "Live It Up" to this compilation album.

"Chill Out East Coast Edition Vol. 3" (2007)
Contributed a single "Halfway There" to this compilation album.

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• You Tube

Audio

• Halfway There
  Listen  
• Melts Away
  Listen  
• Better Days
  Listen  
• Firelight
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Matt Rodela: Insert Coin [+ Show ]
  

  It would be unfair to compare singer/songwriter Matt Rodela to Dave Matthews, although that influenc...It would be unfair to compare singer/songwriter Matt Rodela to Dave Matthews, although that influence is easily apparent, especially on the "Crash Into Me"-like acoustic embrace of "Thinking of You." If Matthews were to have merged with Elvis Costello and then fronted Chicago, that would be accurate. In the hands of a lesser artist, such an odd group of musical inspiration probably wouldn't work. However, Rodela manages to stitch together his equal affection for jam bands, smooth jazz, and adult alternative rock into a cohesive and engaging package.
  The stirring trumpets on the opening track, "Better Days," recall vintage Chicago immediately, simply because horns were an integral part of their sound and we haven't been hearing them on rock & roll records for decades now. But Rodela's funky guitar riffs take them out of the easy-listening chamber they eventually got locked into. Furthermore, Rodela's voice has an edge to it, much gruffer than the crystalline tenor of Peter Cetera. There are times when Rodela sounds eerily like Costello, especially on the post-breakup sneer of "Look Away."
  Rodela's combination of the hard and soft is a key component in his style. On "I'll Remember You," Rodela's brittle acoustic guitars in the intro subsequently give way to sizzling electric riffs. However, this isn't a Nirvana-ish loud/quiet seesaw; Rodela employs a more subtle approach. One of the best cuts on the album is "SWM," which finds Rodela searching for true love on the Internet. Rodela surprisingly tips his feet into hip-hop here or at least the quirky folk rap of Beck and G. Love and Special Sauce.
  For a debut album, this is a remarkably self-confident and filler-free affair.

• Matt Rodela “Insert Coin” [+ Show ]
  

  Insert Coin, the debut album from DC resident and onetime Army trumpeter Matt Rodela, is full of sou...Insert Coin, the debut album from DC resident and onetime Army trumpeter Matt Rodela, is full of sounds that will be familiar to any East Coast music fan. There is certainly a great tradition of horn-laden bands in the Baltimore/DC area, and Rodela fully embraces that heritage. Though his admitted influences lean toward artists like Chicago, Dave Matthews Band, and Elvis Costello, there’s no denying the pronounced Baltimore boogie that can be heard in the album’s punchy horn lines. Along with that funky element, there are shades of the acoustic, multi-faceted roots rock that once thrived in the area. There are many structural and compositional similarities to Dave Matthews Band’s worldly catalog, and there’s an all-inclusive vibe that is mildly reminiscent of the jam band style. That is, to say, that Insert Coin’s 11 tracks incorporate everything from jazz and world music to hard rock and mainstream pop. The prevailing vibe is more Gin Blossoms than Grateful Dead, though, and the result is and album of entirely inoffensive, pleasantly uncomplicated pop rock that stands to satisfy a wide age demographic.
  
  Lyrically, the songs are the kind that you can completely ignore or choose to dissect. There’s no subject matter on Insert Coin as arresting as an embittered Costello rant or a soul-searching Matthews soliloquy. From that standpoint, the content is in the same vein as a Jason Mraz or Jack Johnson; plainspoken, lovelorn and non-confrontational. Rodela does affect a very Costello-like singing style at times, often hitting the first word of each line harder than the rest and fastening the slightest croak to his otherwise clear voice. Whether or not the listener pays attention to the words, Rodela’s singing combines with his multi-instrumentalism and a band of fine players to create a calming, occasionally infectious whole. Oddly enough, the horn section isn’t the rotating facet of the band. Rather, it’s the keyboardists that are shuttled in for half of the album, along with a couple of guest vocalists and guitarists.
  
  The stability of the brass trio (Rodela on trumpet and flugelhorn, Brian Falkowski on saxes and flute, and Mike Weglein on trombone) is evident from the first track, “Better Days,” where they liven up the spaces of an otherwise pedestrian mid-tempo rock groove. After hearing Rodela’s lively solo alongside Josh Distefano’s fussy organ licks, the listener will beg for more horns at every opportunity. Rodela obliges with another gorgeous solo on the album’s jazziest number, “Melts Away,” and the whole horn section whispers for a bit before Falkowski adds a soulful sax embellishment. Drummer Anders Eliasson does a remarkable job alongside principal bassist Tomas Drgon, and they match every mood Rodela can conjure. Eliasson’s insistent rimshots drive the melancholy verses of “I’ll Remember You” while Drgon adds dramatically declining bass. The cheeky “SWM,” which humorously addresses the perils of online dating, finds Rodela at his most lyrically inventive and the band affecting a kind of blue-eyed soul crossed with a strummy roots-rock melody.
  
  About halfway through the listen, the comparatively bland “Autumn Breeze” raises the first red flags concerning this album. Though Rodela stirs in plenty of influences other than pop and rock, rarely do they rise to the forefront of the music. Rather, the sound of Insert Coin is more homogenized than the band’s influences and abilities would lead the listener to believe. “Halfway There” is about as radio-ready as a song can get, but the listener has already heard similar songs, and they all start to sound the same after half an hour. The album rolls on with zippy horn lines in “Look Away,” and there’s an elegant cello part that separates “Think of You” from the rest of the pack. But they’re still a bit bland and sappy, and the listener has been down the same road 5 or 6 times by this point of the album. Rodela would have done well to pare Insert Coin’s length by a couple of songs and focus on the more exciting material, but this album is just the start for the talented songwriter. As he says in the sunny, beachy “Top of the World,” “it’s a long road to the top.”

Setlist

Can perform as solo acoustic act or up to a full 8-piece band with horn section.

All Originals - 1.5 hour set max
Covers/Originals - 2 hours
Covers Only - Not my style

Originals:

Better Days
Halfway There
I'll Remember You
Melts Away
Rain Song
SWM
Autumn Breeze
Firelight
Look Away
Top of the World
Thinking of You

A sample of possible covers (all given a unique twist by Matt and his band):

This Love - Maroon 5
Crash - Dave Matthews Band
Run Around - Blues Traveler
Smooth - Santana
Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down
Paralyzer - Finger 11
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor (Cake version)

Basic Requirements

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