Matt Surowiec

By Bob Silvestri

Matt Surowiec’s new CD titled Made In Buffalo is a narrative snapshot of the Queen City. With tracks such as “Sunday Best” which describes the ritual of Sundays during football season in Western New York, “Buffalo Girl” and “Talking Proud”, Surowiec exposes the beauty and warts of the place we call home. The hardships of factory closings is captured perfectly on “Who’s Next In Line” while “Empty Nest” takes on the topic of young adults leaving to find good paying jobs elsewhere. “Deer Hunter “ moves to a Neil Young sound while the lead off track “Now What?” takes a skewed view of the seemingly always-present “WNY connection “ with big media stories ranging from McKinley to O.J. to the Lackawanna Six story. The closing track “A Final Word” reminds the listener to “respect your town, inspect but don’t ever reject your town”. Well-said Matt! For more on Made In Buffalo by Matt Surowiec check out http://www.mattsurowiec.com/ - www.bestofwny.com (June 2004)

Singer and songwriter Matt Surowiec celebrates the release of his CD "Made in Buffalo" with a performance at 7PM Saturday in Borders Books and Music, 2015 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga. He'll be joined by drummer Eric Earsing. Surowiec uses characters and stories that are Buffalo-based but carry universal appeal in his songs he describes as "dirt in the fingernails folk-rock story songs commenting on life as seen through the eyes of a blue-collar native Western New Yorker." Surowiec's goal? To "elevate Buffalo's reputation by painting mind-stimulating stories of comic and tragic characters from the past, present and future."
-Toni Ruberto - The Buffalo News (November 2003)

By Janel Armstrong
Night & Day
BUFFALO - He has no desire to be rich.
No yearning to become famous.
Singer/songwriter Matt Surowiec just wants to make people happy.
"If I can make people enjoy their evening or have a better time, that's what it's about," he said. "I just like to express myself. If I became famous accidentally that'd be fine, but it's not my goal."
With a CD set to be released at the end of the summer, and his first single, "I'm Going Home," playing on WBNY 91.3 FM., the Buffalo native is gearing up for a little more attention.
"I submitted a demo to the program director and he asked me to come to the studio and play some songs on the air, and since then, it's been playing," he said.
But the attention isn't anything new for the musician who's been making music since he was 5.
"My friend’s oldest sister played a KISS record for me when I was five. They looked like super heroes that played music. I'd run around using a tennis racket as a guitar and once I used marker to paint my face - just to look like them," Surowiec said.
A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Surowiec says he can learn just about any instrument.
"I'm only trained on trombone. I learned to read music from that, and now I use that to teach myself other instruments," he said. "I can usually learn to play it if I have enough time to fool around with it."
He even plays music from country to hard rock.
"I go from one (sound) to another,"he said, and his "goal is to keep exploring new musical territory."
"I'm musically curious. I get bored easily."
However, when asked what type of music he plays, he can't pinpoint an exact genre. "I'm not sure where I fit in yet. I'm not saying that I'm unclassified, I'm just not sure what format I fit into," he said.
Surowiec's sound comes from influences like Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Nirvana and KISS. - "I mix the song writing and storytelling of John Mellencamp with Tom Petty and play with the intensity of KISS and Soul Asylum," Surowiec said.
Though he's only been playing the coffeehouse circuit for three years, he's said it's the preparation that adds up.
"Everything before this was preparation," Surowiec said. "I wanted to be ready; I wanted the best timing."
- The Niagara Gazette (July 2003)

What acoustic performer Matt Surowiec lacks in wattage, he more than makes up for in experience. A local boy with a penchant for telling tales, Surowiec began singing at age five and playing guitar at age 13; at the current stage of his musical journey, he is entertaining caffeine junkies at coffeehouses across Western New York. The strummer has recently compiled his work, which is primarily influenced by Tom Petty and John Mellencamp, on a CD to be released this summer entitled "Made in Buffalo". The release will feature folk rock stories about life inside and outside of Buffalo. His upcoming shows include stops at Cafe 59, Clarence Center Coffee Co, Starbucks, Central Park Grill, and an Elvis Costello tribute show at the Continental. Check out exclusive MP3s, view photos from past performances, and see up-to-date show listings online at mattsurowiec.com - After Six Magazine (June 2003)