Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Elton Smith.
Matthew Elton, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I have been playing music for as long as I can remember. I started drums at age nine and got my first gig at age ten, playing surf music with father at what was then called “The Del Mar Fair”. Since then I have been the leader and sideman of many diverse musical groups. Where I really cut my teeth on the drums was with my band of over 10+ years “The Skank Agents”. We played countless times in San Diego and across the western U.S. until our last show at SOMA San Diego in August of 2014. Post TSA, I hosted a jazz jam session for over 2 1/2 years at a venue, which is now closed, “98 Botles” with my group “themattsmithneujazztrio”, this group has gone on to release 3 albums all of which highlight the group’s original compositions. At around the same time I started another original groove project titled “JuiceBox” that harps on minimalist instrumental funk, jazz harmony, and catchy melodies. The past two years have been interesting, as I have moved to LA to pursue my master’s degree at California Institute of the Arts, I finish in May!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My music is born from hours of pecking a piano, scribbling, more pecking and more scribbling. Then rehearsing, then further editing, and if we’re lucky, an eventual recording of the finished product. My inspiration behind most of my music is always melody, something singable and relatable. My composition process is rather simple, most often chords and song form appear before melody, this gives me a solid base of harmony in which to compose a lyrical melody. I hope people find happiness and a new perspective on what music is, and what it can be! When listening to my music more people have said: “I don’t like jazz, but I like what you’re doing!”
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
As stated earlier, my outlet for connecting with other musicians and artists is the internet, specifically Instagram and my collaboration videos. Although, I’m not just trolling Instagram all day. I do go out, and more often than not I connect with other musicians/artists at their shows. I have also found great luck meeting other like-minded individuals at jam sessions in San Diego/LA specifically Gilbert Castellanos’ session at Panama 66 or Kevin Kanner’s jam at The Mint in LA!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I often post a lot of material on Instagram @mattheweltonsmith most recently I have been doing collaboration videos where I put my drums and other sounds over my favorite Instagram musician’s pre-existing Instagram videos. This often gives me the opportunity to reach out to an artist I’ve never worked with before and say ‘Hey, I made this with your music, maybe we should work together!” Instagram itself has such a rich musical community that I can’t help but want to play with these musicians. In a world that’s living and breathing on the internet, I feel it’s important collaborate with others outside of town, across the country and in other countries. It’s a personal goal of mine to start collaborating more like this with musicians outside the U.S. although my main focus now is to build an online following in the U.S.
People can also here my work if they go to my website www.mattheweltonsmith.com.
or visit any of my band camp pages below
www.themattsmithneujazztrio.bandcamp.com
www.juiceboxsd.bandcamp.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mattheweltonsmith.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattheweltonsmith/
Image Credit:
Robert Sanchez
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