Bandsintown Artist Community Member Spotlight : Matthew Moran
Each month the Bandsintown Artist Community is shining a spotlight on an active member and their accomplishments. This month they spoke to LA-based singer/songwriter Matthew Moran.
If you’re not already part of the free Bandsintown Artist Community, join now for great music industry networking, pro advice, special events and more.
Can you share a little bit about how your journey started as a musician?
I began playing guitar after watching my father play the banjo and record Dylan’s, “Blowing in the Wind” on a cassette recorder. I started writing songs when I was around 13 years old. I wrote sporadically until 2006 when my production greatly increased. While living in Arizona, I began playing an open mic at Cave Creek Coffee Company – which led to performing in their wine bar and opening for national acts in their 300 seat outdoor venue, “The Camp.”
That’s great. And you’ve been doing a lot of exciting projects since then…can you tell us about a few that really stand out?
Performing with fellow artist Emiko and producing a rock n roll Christmas Song with her in 2020. Also, I’ve been fortunate to have performed with musicians far more talented than myself – including my lead guitarist, Steve Schmitt – son of legendary recording engineer, Al Schmitt.
What an inspiring opportunity. Speaking of which, what would you say inspires your creative process when making music?
I write a LOT of songs while on the move. Driving between Los Angeles and Arizona, Vegas, & Salt Lake. The outdoors is a huge mind-expander for me. I’ve also written songs while out hiking – recording ideas into my phone or just letting lyrics rattle around as I get my dogs out. Coffee and early mornings are also “creativity enhancers.”
I’m sure there are many artists who can relate to that! Can you share with us a quality or skill that has been essential to being a musician or part of the industry?
Knowing yourself – a willingness to work on specific areas of improvement. Also, I believe in straight-forward and unambiguous conversations with band mates, venue owners, and others in the industry.
That’s an amazing tip. So you talked a bit about others in the industry – can you tell us what you love most about connecting with your fans?
Stephen King said that a writer feels as though they have something to say but are surprised as hell when somebody reads their work. I like being pleasantly surprised when someone tells me they enjoyed a certain lyric. It feels like we are in on a secret together.
So true! You’ve been such a valuable member of our community so we’d love to know…is there a Bandsintown feature you really love?
The calendar/website (WordPress) integration. It makes it simple for me to post shows in a single location and allow it to be distributed to other outlets.
To connect further with Matthew directly, find him in the Bandsintown Artist Community!
- Website – https://matthewmoranonline.com/
- Bandsintown – https://www.bandsintown.com/a/286385-matthew-moran
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/songwritermatthewmoran
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/MatthewMoran/
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/MatthewMoran
