Tim Matson

When you combine Mac Powell's mellifluous grit with Bob Dylan's timeless talent, you get TIM MATSON! Tim is touring the US on his way to Nashville on music business, and is making sounds along the way. ‘Banjo man,’ as he is sometimes called (tho he’s usually thumping his six-string), is touring LA, SF, SLC, and now in Denver. Tim wraps it up here on Aug 30, then off to Austin, Tallahassee and Nashville.
Meanwhile: dont miss your chance to see him at Solid Grounds Coffee House before he’s GONE! - Denver Post

You know when new music plucks you right out of wherever you're sitting or standing? Sometimes the planets are in alignment and all of the conditions are perfect for a voice to reach you. On another day or in another place it might just pass over your head, undetected.

Tim Matson is the real deal: his cover of U2's "40" hit me over the head when a friend sent me a link to his music. After clicking through, I found out his original music is just as gorgeous. With his unique brand of spirituality (à la U2), Tim's thick, gravely voice seems to come from somewhere beyond his throat.

Sunday night I headed to Hotel Utah to check out his live set. Equipped only with a guitar and banjo Matson filled the small club with tunes from his recent release "Where I Am" and some new additions including "Wagon Wheel" originally performed by Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show (listen to it below).

San Francisco was Matson's first stop, playing in Dolores Park and Hotel Utah. Next stop is Salt Lake City and then onto Denver, Texas, Tennessee and Florida. He'll stop back in the Bay Ara on his way home. He'll be hitting up open mics and grabbing gigs in clubs and house parties as well. For now, this is what's up on his facebook page. - The Examiner

Interview with Asha K. at www.thisweekin.com studio's in Santa Monica, CA. - this-week-in.com

Those early birds who attended Saint Rocke on Sunday night may now be aware of the latest musical force to have been birthed from the South Bay.

“My name’s Tim Matson and I’m gonna play some songs for ya,” proclaimed Tim Matson before delivering a flawless debut performance of his raw folk music for his CD Release Party.

Playing guitar and banjo, Matson is a worthy musician in his own right; however, his voice could possibly be gauged as the clearest and most powerful to pierce our ears and stir our souls since that of Jake Smith (The White Buffalo, who Matson opened for Sunday). With the help of what he refers to as his “secret weapons” – musician friends Sean Mathison on guitar and Fritz (just Fritz) on jembay and percussion – Matson has unveiled himself as a prodigious folk singer. First, though, Matson solemnly took the candle lit stage by himself and with a piercing, resolute clarity absolutely jolted the audience to their core, penetrating their souls with that resounding voice of his.

Matson is also an impressive songwriter. He writes deeply reflective songs which suggest a search that has found resolution, understanding; clarity. But all the pain and glory of the journey has been preserved and transfused. With lines like “Please forgive me for who I’ve been,” and “Time ain’t a friend of mine, like a thief in the middle of the night, you stole my family, taken my friends,” the audience could feel passionate life coursing through the music.

Matson was genuinely sharing his music with the audience, rather than just putting on a show. The audience was rapt. The band appeared to be calmly at peace within its own zone yet completely connected to the audience. It’s difficult to describe: it was like the band was in a meditative trance, ascended to their reverent place upon the stage, yet their music reached the depths of the audience. The music could be felt. It was refreshing, alleviating, cathartic. Matson’s chosen closer of the night, a solo rendition of “Amazing Grace”, made me want to repent and line up at the River Jordan.

With songs like “Psalm 40? and “Cigarettes With Jesus”, an observant listener may pick up on the apparent Christian influence. It isn’t an obvious or overwhelmingly religious feeling, though. In some regards Matson could be seen as a Gram Parsons or Johnny Cash character: a bad boy not afraid to share his faith or play Christian tunes. In fact, Matson’s roots are found in punk.

At the age of 28, Matson’s still a young man, and yet it’s already been a long road. As the lead singer of Fisted Youth and occasional bass player for The Deviates, Matson reflects that punk music provided him a dark path into self- destruction. Various projects later, Matson has arrived at a mature point in his musical life. He carries the inoffensive confidence of one who has been through the ringer, through the washing machine of life, and who has worked out the kinks and the wrinkles and just understands. Matson takes the stage with a quiet resolve and then just simply blasts you away. He’s not showy, he’s not goofy, and though there are moments of humor, he’s not even real bubbly and fun – he’s just damn good, real, straightforward, and piercingly effective.

His faith permeates his life, a guiding torch, and Matson says he’s trying to portray Christianity apart from popular misconception. “It’s something different,” he says, “Not the normal drone type that fills the pews…I’m not gonna fear playing a hymn in a bar, not gonna hide within church walls playing music.”

The Saint Rocke show was Matson’s only local performance for now. He’s hitting the road solo, with his banjo and his dog Bailey to promote his new album Where I Am. After an extensive tour of U.S., he’s splitting for a three week visit to Holland – where he’ll be meeting with Sony (ATV) and playing some shows. Matson’s at a musical crossroads, bustling with prospects and potential. The future is also likely to see him recording with a side project called Born of War – an Americana Punk Acoustic outfit with Charley Marshall, former guitarist of The Deviates; though, Matson is presently extremely focused on getting his new music out.

“I would love the most amount of people hearing my music as possible,” Matson says, “It’s not a fame thing for me, it’s just a love for the music. There’s nothing that I hold onto more dearly than that.”

Tim Matson’s new album Where I Am is now available on iTunes. To hear his music go to myspace.com/timmatsonmusic, or check him out on www.dirtyhippieradio.com. Listen, learn, read on…
- Easy Reader (Easyreadernews.com) May Issue