Music
Press
Old Office Capacity: 100 people
Tickets sold:85
Bar Total: $1464 - Kate@Knitting Factory Management
"I've never seen our place this packed on a Thursday night, the bar total was amazing" - Wes - Manager @ Sweetwater's Cafe
Acoustic based rock that could easily appeal to fans of Dave Matthews or Jack Johnson.
Sincere lyrical theme and imagery...
- TAXI A&R Staff
Written by Frank Gutch, Jr.
Having been an inhabitant of the Left Coast all of my life, the concept of house concerts are a bit alien to me, but after listening to Mista Ruddy (Matthew, in real life), I get it. Basically, you throw a party and ask that those attending toss in a few bucks to pay for entertainment, in Ruddy's case that being ol' Ruddy himself. Now, I have no idea whether that was the system whereby this CD came about, but it's close enough. Of course, rooftops were substituted for living rooms here and there (if tried out here, the performers would slide off, pretty much) and whereas the ambience may have been somewhat different, the music itself didn't suffer.
Ruddy seems to confine himself to amped acoustic guitar and is the center of all music, but he joins a handful of others on various tracks, mostly percussionists. In a way, it is too bad because the two tracks on which vocals are added and the one which has a guest guitar are high points, possibly because of the semi-ensemble feel. Natalie Jane Valentine Hatcher plays counter-sound to Ruddy's lower register voice on In the Morning, her voice crisp and bright next to Ruddy's more textured one. Straight upbeat folk which plays well live. M&M Improv sounds improvised (as well it might have been), with Matthew Masterson singing out of reach of the mike until Ruddy calls for him to step up, all caught on tape--- or digitizer, maybe. Could this be folk-rap? No, it is singing and not talking, but the lyrics could have been produced on the fly. It sounds like it and is pretty good, actually, simple chord progression giving voices a chance to play with words and rhythm. Brinton Moore steps in on electric guitar on G-DAC, which has to be the chord progression, and works his way through a rough beginning to lay down some nice licks, simple though they be. Instrumentally, Ruddy and Moore were on the same page and while nothing super-spectacular, it is five minutes of laid back instrumental which probably fit well into a rooftop setting.
The rest of the fifteen tracks are original Ruddy's as well and while some are better than others, there is enough here to make me think he has something to offer. It does sound as if the recordings were done in house party situations and as a result they are a bit rough and raw-edged, but that can be a good thing for it does capture a bit of the evening, if nothing else. Chords are bumbled occasionally and the vocals are not letter-perfect (he practically hocks a lugie on one track and it fits the song well), but that is the gift of a live performance. It would indeed be a boring music world in which all vocals and guitar parts were the same every time.
In short, if you don't mind your folk rough and live, this might well be worth a listen. Better yet, if he ever plays a rooftop in your area, stop in. He sounds like a pretty nice guy and that counts as much as anything else sometimes.
http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p03746.htm
- Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange
Discography
Simple Songs About Complicated Things (EP) 2003
Living Rooms and Rooftops (LP) 2006
Photos
Bio
MistaRuddy (Matthew Brian Ruddy) is quickly catching the ears of audiences and rapidly making his mark on venues. His articulate lyrics, gravel road vocals, and rotating roster of musicians continue to make each live show a creative collaboration of talent and friendship.
Born in the Pacific Northwest and raised near Pittsburgh, MistaRuddy spent 7 years as a public school music teacher in New York City, teaching junior high band and percussion along with performing as a freelance percussionist and singer/songwriter.
As an educator, he began a band and percussion program with a grant from VH1s Save the Music foundation and was later recognized as an Exemplary Arts Educator by the NYC Board of Education. Most importantly, his school kids, a cultural collage of adolescent energy, would audibly burn into his brain a name he would hear over and over again for 7 years MistaRuddy, MistaRuddy, MistaRuddy. In an endless variation of pitch and timbre, this name would precede everything from questions about rhythm and tempo to tattle tales and bathroom requisitions. He has recently become an Associate Course Director of Music History for Full Sail College in Orlando, Florida.
As a freelance percussionist, his work has included recordings with fellow folk musicians, orchestral performances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and appearances with Quincy Jones and South Africas Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simons Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints). He is currently a percussionist and performer with the Drum Café, an audience-inclusive, interactive African drum ensemble.
As a singer/songwriter, he was a semi-finalist in the 2006 Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition and has been featured in reviews in print and online. Both pressings of his debut EP Simple Songs About Complicated Things have sold out. The current, full-length live album, Living Rooms & Rooftops is available at CDBaby.com and iTunes.
It was released on January 14th, 2006 to a capacity crowd at the Knitting Factory in New York City.
Since then, more than 100 shows have scattered him across the map to NYC, Boston, Vermont, Connecticut, Washington DC and his hometown of Pittsburgh. A special thanks goes Rand McNally, Hertz, Greyhound, JetBlue, Amtrak and the infamous Fung Wah Chinatown Bus.
I've been a late bloomer in many ways but it seems like things are starting to come around. For as much as I enjoy sounds and words, I worry about wasting them too. I'll stick up for necessary antagonism but incessant reduction makes a lot of messes. I've made a few. But I believe people want their music to be honest, real, and sincere. It should feel right and sound good, especially live. I'm glad to be part of that anywhere and anyway I can.
- MistaRuddy
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