Matt Nathanson

Matt Nathanson is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (usually a twelve-string) and electric guitar, and has performed both solo and with a full band.

His debut album, “Please” was recorded and mixed in 1993 in a house in Van Nuys, California. Most of the songs were written while Nathanson was in high school and a freshman at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. “Please” was released in the spring of 1993.

Recorded in Nathanson's new hometown of San Francisco in the winter of 1997, “Ernst” was an entirely acoustic record – the instrumentation is mostly acoustic guitar with some accordion, cellos and percussion. This record was mixed at Toast Studios in San Francisco, by Jaquire King.

His next album was “Not Colored Too Perfect,” a compilation of unreleased material, the bulk of which was recorded in San Rafael, California in the fall of 1997. Two other songs on this compilation, “You're Smiling” and “Wait Up” were recorded in Santa Barbara, California in the summer of 1995. The final two songs, “Trace of a Cat's Eye” and “Vandalized” were taken from the unreleased record by Nathanson's college band Here Comes Everybody. The HCE album was recorded in the spring of 1995 but was never released. Both these songs were written by the drummer of the band, Bill Foreman.

“Still Waiting for Spring” was recorded in December 1998 in Cotati, California, and in January of 1999 at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, with Mark Weinberg. This record features David Immergluck and Charlie Gillingham of Counting Crows on the song “Loud,” which was featured on the television show “Dawson's Creek.” The record released spring of 1999.

For his 2003 album, “When Everything Meant Everything” he enlisted drummer Nathanson Chamberlain, guitarist David Garza and Glen Phillips of the band toad the Wet Sprocket, for background vocals. “Lucky Boy,” from “Still Waiting for Spring” was re-recorded for this record. “Suspended” and “I Saw” were released as singles and more than half the record was licensed to television various shows.

Upon deciding that the major label world was not for him, Nathanson got out of his contract with Universal Records and released “At the Point.” Recorded live over the course of two nights at The Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in June of 2005, this was Nathanson's first live release. This record was released in April 2006 and debuted at #28 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart the week of its release.

“Some Mad Hope” was recorded between August 2005 and March 2007 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Cotati, California. The album was produced independently, and Nathanson partnered with Vanguard Records for its release in August 2007. It debuted #60 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and was on the charts for 34 weeks. The single, “Come On Get Higher,” peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, #3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and #19 on the Adult Pop Songs chart. “Car Crash” peaked at #30 on the Adult Pop Songs chart and “Falling Apart” peaked #28. “Come On Get Higher” was certified platinum, selling over 1.8 million in single sales.

Nathanson's album “Modern Love” was released in June 2011. The first single, “Faster,” was released in March. The song, “Run” was recorded with the group Sugarland, but are credited indivually as “feat. Jennifer Nettles & Kristian Bush.” The album reached #17 on the Billboard 200 an #4 on the Independent Albums chart.