Matthew Perryman Jones Interview: SXSW 2010

Matthew Perryman Jones is a musician with heart and a songwriter with various influences. Raised in Georgia, he found his calling in Nashville and began making music featured on various TV shows. Just before SXSW, Spinner spoke to him about his name, why he moved to Nashville and why he wants to be in an Apple commercial.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I like the music to have that feeling, I like open sounds, I like artists like Daniel Lanois, a performer and he's also produced Peter Gabriel, U2 and a lot of those records that have that emotional vibe to it. The thing I love about music is its having roots and wings. I love music that has the roots vibe to it. The wings part is something that feels more transcendent. I like that it can have that magical, ethereal vibe to it.

How did you become a musician?

I've been playing for a while. I've lived in Atlanta, Ga., I was in a band and started playing music and eventually came into the singer-songwriter world in the mid-'90s. I was performing at Eddie's Attic, which is a venue in Atlanta and eventually had some friends who encouraged me to move to Nashville which was odd because I thought of Nashville as this stereotype of everyone wearing cowboy boots.

What are your musical influences?

I like Peter Gabriel and U2. A lot of that music was from the '80s era and I come out of that era musically; that is the kind of what shaped my musical palate. The Pixies, Echo and the Bunnymen, a lot of those bands were shaping my musical taste and I was stuck with that music. I go back to it quite often.

Did you consider going by a stage name?

Never, actually. The thing is, when I started doing the solo thing, I was Matt Jones, I just performed under my name. Matthew Jones is a hysterically common name and there were other artists who performed under that name. There was even another guy in the same singer-songwriter circuit and we were both actually started to take off and have shows and it was becoming a problem. His spokespersons would come to my shows, and I was starting to get some of his fans and he was actually getting some of my fans. I was going to release my first album and he already had his albums so I [thought] that I should now go by my whole name, with my middle name too, so I became Matthew Perryman Jones.

You moved to Nashville to pursue music full-time. How difficult was the decision to make, especially when Nashville is full of many other musicians?

It definitely was a risk to move here but I think it helped me stretch musically. I met a lot of other talented musicians that was inspiring. It was continually surprising because I keep meeting these really talented musicians and also great people. Not only are these people amazing artists but are also great people. I love the vibe here, a real sense of people wanting to make music. People think that that it's all cutthroat here, and yes, it does exist, but the sort of folks that I'm around with, this great community are people who are breaking out to song, just loving music.

I see that a lot of your songs are used in TV shows. Which TV show would you like to see your music on?

Well, it's funny because my wife and I are fans of that show 'Bones' and while we were watching one night, my wife, Megan, was telling me, "You need to get on that show." Literally, the next night I get a call from my agent: "I got a call from 'Bones' and they want to use your song." Then I told my wife, "Can you say something like that [while] thinking about a Mac?" If I could get onto a Mac commercial that would be great. I would love to have a song on a Mac commercial. Wouldn't be bad publicity.

Going back to SXSW, what is in your festival survival kit?

I'm not a big festival fan. I tend to be a little bit of an introvert and I don't really think it's a big deal. My survival thing is that I go to the schedule and see what I want to be part of. I can't do the whole wandering thing. I'm excited at the end of the day. I do a few things and stick to it and then go home

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

To be honest, my immediate guilty pleasure is heavy metal like Van Halen, but I don't think I consider that a guilty pleasure. I don't feel guilty listening to that. My wife likes Justin Timberlake, so I listen to some of his stuff. There's a part of me that likes him. That would definitely be a guilty pleasure. He's a great performer. And funny.

What is the craziest thing you've seen on tour or experienced on tour?

I was on a tour, Ten from Tenn, in Portland, Ore. We hit the road together with other musicians -- I think it was March of last year -- and it was a little drizzly and cold. We're loading up and our bus is behind the venue. I am pushing the bass rig around the corner and there are these dumpsters against the wall right next to our bus. So, I turn the corner and against the dumpster, there are these two women. One of them has her shirt up to her shoulders and her pants are down while her girlfriend is, let's say, giving her oral pleasure. This is in public as we're loading up our bus and they don't seem fazed by it. I think being in public is adding to the enjoyment.

Describe your shows in three words to people have never seen you before.

Emotionally-driven performance.

Alma Verdejo is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.