Singer-songwriter Matt White’s voice is so damn angelic that he could easily double as God’s personal troubadour. The 28-year-old classically trained musician sounds like a cross between two of his inspirations: John Mayer — to whom comparisons are also unavoidable — and Jeff Buckley. And Matt, who grew up in a family of musicians in north New Jersey, actually saw the late artist perform live back in the day.
A guy who writes loves songs, sings like a meadowlark and has seen Jeff Buckley in concert? Paint us intrigued. And then it turns out he also looks like James Dean reincarnated.
Yet even raw talent and — let’s be real here, total hotness — don’t usually score one a record deal overnight. Not unlike Jeff Buckley himself, Matt did major time on the small-club circuit in New York City (in some of the same clubs Buckley toiled in), sometimes busking for bills in Washington Square Park. And he also logged serious hours online, garnering a rapt and eager fan base (both predominantly and unsurprisingly female) on MySpace.
Eventually a winning combination of tenacity, good fortune, and the kind of writing chops that produce pitch-perfect alt-pop songs — the melodic, cinematic, heartfelt and honest types — and attract music supervisors for shows like One Tree Hill and The Hills (perhaps you’ve heard of this?) paid off. After landing a spot on Geffen’s roster, earning a place Rolling Stone’s “10 Artists to Watch” list, scoring a single on the Shrek the Third soundtrack, and logging well over 100 live shows in 2006 alone, Matt upgraded from playing subway stations to playing gigs for fans whose intended destinations are the bigger clubs he’s now headlining — not just the next stop on the A train.
Band Members
Matt White
Influences
The Rolling StonesThe BeatlesBruce SpringsteenBob DylanLed ZeppelinSheryl CrowNick DrakeJeff BuckleyBilly JoelElton John
Website
www.MattWhitemusic.com
