Matt Hires
Encyclopedia
Matt Hires is an American singer-songwriter
from Tampa, Florida
. Drawing inspiration from influences as disparate as The Band
, Sufjan Stevens
, Wilco
and Ryan Adams
, Matt became the first artist to sign with F-Stop Music
, an imprint of Atlantic Records
.
, Post-hardcore
, and Emo
scenes, Matt later developed an interest in artists like Tom Petty
and Bob Dylan
, which explains the uniqueness of his vocal and instrumental harmonies that dabble in both traditional and contemporary musical realms.
Hires began his music career as frontman for Tampa, FL based band Brer. the band's debut record, Microwavable, was produced by Will Denton, longtime drummer for Steven Curtis Chapman
. Atlantic Records
A&R
executive, Gregg Nadel, fell in love with his sound. Soon Hires began working with producer Eric Rosse
(Sara Bareilles
, Tori Amos
, David Archuleta
), and together they recorded his first full-length record.
/Atlantic Records
, on October 7, 2008. Although only four songs in length, the EP gained him solid exposure, with critics comparing him to the likes of Jack Johnson
, John Mayer
, Matt Costa
, Mat Kearney
, and Bright Eyes. But still, critics conceded that Hires has a sincerity and authenticity of his own.
Building his fan base in preparation for his debut album, Hires appeared at the SXSW Music Festival and on the 2009 Mayercraft Carrier. He has also opened for Dave Matthews
, Marc Broussard
, O.A.R.
, and Paolo Nutini
.
. Two tracks from Take Us To The Start have already appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Cougar Town
on ABC and Life Unexpected
on The CW.
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 Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. Drawing inspiration from influences as disparate as The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
, Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
and Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
, Matt became the first artist to sign with F-Stop Music
F-Stop Music
F-Stop Music is a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Singer-songwriter and Tampa native, Matt Hires, was the first artist to sign with F-Stop. Soon after, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights joined Hires, bringing their soul-infused rock to the label....
, an imprint of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
.
Biography
As a cabinet store worker by day and a musician by night, Hires always had a passion for music. Matt’s father, also a musician, introduced him to music at a young age, giving him the handmade guitar that Matt continues to play. Initially drawn to the punkPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
, and Emo
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
scenes, Matt later developed an interest in artists like Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, which explains the uniqueness of his vocal and instrumental harmonies that dabble in both traditional and contemporary musical realms.
Hires began his music career as frontman for Tampa, FL based band Brer. the band's debut record, Microwavable, was produced by Will Denton, longtime drummer for Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.After starting his career in the late 1980s as a singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Chapman has since been recognized as one of the most prolific singers in the genre,...
. Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
executive, Gregg Nadel, fell in love with his sound. Soon Hires began working with producer Eric Rosse
Eric Rosse
Eric Rosse is a record producer. He is best known for his work with singer Tori Amos, particularly production of her albums Little Earthquakes and Grammy nominated Under the Pink. He also produced Anna Nalick's album Wreck of the Day and Lisa Marie Presley's debut album To Whom It May Concern...
(Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records in the United States alone and has been...
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
, David Archuleta
David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...
), and together they recorded his first full-length record.
Live From the Hotel Café, EP
Hires released his debut EP, Live From the Hotel Cafe, under F-Stop MusicF-Stop Music
F-Stop Music is a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Singer-songwriter and Tampa native, Matt Hires, was the first artist to sign with F-Stop. Soon after, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights joined Hires, bringing their soul-infused rock to the label....
/Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, on October 7, 2008. Although only four songs in length, the EP gained him solid exposure, with critics comparing him to the likes of 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...
, John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
, Matt Costa
Matt Costa
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.-Life:...
, Mat Kearney
Mat Kearney
Mathew William "Mat" Kearney is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, now based in Nashville, Tennessee. Kearney has received critical acclaim and widespread recognition for his Columbia Records debut, Nothing Left to Lose. So far, he has a total of four top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40...
, and Bright Eyes. But still, critics conceded that Hires has a sincerity and authenticity of his own.
Building his fan base in preparation for his debut album, Hires appeared at the SXSW Music Festival and on the 2009 Mayercraft Carrier. He has also opened for Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
, Marc Broussard
Marc Broussard
Marc Broussard is an American singer/songwriter. His style is best described as "Bayou Soul," a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock, and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots...
, O.A.R.
O.A.R.
O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...
, and Paolo Nutini
Paolo Nutini
Paolo Giovanni Nutini is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. His father is of Italian descent, from Barga, Tuscany, although both his parents are Scottish, his family having been in Scotland for three generations....
.
Take Us To The Start
On July 28, 2009 Hires released his debut full-length album, Take Us To The Start, featuring his first single, “Honey Let Me Sing You A Song.” The album also features, “You in The End,” co-written by Sara BareillesSara Bareilles
Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records in the United States alone and has been...
. Two tracks from Take Us To The Start have already appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Cougar Town
Cougar Town
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorced woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make...
on ABC and Life Unexpected
Life Unexpected
Life Unexpected is an American television series that ran for two seasons, from 2010 to 2011.The show premiered on The CW on Monday, January 18, 2010. The 13-episode first season run ended on April 12, 2010...
on The CW.
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 2009 | Take Us to the Start Take Us to the Start Take Us to the Start is the first full-length studio album by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires, released exclusively through iTunes on July 15, 2009 and then released August 25, 2009 on Atlantic Records....
|
96 | — |
EPs
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| 2008 | Live From the Hotel Café Live From the Hotel Café Live From the Hotel Café is a 4-track EP by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires released on October 7, 2008 and reached the top 10 on iTunes' "Top Singer/Songwriters Albums" chart upon its release... EP
|
— | — |
| 2010 | A to B A to B (Matt Hires EP) A to B is a 4-track EP by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires, released on August 17, 2010. The Ep includes the original album version of "Honey Let Me Sing You a Song" – first found on the Tampa-based tunesmith's acclaimed 2009 debut, "Take Us to the Start", it also features 2 new... EP Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
— | — |
| 2011 | Live Sessions Live Sessions (Matt Hires EP) Live Sessions is the third EP by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires, released on March 8, 2011. This new release is a compilation of 5 live tracks, recorded with a full band at various times during Hires’ 2009-2010 State Lines Tour... EP Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
— | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
US Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Rock |
|||
| 2009 | “Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song (song) "Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song" is the lead single by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires from his first full-length studio album Take Us to the Start, the song featured in many uses in media, including ABC's hitshow Cougar Town and Life Unexpected on The CW.The demo version featured in... ” |
- | - | Take Us to the Start Take Us to the Start Take Us to the Start is the first full-length studio album by American pop-rock singer-songwriter Matt Hires, released exclusively through iTunes on July 15, 2009 and then released August 25, 2009 on Atlantic Records.... |
External links
- http://www.matthiresmusic.com
- http://www.myspace.com/matthires
- http://www.imeem.com/matthires
- http://twitter.com/matthires
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt-Hires/8463371029
- http://www.ilike.com/artist/Matt+Hires
- http://www.fstopmusic.com/
- http://www.atlanticrecords.com/
- http://www.streetpropaganda.net/content/g_group.php?artist_id=1048719