Sadly, Matt Osborne passed away in his sleep on the morning of Friday April 23, 2004. These original pages from his original site will continue to be maintained for the foreseeable future, however they are no longer being updated. Please visit the main site for more information on Matt and on The Matt Osborne Musicians Trust Fund.


           

Matt's Commentary

Thursday, April 15, 2004
WEDNESDAY EVENING UPDATE

My goodness gracious once again. Another big apology for no update in 3 weeks. I'm in the even greater thick of recording my new album, trying to get a 5 song sampler complete by the end of the month and finalizing the tour that I'll hopefully sell that sampler on. Maybe I'll have a few almost-final-mix songs from the new album up by this time next week. No promises, though, baby. ("That's just what we call... pillowtalk, baby.")

Right now, by the way, I'm typing this from the student life centre at the University of Waterloo. The funny thing is that I'm not even an alumnus of this fine educational facility. Just thought I'd share.

The tunes are sounding good and the tour is looking good... except for a potential trouble spot here and there (a certain Big Breakfast appearance that may disappear and one or two gigs that may get ungigged). On the whole... not too shabby. It's nice when you've built up a relationship over a past tour or two with bookers and producers, etcetera. Makes it a tad easier each time out. I'd just like to thank everyone who's booked me for this third tour (even those who eventually unbook me). The trouble now is trying to promote this tour... last time out I sent stuff and e-mails to about 25 community radio stations and entertainment weeklies across the country and got exactly one response. We'll go for two this time, aiight? It seems easier for me to get a spot on cable (and, through satellite now, national) T.V. than it is to get an interview at a local community/campus station which breaks up as soon as you hit the edge of town. Interesting phenomenon.

Pro Wrestling Term of the Week:

Montreal Finish

A term that makes reference to the now (always called) infamous finish to the Hart/Michaels match at Survivor Series '97 in Montreal where Vince MacMahon told the timekeeper to ring the bell before the match's agreed upon ending (run-in with a D.Q. finish with Bret basically relenquishing the belt before jumping to W.C.W.). This term is pretty well interchangable with screw job finish (meaning an unfair victory using outside interference and/or foreign objects), but it really should be reserved for those finishes that involve a blatant bad call by a ref or the "owner" interfering to change the outcome either before or after the final bell.
posted at 12:01 AM


Monday, March 22, 2004
MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE

My goodness. Many apologies for the dearth of updates (and March edition of MattNotes, no less) in recent weeks. I've just been in the thick of recording at Arun Pal studios in Kitchener and things are going pretty well. We've got about 9 performances down and about 9 to go. This album will be mostly a housecleaning affair--mainly songs that I've had for years and years but have never recorded until now--and will feature mostly solo "live off the floor"... ish performances. Here and there we'll have a harmony or something like that but it's mostly gonna be me and my guitar. The album will, however, feature 2 or 3 full on all out Matt Osborne Band tracks... with a more laid-back groove. Aw yeeahh.

The tour is filling up with just a couple of holes here and there (I will get a show in Marathon, Ontario someday), sometimes filled by some very helpful fans donating their living room for an intimate concert experience. Best case scenario is about 15 shows or appearances over 17 days of touring. We've still got a few more to come so keep looking back to the gigs section for updates.

And yes, I will get a slightly less compressed version of the front page photo when momma's computer gets put back together. Don't ask.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Remember to give extra attention to your boots--they're the equipment of yours that will take the most abuse, especially the soles themselves that wear down pretty quickly and should be replaced often to give you as much traction as possible in the ring.
posted at 3:15 PM


Thursday, February 19, 2004
THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE

Well. My 3rd Canadian tour seems to be shaping up quite nicely... a couple in Edmonton, singles in the Sault, North Bay, Sudbury and Gan. This whole shindig should take just under two and a half weeks, starting during the last few days of April. And I suppose I'll ask: if anyone would like to host a living room show in Sudbury on Wednesday April 28th or Marathon on Friday April 30th just e-mail me. It's possible that I'll be doing a living room show out in Regina on Mother's Day, but since it's Mother's Day that may be a tad iffy. We'll see how it all shapes up over the next month or so.

It looks like next week for recording that aforementioned country song cowritten by Janet and myself. I've got some future studio time starting in mid-March for my own acoustic project.

I'm not sure what's happening with the European tour--I'm just waiting for the booker to contact me.

Eddie will make a great champ if they keep him strong. Don't screw this up, Paul. But if there's anyone I have faith in to do this right, it's you.

Pro Wrestling Term of the Week:

Booker

The individual (or sometimes, usually disasterously, a group) responsible for deciding the outcomes of the matches seen within the promotion and the nature of those outcomes ("clean" or "screwjob" finishes, etc.). The booker's main concern is keeping the storylines of individual wrestlers compelling, usually by finding a good opponent (or opponents) for that wrestler to work with over several weeks or even months. The booker has to always be thinking about the long term development of his or her wrestlers as recognizable competitors, above all, because perceived star power draws big money.
posted at 8:15 AM


Thursday, February 05, 2004
THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE

Okay. It looks like I might be taking a two week jaunt or so over to the Holland/Germany area for a tour in the summer. Nothing's confirmed yet but it's looking good so far. Thanks to Shannon Lyon for helping me get started in this endeavour and we'll just see what happens. And the possibility also exists of a third Canadian tour maybe sometime in May. And the idea would be to have the new album ready by then. What new album, you say?

It's going to be mainly a solo record with the odd overdub, with maybe 2 or 3 full band tracks (with Serge and Arun) at the end. I'm even leaning towards calling the whole thing "Semisolo" or "Soloish". There may be upwards of 18 tunes on it (depending on total running time, etc.) and these are mainly tunes that I've really enjoyed playing at my solo shows over the last several years that were just never recorded properly. Stuff like 50 30 20 and maybe even the infamous Dreams of Leftovers, for example. These are also tunes that I feel are best experienced as solo(ish) performances, too. Many of them (like My Gretzky Card, Amy Dudley and the war trilogy) have never been played as band songs and aren't really meant for such a fate. In many ways this will be sort of a mopping up operation... finally getting a lot of these songs recorded and having them all together (a few planned inclusions are over 10 years old). I'll be recording once again at Arun Pal studios and we'll hopefully be using some tracks that I recorded thanks to the very generous Jeff Cowell and his Roland home studio.

I'll be going into Arun's studio in about 2 weeks to first record a demo of a song co-written by myself and Janet Haskins entitled "One Way Love Gone Bad". Janet did the lyrics and I took care of the music. So this will be a good opportunity as well to see how everything's going to sound for my stuff later on. I like the song, I must say. I'm not the hugest fan of country as a general rule but I don't mind some of the ballads. This would be in that category.

So things are actually moving and I am actually getting some new stuff on the go. It should all come together (or not) over the next few months. And I probably won't even begin thinking about a local release party for the album until I've done my tour(s) over the summer and have it in my hands. For once.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Solid colours on your wrestling tights are best for impact when you're in front of a big crowd mostly looking from far away, but since everything important these days is televised it's certainly accepted to have a more intricate pattern of shapes and/or colours on your outfit 'cause that obviously looks better in a closeup shot.
posted at 7:51 PM


Wednesday, January 28, 2004
WEDNESDAY EARLY EVENING UPDATE

Howdy. Thanks to the brave souls who came out to jam last night despite the weather.

Pro Wrestling Term of the Week: Notice the change. I'll be alternating this with the tips column, I think, for the next little while. Tonight's term is:

Smart Mark (or "smark").

A (usually long-time) fan of pro wrestling that has made it his or her business to follow the industry in a more educated manner... namely discussing the backstage politics, the new angles and storylines that are being worked on, and which athletes should get the big push. This type of fan usually scorns the ordinary mark, someone who embraces the fiction of the storylines and/or likes wrestlers just because they have a cool t-shirt, catchphrase or pair of tights. Since, however, there are many more marks than smart marks, the smarks usually just put up with their (supposedly) lesser cousins. It's still okay, however, for a smart mark to mark out (react enthusiastically) for a move, match or promo.
posted at 6:38 PM


Monday, January 19, 2004
MONDAY EARLY MORNING UPDATE

I solemnly swear to at least heartily attempt to have no more than one hyperlink per paragraph in the future. And yes, I'll try and keep the paragraphs long. I was just looking at my last update and realized how annoying that is. Sorry. I guess my excuse is that I had a fair amount of information to pass along a couple of days ago. Nay... that's not an excuse. Just an explanation.

Thanks to Ian and Melissa (the Sophisticats) for playing with me at the Raintree Cafe in Waterloo on Saturday night, seemingly bringing out every friend they've ever had to see them. In the immortal words of Lindsay Stewart, 'Tree staffer and rawkin' singer/songwriter/poet/actor/smartmark, "we were slammed." Right-o.

I'm certainly looking forward to sharing the stage with the Sophisticats once again (and tons of other acts) this Tuesday night at the Climate Change Coffeehouse at the Bombshelter on the U of W campus. It all starts at 8pm. Okay. I had to have one hyperlink, right? Just a couple of them make things more exciting and interactive. Maybe I'll compensate for fewer hyperlinks by having more italics.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Last Few Days: With regards to the above mentioned Mr. Stewart... I always ask his opinions about the wrestling biz and usually end up agreeing with him. So if all the powers that be at the WWE wanna impress me... they have to impress Lindsay first.
posted at 1:54 AM


Saturday, January 17, 2004
SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE

Hey. The M.O.B. had a great time playing last night in the mighty Hammer with our good friends the kramdens and our new friends the Rude Mechanicals. An interesting mix, for sure. Maybe we'll come back to Another F^*%ing Bar another f*%ing time.

A hearty thank ye or three: Mr. Jay Schneider for his great feature last week in the K/W Record about the 5 year anniversary of the Circus Room Open Stage Jam-O-Rama. The January 6th party was a big success, by the way, and almost all the cake was merrily consumed. To hades with new year's resoloutions.

Also thanks to CBC's Richardson's Roundup for playing "I Want a Girl with Glasses" from the Matt Osborne Band album man versus concrete last Friday. A special thanks to associate producer Anna Bonokoski for selecting my track for airplay that day. Another great local artist, Tannis Slimmon, was played on the same show and that just rawks.

And finally... thanks to Hot Mike and Kyle for jammin' some harp with me last Saturday at the Wooly in Guelph (and thanks to everyone who came out, peroid. Especially Doris. She's a trooper. And we have some of the same hair issues, I've just discovered). I'm possibly back in February hosting another "Sunday Sundown Session" jam night. Keep checking my gigs page for updates. Mike... I owe you a twoonie.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Practise your "pain" grunts. Better yet... tape yourself doing your "pain" grunts at least once 'cause you'll never be sure how you'll sound to everyone else. And you may not realize that you're sounding dorky. You must flow with the Force.
posted at 11:32 AM


Thursday, January 08, 2004
THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE

I know that I just gave the entire world an update just three days ago but I just had to thank some people in the spirit of the new year and whatnot.

Continued thanks to Kimberly Fair, Pam Fair and, more recently, Arun Pal for making my official bootlegs, VHS copies and demo discs.

A hearty thank ye to Mr. Guy Coolin (and everyone else involved) for including me at the recent "Christmas at the Registry" benefit for Mary's Place in Kitchener. Guy has been a great new force on the K/W blues scene... promoting shows and causing a buzz. I'm glad to know him. Thanks also to the great house band at one o' Guy's co-creations: the Tutorial Blues Jam at the Still bar & grill in Kitchener on Wednesday nights.

Thanks to Teresa, Mo', and all the patrons and staff at Boomer's for continuing to allow me to be a part of the awesome Brew-Haha on Friday afternoons.

Thanks to Uncle Seth for making me feel welcome at their live recording hootenany at C'est What this past Sunday.

Thanks to all the jammers who came out this past Tuesday to the Circus Room to help celebrate the 5th Jam-O-Rama-versary with me in style. Not one but two supremely chocolatey-type cakes were demolished by our happy revelers. Thanks to Terry and Erin for letting us go later than usual... and thanks to Andy once again for drumming up a storm for everyone for not a single solitary dollar in pay. You heard right. I'm a cheapskate. Kudos also to Jason Schneider of the K/W Record for giving us a mention in this week's "Nightlife" issue.

Thanks to Andrew Hopper for the thoughtful Christmas present and his enthusiasm (and equipment) for our newest Jam-O-Rama adventure: live recordings of the Tuesday night festivities. More on this later.

Thanks to all the venues, bookers and new fans across the country who made me feel so welcome for my two tours (plus the Greyhound-powered appearance at the Swift Current Fringe Festival). And I promise that I won't look like an indigent again when I go back on the Edmonton Big Breakfast show. Promise. I did kinda have a folksy down-to-earth charm about me that day, though. No? Not really? Okay.

For that matter... thanks to all the bookers at every venue I played this past year for either booking me for the first time or having me back again.

And, of course, thanks to everyone who ever came out to a show, signed up for the mailing list, downloaded one of my tunes and/or purchased a CD or two. A lot of you also took the time to encourage me now and again and I'm always very grateful for that. Without you I'm nothing. Holla.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Remember to always grab the top rope with your right hand when bouncing between them... that way, if the rope breaks under the pressure (it happens) you won't go flying out into the 5th row.
posted at 7:37 AM


Monday, January 05, 2004
MONDAY EVENING UPDATE

Hello, all. Hope 2004 is going well for everyone so far. Myself... I spent most of the holidays hacking up a lung and trying to get moved to my new place. I'm excited about it in general... it's a basement bachelor and I've never really had my own space before. It's a bit steep moneywise but it's still a great deal and, all in all, affordable. Thanks to the Vandenbergs for making me feel welcome.

Hopefully I'll be attending a few more jams and whatnot in the next few weeks as opposed to my attendance in the last few weeks. The 5th Jam-O-Rama-versary is coming up tomorrow so I should be buying all my cake mix and whatnot tonight. Lotsa icing. It should be a tasty time tomorrow night, for sure.

Thanks to Uncle Seth for including me in their live recording shindig at C'est What in Toronto last night. I was supposed to help on a few harmonies but I just wasn't up to it... don't wanna ruin their tunes. It was also good to see both John and Steve (old Laurier buddies) as well. C. W. is a great venue and this was only the 2nd time I'd played there. I was late for the first time I played there as well. Har dee har.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: If you really aren't enthusiastic about your gimmick it probably isn't going to fly. See if there's a way to change it slightly to make it more agreeable to you as opposed to dumping the whole thing.
posted at 6:56 PM


Wednesday, December 17, 2003
WEDNESDAY EVENING UPDATE

I've got a couple of new songs (almost really soon nearly) completed. One's been kicking around for a good year or two but I never really had the motivation to finish it. The problem with me seems to be that I fall in love with one particular line (usually one of the first lines I came up with originally), but that line usually doesn't fit the song anymore when I've done a good amount of supplemental writing on it. I always stop the songwriting process then because I'm so loyal to that line. But I usually don't get something finished unless I bite the bullet and sacrifice a few Bothans. Time & Treasure is a perfect example. About the first line I came up with originally was "Watchin' the rich folks' cars depreciate". But that just didn't work with the new direction the song took when I got going on it. I eventually had to change that line to "Watchin' the warden's car depreciate" to reflect the idea that the central character in the song has spent a few years in prison. So I've gotten over that hump with my newest one (called, I think, "My Side") and now I'm just in the final tweaking stages. In many ways this is my favourite part of the process... for that's really when the craft comes in to play. Just finding... the right... word... for each and every line in question. I'm pretty happy with it.

The other tune is called simply "I Love Ya Baby" and it's a blues out and out. I have two versions of it--the rawkin' Big Sugaresque version and the far more gentle countrified version. It's good to have options with the same song, I think. This may be the first time I've written two versions of the song at the same time (as opposed to usually many months or even years apart).

Just saw the Last Samurai. Very good film. I'm going to try and see ROTK tomorrow with my buddy in Scarborough. Wish me luck.

I'm considering also a move to a new place--a bachelor basement apartment in the house owned by a couple of old Laurier friends of mine. They're willing to give me a very decent (yet still pricey for a scrapin' by musician such as myself) deal. I'll probably know one way or another by this time next week. I'll... meditate on it. Like in the movie today. Bushido.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: When in doubt about your ability to take someone's move, say so. Sometimes they'll respect you more if you voice your concerns firmly... without whining about it.
posted at 8:01 PM


Thursday, December 11, 2003
THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE

Hi, y'all.

Well... I'm getting the hang of my new "interface" for updating my gigs and commentary stuff and I must say that, despite a few drawbacks, this new setup seems to be better on the whole. The big plus for me is the fact that everything looks a little bit more consistent now and there aren't as many flashing banners and pop-ups and all that stuff that we all had to endure with mp3.com. Blogger.com doesn't seem to be too demanding with ads and whatnot... yet. Maybe you could let me know about what you're thinking of this new setup so far (I've gotten a few positive reviews over the last week or so).

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's Winnebago Blues Band show down in Boomer's... I'm quite confident I'll have the flashiest (and tightest) suit there. Thanks once again to the great Teresa (and all her fine staff, by the way) who has treated me incredibly well from the get-go. Thanks to Mo' as well for the continued guest spots on gee-tar.

By early Monday morning I should have a few more tunes up for free download... just go to mattosborne.com (heck... you're there already, ain't ya?) and hit the "songs" link. Again, though... don't expect anything until the wee morning hours of Monday. I'll probably get one live tune and a couple of older album tracks uploaded.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Don't be overly concerned with putting someone over if you're going to have a nicely contested match with a good story. It was Chris Benoit, after all, that got the standing o last week after he tapped to Brock's submission move.
posted at 7:50 PM


Tuesday, December 02, 2003
TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE

Well... as I type this mp3.com is still up and running for about 3 hours more. I'd just like to thank the mp3.com organization (even AFTER Universal/Vivendi bought 'em out) for giving independent (and many label) artists a chance to get their music heard around the world. But, things are always changing so now I've got some tunes up at songramp.com for y'all to check out. Mr. Jay Moonah of Uncle Seth (and musicface.com, the reason that I have a website) is helping me in this transition period to make sure everyone who wants to will still be able to find out where I'm playing, hear some of my songs, and accept a few precious morsels of my vast pro wrestling knowledge. Thank ye, Jay.

It's looking like a good Christmastime for moi... there are a couple of holiday-themed gigs that I'll be doing (check the gigs page for the info) and no aggrivation of a new year's gig. I am, of course, a tad disappointed that no one has asked me to do a new year's show since ringing in the extremely anti-climactic y2k, but I think that they're usually more trouble than they're worth. Just my opinion. Talk to ya soon.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Remember that personal issues always draw money. Keep it simple and immediate (one guy insults the other's wife, etc.) and people will respond to it.


11/24/2003 2:23 PM - MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE

I'm just informing everyone that MP3.com is about to close its doors to indie artists at the end of the month so I'm going to be in a new home (or two) by the end of the week, hopefully. I basically need a spot where I y'all can download music, read my gig listings and peruse my online weekly updates and pro wrestling tips of the week. It seems that there isn't any one free site out there now that can do all this so I may be linking to a couple of different sites from mattosborne.com. Fear not, good folk.

I saw the Sam Roberts show last night in Kitchener (thanks to my trusty low end dude Serge for scoring the free tix) and I was duly impressed by his energy, songwriting and band tightness. It's inspired me to take another look at a couple of half finished tunes in the power pop mold... so maybe the next time you see the M.O.B. you'll be hearing some new stuff. And don't forget about those Winnebagos, either--I may do a new tune or two with those fine young gentlemen.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: If you're going to sell a "body part injury" during the match, try and make it one of your arms--I've seen too many good wrestlers sell a leg injury very well in the early going of a match only to suddenly bound around later on with nary a trace of a limp. Chris Benoit, however, is certainly a notable exception to that. Brava.

11/09/2003 06:02 AM - SUNDAY EARLY MORNING UPDATE

Well... I just got back from my little minitour out to Ottawa and back and it was a great time. I was a little disappointed, however, that the House of Haunts was no longer operating in Gananoque, Ontario. I used to go to Howe Island every summer with my parents until I was 16 or so, and the 3 kids that always hung out with me would always take a day trip to Gan and visit this haunted house on... Water street, I think. It was like a tradition. And now I wanted to go there one more time before my gig at Paddy's Pub... and it's gone. There's still a listing for it in yellowpages.ca, however. Oh well. I'll never see the skeleton playin' the ivories again. The gigs, especially at Paddy's, were great. Paddy's is very small so everything possible is done to save space, especially onstage. The microphones are on goosenecks (bendy mic stand type thingys) that are attached to the ceiling, for example. I was looking over the stage layout while Paddy himself was explaining the sound system to me, and I mentioned that I needed one mic a bit more forward from the back wall. Darned if he didn't get out the electric drill and reattach the gooseneck right where I wanted it to be. That is definately going the extra mile for the talent. I thank him, all the other staff there and also the fine folks who came out in a listenin' mood. Enjoy your CDs, pilgrims. I hope to make this trip again soon. Cheers.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Any good startup indie promotion should remember that most people at any given event won't remember (or wouldn't have been there for) the past event's occurences. Therefore the storylines for each character should be self-contained within one show to avoid confusing the audience. Only with TV and the whole video recap system can you hope to maintain a storyline of several weeks in duration.

10/30/2003 4:04 PM - THURSDAY VERY LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE

Maybe you've noticed that my appearance at the Lights on Rights concert to benefit Amnesty International for April of next year was cancelled. It's too bad that this had to happen but it was due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. I'd still like to thank Amanda for putting so much time and effort into this concert series and I hope I can contribute some way to Amnesty International in the future. Check out what they're about at www.amnesty.org

You may have also noticed that we've got a whole bunch of Matt Osborne Band appearances prebooked at Falstaff's in Stratford, Ontario, well into September of next year. What can I say? It's my dazzling smile. Or something. We love the place and the staff and patrons have always made us feel welcome.

I'm hopefully gonna be setting up something in the northern Ontario region maybe early in the new year... something like a North Bay, Sudbury and Elliot Lake "swing," as they say in the music business. I'm still planning on the next tour to be around late May or early June. Next year. Just making sure.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Where's the psychology, people? The best and most compelling matches are when each opponent tries to work a specific body part (usually something that will make his or her finishing move more effective). Let's work smart, okay? Okay.



10/23/2003 3:42 PM - THURSDAY LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE

Just a quick note that I'll be the special guest next week at the Still Tutorial jam that happens every Wednesday from about 8pm 'til 11 or so. There's always a great lineup each week and they're gonna be having a "jam-off" competition from now until close to the end of the year, with the best jammer (as judged by the awesome house band) getting a cash prize. Should be a humdinger. The Still is right on King Street in downtown Kitchener, almost directly across from Kitchener city hall. And thanks, by the way, to all the jammers who keep coming back to the Circus Room every Tuesday.

Pro Wrestling Tip of the Week: Remember that you're not just in there to get yourself over. Everyone understands that that's obviously your top priority, but you should also be trying to get your opponent, the match and the angle over as well.
posted at 10:34 AM


Powered by Blogger

To contact Matt Osborne, please send email to matt@musicface.com

This site brought to you by musicface.com - Face The Music!

MATT | SONGS | BIO | GIGS | PIX | CD | NEWSLETTER | COMMENTARY