Today’s letter:
Today’s letter: I think I’m going to write to Matt Nathanson whom Suzan and I saw in concert last night. Matt’s one of those musicians who doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary (singer/songwriter, white guy with a guitar, that thing) but does it about 10 times better than most others in his genre. We batted around "why?" for a while and came up with 1) his voice is not that of an ordinary folk troubadour, soulful but politely so, but rather a full healthy rasp like Bruce Springsteen or hell, Neil Diamond. Anything he puts over gets elevated by the passion and the sincerity his voice gives it. 2) Matt knows he’s a white guy with a guitar who used to have a mullet and acne and has a great time playing with it.
I first heard one half of one song he did at a private party seven years ago in L.A. I liked him when we chatted afterward and bought his CD to be nice. I didn’t know his music at all. It wore out after I listened to about 5,000 times and loaned it to everyone I knew.
I heard a few years ago that he had moved to San Francisco to be closer to his girlfriend-now-wife Bridget. I wrote him a letter when I got here and told him of our abstract history together. He wrote back and invited me to his next show. I’ve seen him three times since I got her and will whenever I can.
Check him out. You won’t be disapointed.