Matt Costa
Encyclopedia
Matthew Albert Costa is a singer-songwriter
from Huntington Beach, California
.
He has five independent releases: two self-recorded EPs, and three full-length CDs released via Brushfire Records
.
descent, states that his father worked in the airline business. In early 2003, Matt's homemade demo reached No Doubt
guitarist Tom Dumont
, who offered to record more demos for Costa in his home studio. Those first recordings led to two EPs that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. These were later combined and mixed by Phil Ek
in order to form Costa's first full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing
.
Costa spent the summer of 2005 opening on Jack Johnson
's summer tour. He has since toured with Modest Mouse
, Oasis
, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, G. Love & Special Sauce
, and Death Cab for Cutie
. Costa joined Jack Johnson
for his 2006 European tour. He has also contributed to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George
soundtrack; his track is entitled "Lullaby". This song was taken from his The Elasmosaurus EP. Costa has also toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and South America.
The video for Costa's first single "Cold December" was released February 2, 2006. On July 31, 2007, he released a song titled "If You Took To Me" as part of the environmentally minded polar bear documentary Arctic Tale
and its soundtrack.
On October 7, 2007, Matt released the first single, "Mr. Pitiful," from his record Unfamiliar Faces
. The song "Mr. Pitiful" was used during a scene with Paul Rudd
in the movie I Love You, Man
, the redband trailer for the film Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera
, and the movie Marmaduke
. Apple also used an instrumental cut of this song for the worldwide iPhone
3GS ads.
On December 23, 2008, Costa married.
Mobile Chateau, Matt's third album, was released on September 21, 2010 via Brushfire Records. The new record was recorded at Pheasant Studios in Santa Ana, CA as Costa's first solo production.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
from Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
.
He has five independent releases: two self-recorded EPs, and three full-length CDs released via Brushfire Records
Brushfire Records
Brushfire Records is a Haleiwa, Hawaii based record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. The label, formerly known as The Moonshine Conspiracy Records, was originally made to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a surfing movie production owned by Jack Johnson, Emmett Malloy, and...
.
Life
Matt Costa, who is of PortuguesePortuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
descent, states that his father worked in the airline business. In early 2003, Matt's homemade demo reached No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
guitarist Tom Dumont
Tom Dumont
Tom Dumont is an American guitarist and producer. Dumont is a member of third wave ska band No Doubt, and during the band's hiatus, he began Invincible Overlord as a side project and produced Matt Costa's Songs We Sing.-Life and career:The Dumont family lived in Irvine, California...
, who offered to record more demos for Costa in his home studio. Those first recordings led to two EPs that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. These were later combined and mixed by Phil Ek
Phil Ek
Phil Ek is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. Ek began his career in Seattle, Washington, in the early 1990s recording live sound in clubs. He then moved into studio recording, recording small projects and demos for local bands. Around this time, Ek was frequently working with...
in order to form Costa's first full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing
Songs We Sing
-2006 Brushfire Records release:Songs We Sing was re-released in 2006 by Brushfire Records, owned by fellow musician Jack Johnson and his wife. The album featured new songs and a different track list....
.
Costa spent the summer of 2005 opening on Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...
's summer tour. He has since toured with Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, G. Love & Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce
G. Love & Special Sauce is an alternative hip-hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are known for their unique, "sloppy", and "laid back" blues sound that encompasses classic R&B. The band features Garrett Dutton, better known as G...
, and Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
. Costa joined Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...
for his 2006 European tour. He has also contributed to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George
Curious George
Curious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.When...
soundtrack; his track is entitled "Lullaby". This song was taken from his The Elasmosaurus EP. Costa has also toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and South America.
The video for Costa's first single "Cold December" was released February 2, 2006. On July 31, 2007, he released a song titled "If You Took To Me" as part of the environmentally minded polar bear documentary Arctic Tale
Arctic Tale
Arctic Tale is a 2007 documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, in a similar vein to the 2005 hit production March of the Penguins, also from National Geographic. It was directed by Adam Ravetch and Sarah...
and its soundtrack.
On October 7, 2007, Matt released the first single, "Mr. Pitiful," from his record Unfamiliar Faces
Unfamiliar Faces
Unfamiliar Faces is the second studio album by Matt Costa, released on January 22, 2008. In the spring of 2007, Costa teamed up with long-time friend/producer Tom Dumont and recorded twelve songs for the album.-CD Track listing:...
. The song "Mr. Pitiful" was used during a scene with Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
in the movie I Love You, Man
I Love You, Man
I Love You, Man is a 2009 American comedy film originally titled Let's be Friends and written by Larry Levin before John Hamburg rewrote and directed the film...
, the redband trailer for the film Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
, and the movie Marmaduke
Marmaduke (film)
Marmaduke is an American live action film adaptation of Brad Anderson's comic strip Marmaduke. The film centers on a rural Kansas family and their pets – a Great Dane named Marmaduke and a Balinese cat named Carlos – as the family relocates to California.-Plot:Marmaduke is a Great Dane living in...
. Apple also used an instrumental cut of this song for the worldwide iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
3GS ads.
On December 23, 2008, Costa married.
Mobile Chateau, Matt's third album, was released on September 21, 2010 via Brushfire Records. The new record was recorded at Pheasant Studios in Santa Ana, CA as Costa's first solo production.
Albums
- 2005: Songs We SingSongs We Sing-2006 Brushfire Records release:Songs We Sing was re-released in 2006 by Brushfire Records, owned by fellow musician Jack Johnson and his wife. The album featured new songs and a different track list....
(independent release) - 2006: Songs We Sing (BrushfireBrushfire RecordsBrushfire Records is a Haleiwa, Hawaii based record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. The label, formerly known as The Moonshine Conspiracy Records, was originally made to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a surfing movie production owned by Jack Johnson, Emmett Malloy, and...
re-release) - 2008: Unfamiliar FacesUnfamiliar FacesUnfamiliar Faces is the second studio album by Matt Costa, released on January 22, 2008. In the spring of 2007, Costa teamed up with long-time friend/producer Tom Dumont and recorded twelve songs for the album.-CD Track listing:...
- 2010: Mobile ChateauMobile Chateau- Personnel :* Matt Costa – vocals on all tracks, electric guitar on tracks 2, 6, 7 and 10, acoustic guitar on tracks 4, 5, 9, 11 and 12, classical guitar on track 8, lap steel on track 4, electric twelve-string guitar on tracks 1, 5, 8 and 11, bass on tracks 4, 8 and 10, piano on tracks 1, 3, 4,...
Singles
- 2006: "Cold December"
- 2006: "Sweet Thursday"
- 2006: "Sunshine"
- 2008: "Mr. Pitiful"
- 2010: "Witchcraft"
Sampler/Soundtracks
- 2006: A Brokedown Melody Soundtrack
- 2006: Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious GeorgeSing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George-Chart positions:-Certifications:-Personnel:*Jack Johnson – vocals, guitar, ukulele*Adam Topol – drums*Merlo Podlewski – bass guitar*Zach Gill – vocals, keys*Ben Harper – vocals, guitar*G...
(released by Jack Johnson) - 2006: Brushfire Records Winter 2006 Music Sampler (with Jack JohnsonJack Johnson (musician)Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...
, G. Love & Special SauceG. Love & Special SauceG. Love & Special Sauce is an alternative hip-hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are known for their unique, "sloppy", and "laid back" blues sound that encompasses classic R&B. The band features Garrett Dutton, better known as G...
, & Money Mark) - 2007: Arctic Tale
External links
- The Official Matt Costa Website
- Matt's Official MySpace
- Artist's twitter
- Matt Costa collection at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
's live music archive