tag:mattlenny.com,2005:/blogs/latest-news?p=2Blog2023-09-28T21:13:58-04:00Matt Lenny & The Breakdownfalsetag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/72803022023-09-28T21:13:58-04:002023-11-19T16:55:37-05:00"A Column of Air" - Focus and Intentionality in Music and Art<p>I've been thinking a lot about the power and challenge of focus these days and figured it might be fun to share some of those thoughts here. I know some of you are artists and probably most of you are music/art lovers. And all of you are creative in your own important ways in your lives, careers, etc. So, I hope it resonates or prompts some interesting thought.</p><p>There's a quote from <strong>Allen Ginsberg</strong> that has stuck with me for years. In "<a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367555/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">No Direction Home</a>", Ginsberg describes <strong>Bob Dylan</strong> by saying:</p><p><i>“What struck me was that he had become one – or had become identical with his breath. Dylan had become a column of air, so to speak, at certain moments, where his total physical and mental focus was this single breath coming out of his body. He had found a way in public to be almost like a shaman, with all of his intelligence and consciousness focused on his breath.”</i></p><p>When I heard this way back when I saw the movie, it resonated with me somehow, but I'm not sure I was 100% clear on what it meant. It felt true somehow, but I didn't really know why or exactly how it related to music per se.</p><p>Then, just recently, I read <strong>Rick Rubin</strong>'s incredibly fabulous book, "<a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717356/the-creative-act-by-rick-rubin/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">The Creative Act: A Way of Being</a>", which, if you haven't read, I highly recommend. He writes in it about the importance and power of intention:</p><p><i>"Our thoughts, feelings, processes, and unconscious beliefs have an energy that is hidden in the work. This unseen, unmeasurable force gives each piece its magnetism. A completed project is only made up of our intention and our experiments around it. Remove intention and all that’s left is the ornamental shell."</i></p><p>I think this is what Ginsberg meant. He meant that the clarity and intensity of Dylan's intentionality was near absolute. When he sings a song, he's all-in. He's putting every ounce of himself both physically and mentally into the performance with nothing else intruding. And THIS is where the art lies; not in the "ornamental shell" of whatever song he happens to be strumming and singing.</p><p>Ok...but, can I give more evidence to support this idea? Well, let's look at another quote, this time about <strong>Barbara Streisand</strong> from a <a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/arts/music/barbra-streisand-live-at-the-bon-soir.html" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">NY Times article</a> I read:</p><p><i>“She wants to know every single word, and if a word doesn’t make sense to her, she’ll stop and go, ‘I don’t understand. Why this word?’” the composer, conductor and arranger Bill Ross said in a video call. He’s been collaborating with Streisand on live shows since the early 1990s, and said one thing that makes Streisand Streisand is that she’ll spend so much time, “just on the lyrics trying to make sure they make sense to her.” Once she’s got that down, only then can she ask what the melody is. “I’ve never seen any other artist like that,” he said."</i></p><p><strong>Have you ever tried meditating? </strong>Think about how hard it is to make your brain stay focused on just a single thing - your breath, perhaps - for even a few minutes. It's damn near impossible!</p><p><strong>And that's why I'm talking about this.</strong> I've been doing a lot of solo acoustic performing and practicing this year, and I'm increasingly finding that the difference between a song feeling magical vs. feeling completely pedestrian has both very little and a whole lot to do with technique. What I mean by that is that, if I'm trying to play a classic country song, for instance, it definitely helps to understand the unique and nuanced way that country music grooves or to really nail the unique contours of the vocal melody. <strong>But it means NOTHING if I don't first manage to get my whole head into the song and into to what it means to me in that moment.</strong> I need to FEEL it and use the technical tools of the genre and my own style to somehow communicate what I'm feeling. To communicate some sort of INTENTION, partly conscious and partly unconscious, that feels true.</p><p>Solo acoustic performing isn't my natural comfort zone. Hell, country and folk, which I've learned to love dearly, isn't my comfort zone. Rock and roll in a band setting feels way more comfortable.</p><p>But the thing about a solo acoustic performance is that <strong>there's nowhere to hide</strong>. Nobody's gonna play a killer solo or cool drumbeat to spice things up. You're alone with a plinky little box of wood, your voice, and whatever power of Intention you can muster up through the beautiful paucity of your own soul.</p><p><strong>In other words, it's fucking hard.</strong> There's no technical commonality between Bob Dylan and Barbara Streisand; yet they are each considered legendary masters in their own way. And I think it's that intense power of Intention and the mental discipline to do it. Imagine meditating in front of a crowd by way of singing and strumming and remembering lyrics...it's something like that, I think.</p><p>At the end of the day, isn't that what we respond to in the performers we love? That little flame they somehow summon in the performance? Isn't that the difference between a performer who makes you cry and a technically proficient performer who fades into the background of your consciousness without leaving any impression whatsoever - even when they both play the same song?</p><p>I don't profess to have mastered it...far from it. But I've touched it! The last time I played my little background music covers gig at SideYard, a cool little bar, I sang a Waylon Jennings tune with such conviction and power that the whole place, which had previously been more or less ignoring me, erupted into applause when I finished. And I don't think they were all just huge Waylon fans. I knew it was happening while it was happening. I could feel it.</p><p><strong>And let me tell you...it's the best feeling ever.</strong> I was in the zone, in the flow state, at one with the music, a channel for the spirit...however you want to say it. The thing was bigger than me and yet I was an indispensable part of it.</p><p>So yeah...that's why I'm chasing this acoustic thing. I want to learn that meditative and powerful discipline both so I can do it solo and so I can provide a powerful center for the band. Yeah, I want better guitar chops and better singing skills and better songwriting skills. But I mainly just want to COMMUNICATE. And I think this is the center of that goal somehow.</p><p><strong>Are there places in your life or your practice where this kind of relentlessness of Intention and focus has transformed things for you? </strong>I'd love to hear about it!</p><p>-ML</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/71645912023-03-03T15:15:00-05:002023-03-03T15:20:01-05:00"Spinning Bells" out now!<p>Our newest single from For the Birds, “Spinning Bells”, just came out today!</p><p>Check it out below or <a class="no-pjax" href="/singles" data-link-type="page" data-link-label="Singles">stream it wherever you get your streaming</a>!</p><p><iframe style="border-width:0;height:120px;width:100%;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2619234477/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" seamless=""><a href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/spinning-bells-single">Spinning Bells (Single) by Matt Lenny & The Breakdown</a></iframe> </p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/71522782023-02-10T08:00:00-05:002023-02-11T11:24:09-05:00"In the Garden" music video available now!<p>It's alive!!</p><div class="video-container size_xl justify_center" style=""><iframe data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="T2lMMF5ROUg" data-video-thumb-url="" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T2lMMF5ROUg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/71522772023-02-01T08:00:00-05:002023-02-11T08:44:36-05:00World Premiere of our very first music video for "In the Garden" at Americana Highways!<p>Hard to believe, but we've never actually had a music video before. Well, our good friend and auxiliary member of the Breakdown solved that for us in style! And Americana Highways was kind enough to give it a world premiere. </p><p>Check it out: <a class="no-pjax" href="https://americanahighways.org/2023/02/01/video-premiere-matt-lenny-in-the-garden/" target="_blank" data-link-type="url">https://americanahighways.org/2023/02/01/video-premiere-matt-lenny-in-the-garden/</a></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/71233542022-12-15T10:00:00-05:002022-12-15T10:00:01-05:00In the Garden is out today!!<p>This is the first single from our new album, For the Birds, and I couldn't be more excited for everyone to hear it. Check it out wherever you get your music!</p>
<h3>Stream It!</h3>
<ul> <li> <p><a class="no-pjax" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4l0KlVCjKxWClVO4WjJJOt?si=PYU9sKQLRnSbVBFskzz0NA" target="_blank">Spotify</a></p> </li> <li><a class="no-pjax" data-link-type="url" href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-the-garden-single/1655410609" target="_blank">Apple Music</a></li> <li><a class="no-pjax" data-link-type="url" href="https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0BMW8HK2K?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_oflUBrjxEHHBgRXXtHpk4J7dY" target="_blank">Amazon</a></li> <li><a class="no-pjax" data-link-type="url" href="https://tidal.com/browse/album/261475546" target="_blank">Tidal</a></li> <li><a class="no-pjax" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/mattlennymusic/in-the-garden?si=4f767cf95ecb43df92ec1d84fb5dc301&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing" target="_blank">SoundCloud</a></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2496468963/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;"></iframe></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/71205422022-12-09T11:23:15-05:002022-12-09T11:23:15-05:00"In the Garden" World Premiere on Local Spins, WYCE 88.1FM!!<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I'm beyond excited to announce that the first single, "In the Garden", from our forthcoming album, "For the Birds", officially gets its world premiere today (Fri, 12/9) on WYCE 88.1FM as part of the Local Spins show. </p>
<p>Remember radio? I sure do...and it feels damn good that they've agreed to premiere our song. </p>
<p>Won't you tune in? "In the Garden" will be released to all the streaming platforms, etc. <strong>next Thursday, 12/15</strong>, but why make yourself wait? Heck, impatience is the American way! </p>
<p>Tune tomorrow: Local Spins on WYCE airs 11 a.m. to noon EST on Fridays at WYCE 88.1 FM and online at <a contents="wyce.org" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://grcmc.org/wyce" target="_blank">wyce.org</a>. The show will also be available as part of a feature story that will post at LocalSpins.com sometime around lunchtime on Friday, so anyone who misses the radio show can listen to it anytime at <a contents="Local Spins" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://localspins.com/" target="_blank">Local Spins</a>.</p>
<p>Onward and upward!</p>
<p>-ML</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/71036592022-11-17T10:00:00-05:002022-11-17T10:00:02-05:00"For the Birds" - New album coming spring 2023!<p>Hope all is well with you! I just wanted to share a quick update and a little sneak peek. </p>
<p><strong>Our new album will officially be called, "For the Birds"</strong> and the musical part is completely done: mixed, mastered, and ready for the world to hear! So now, we're working on finalizing all the album art and starting plan a release schedule. </p>
<p><strong>And with that, I wanted you all to be the first to see the new album cover!</strong> Designed by my good pal, Dan Spielman, over at ZeroBird Studio, I think it's a pretty perfect visual match for the songs within.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/ec5f18bca97e5c6be58830b20c4bc86f20681296/original/forthebirds-cover.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><a contents="Sign up on the mailing list for more updates and exclusive bonus content!" data-link-label="Mailing List" data-link-type="page" href="/mailing-list">Sign up on the mailing list for more updates and exclusive bonus content!</a></p>
<p>-ML</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/69283182022-03-21T17:53:24-04:002023-12-10T11:55:51-05:00Coming out of a pandemic shell? I sure hope so...<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p><br>Just a super, super quick post to say that I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe...just maybe...we can start easing out of our pandemic shells and start sharing some music in the real world. I'm afraid it'll all just get snapped shut again, but I guess we gotta just keep putting one foot in front of the other and get out there.</p>
<p>So, in that spirit, I'll be starting to host an open mic at a fabulous arts organization called the <a contents="Box Factory for the Arts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://boxfactoryforthearts.org/openmic/" target="_blank">Box Factory for the Arts</a> in the city of St. Joseph, MI. Check out their great space and, if you're in the area, sign up and come join in the fun!</p>
<p>More to follow.</p>
<p>With love,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>ML</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/65661482021-03-05T16:54:50-05:002022-05-21T09:55:18-04:00Little Facts About "Little TVs" - Episode 1: "Something Wild"<p>Hey friends,</p>
<p>In case you haven't heard, we've got a <a contents="new EP out called Little TVs" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.com/little-tvs" target="_blank">new EP out called Little TVs</a> and, to celebrate, we wanted to share some facts and stories about the creation of these songs. So, without further ado, welcome to Little Facts About "Little TVs". There's 6 tunes on this EP, so I'll give you 6 facts about each tune. The suspense! </p>
<p><strong>First up: Track 1, "Something Wild"</strong></p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0wTZ_gSSTek" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>You can watch the first episode up above and I've included my little "script" below for those of you who prefer good old-fashioned reading: </p>
<p><strong>"Something Wild" </strong></p>
<ol> <li>Started with a chord progression <ul> <li>Most of my songwriting starts this way: some sort of riff or chord progression that catches my ear and then I just play it over and over and over again until it really roots down into my brain. </li> <li>In this case, it was a very simple driving Em - G - D progression on acoustic. Ultimately, I switched over to electric guitar because it felt more like a rock tune. </li> </ul> </li> <li>Don’t change the nonsense lyric! <ul> <li>I start out a lot of my songs just singing nonsense lyrics. I think Jeff Tweedy calls these "mumble tracks". </li> <li>What's interesting is that I usually find that I can't actually nail down the melody or get a real sense of the song until I find a lyric. Not even a full set. I just need one line that somehow resonates with me and feels like it fits. Only then can I actually make progress. </li> <li>The only problem is that I usually have no clue what the hell I'm talking about with that one line. </li> <li>Woe unto me, though, if I try to throw that line away. I wrote no fewer than 3 complete versions of the lyrics to this tune before coming back to the original line and rewriting it all from there. It's a weird game to try and figure out what story some part of my subconscious seems to want to tell... </li> </ul> </li> <li>The chorus holds the key <ul> <li>Tom Petty once said, “Don’t bore us; get to the chorus!”...but first you gotta have one. And it needs to not suck! </li> <li>My first pass at a chorus was more strumming chords, but it was boring. </li> <li>Sometimes the best way to solve this is just to experiment. Play around and see what happens if you suspend all judgement. </li> <li>I was strumming the verse chords and then jumped instinctively to this droning riff thing. Even on acoustic guitar, I liked it. It felt unexpected and inspired me to sing the “Something wild in the way / you make my body wanna sway” lyric, which, in turn, helped unlock the rest of the lyrics. </li> </ul> </li> <li>Last tune we did before lockdown <ul> <li>If we’d known, we would have all gotten together and worked on this as a band! </li> <li>But who knew? Nobody knew, that’s who. </li> <li>What a year. </li> </ul> </li> <li>Tracked drums, gtr, vcls live <ul> <li>David and I tracked drums, rhythm guitar, and vocals live in my little studio room right before that wasn’t possible anymore. </li> <li>You can hear the drums bleeding through the vocal microphone, but the energy of the combined take was worth the slight sonic imperfection. </li> </ul> </li> <li>My band is awesome <ul> <li>Check out the bass and second guitar on the chorus! </li> <li>Sometimes, we have some back and forth on the arrangement. I send them the basic track, they send me an idea, and maybe I give some feedback. </li> <li>Not here. What Dave and Erik played was both completely unexpected and completely awesome. I love when that happens! </li> </ul> </li>
</ol>
<p>Alright folks, that was Little Facts about Little TVs, Episode 1. Check out the full EP wherever you stream or buy your music (bonus points for <a contents="buying it from Bandcamp" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/little-tvs" target="_blank">buying it from Bandcamp</a> because that actually send us a little $) and I hope you’re all hanging in there. Cheers! </p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/65605992021-02-27T16:27:01-05:002022-04-14T06:56:39-04:00"Little TVs" - A lifeline, an outlet, a celebration, a memorial<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>They tell me it's a new year...and some days I even believe it. But boy oh boy...it's been a long haul and we ain't done yet!</p>
<p><strong>BUT that doesn't mean we can't share a little good news!</strong> We're excited to share our new EP, "Little TVs", and some of the stories behind it.</p>
<p>Give it a listen/buy it here: <a contents="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/little-tvs" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/little-tvs" target="_blank">https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/little-tvs</a></p>
<p>And it hits the streaming services on Mon, 3/1. <a contents="Pre-save/listen here!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mattlennyandthebreakdown/little-tvs" target="_blank">Pre-save/listen here!</a></p>
<p>The creation of this album was a lifeline and an outlet for all 4 of us during this past, unprecedented year. Unlike our normal process of rehearsals and studio time as a group, 5 of these 6 tunes were written, arranged, and recorded without us all ever being in the same room together. There are a lot of days when I hate what the internet and computers have done to our society, but it's truly amazing that we were able to make a record like this in our homes. </p>
<p>If you've been taking this pandemic seriously, you can probably relate to the sense of isolation and the almost palpable nostalgia for simple gatherings and good times gone past. This EP is, in some senses, our "quarantunes" EP, but it's also a meditation on human connection: the ways a simple friendship can make all the difference, the ways we're too afraid to pursue it, the ways we fail each other completely. </p>
<p>Finally, we want to dedicate the last track, "Fountain of Youth" to the one and only Mark "Mouse" Brunner. Mouse was a friend of the band, an incredible musician, and a fabulous recording engineer with a spirit and a sense of humor that uplifted anyone around him. We recorded this song in his studio back in 2014 and just never got around to releasing it properly. </p>
<p>Recording your own music is sorta like giving yourself a haircut: you never quite have a clear perspective on what you're doing. We'd all gathered at Mouse's studio, gotten sounds, and were all set to record. We counted off and did one take of "Fountain of Youth". We got done and I remember saying, "I think we can do better than that." Mouse laughed out loud and yelled out, "You're f**king crazy! There is no possible way you can rock harder than that!" </p>
<p>Reader, he was correct. We did a few more takes and none of them had the spirit of that first take. I hope I've done it justice in the final mix, but we were all together in a place and time. In one room. Making music and making fun of each other. No masks, no real cares for a few hours. Making something uniquely human and never to be repeated exactly the same again. Hanging out. Rocking out. (A silly thing on paper, but it sure as hell has meant a lot to my life.) </p>
<p>Moments like that sure do feel far away right now, but we'll get there again. It'll never be exactly the same, but what ever is? </p>
<p>R.I.P., Mouse. This one's for you and for anyone and everyone else missing someone or something they love. Laptops and phones are great, but all these "Little TVs" don't quite make up for the real thing...</p>
<p>I hope you and yours are surviving and maybe even thriving. I'll be emailing over the coming days and weeks with more stories on the songs and some general updates after such a long silence. Spring is around the corner and I hope to see you all sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>With love,</p>
<p>Matt Lenny </p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/little-tvs" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/4915bf709b8687d608fe83d5d5d5b90b2bfc4170/original/littletvs-small.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></a></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/63543672020-06-15T18:24:45-04:002021-10-08T15:52:25-04:00"Silence"...a new song and an old problem<p>Hey friends, </p>
<p>This Friday, 6/19/2020, Bandcamp will be donating 100% of their profits to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as part of an effort to help fight the brutal, systemic racism in this country. </p>
<p>We’d like to add our voice to this, too and we’ve recorded a song that we’ll be releasing on Friday in both full-band and solo acoustic versions. Any profits we ever make on this song will be donated to a Black Lives Matter charity. (We’ll start with BLM Chicago for the foreseeable future.) You can listen at the link below and the track will be available for purchase starting Friday. We are asking for $1, but please consider giving what you can. </p>
<p><a contents="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/silence" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/silence" target="_blank">https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/silence</a></p>
<p>I had actually originally planned on releasing a different set of songs just to try and help out in some way, but the songs had nothing to do with the subject matter and it ultimately just didn’t feel right. Then this song came to me in a mad rush last Friday night. Written and then recorded in a single take between 12:07 - 1:45am. The band overdubbed their parts Saturday and Sunday, and I did the final mix on Sunday night. </p>
<p>This is, ultimately, a song that attempts to speak to and somehow comprehend the vast set of privileges that I live with everyday as a white man in this country. </p>
<p>White folks, this is a time...it's PAST the time...to think hard about hard things. It's not enough to personally "not be racist", if that's even a thing. And it's not a time to be intellectually lazy (surprise surprise, a person can have real problems or disadvantages in their life and STILL have privilege). I can't recommend How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi enough for how he makes clear that it's our actions and the policies we support that tell us if we're being racist or anti-racist in that moment or in that stance. All of us. </p>
<p>I hope this song is a help. I hope I didn't get it totally wrong and I hope you'll tell me honestly if you feel that I did. </p>
<p>And I hope we can all stop being such fucking idiots and learn that people are people, regardless of the color of their skin or a million other differences that don't add up to anything when it comes to reckoning the value of a human life. (Myself included...it shouldn’t have taken the deaths of George Floyd for me to finally make this a real priority in my mind and in my heart. So many countless others should have already made it clear.) </p>
<p>Black Lives Matter BECAUSE all lives should matter. But, until we start acting that way and our institutions behave that way, we cannot claim that “all lives matter" because so many lives - black and brown lives - aren't being protected. </p>
<p>I hope we can open our eyes, see that, and do something about it. </p>
<p>With love, </p>
<p>Matt Lenny (& The Breakdown)</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/61368102020-01-20T16:59:08-05:002021-09-20T08:06:45-04:0050/50 in 2020 - Songs and lessons so far<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>If you had a chance to read my last email, you may remember that I set a goal for myself this year that I'm calling, "50/50 in 2020". Long story short, I want to learn 50 cover songs this year and write 50 original tunes. So, that's basically one per week, which is proving to be both pretty doable and also pretty intense.</p>
<p>Here's the songs so far:</p>
<ul> <li><a contents="SoundCloud" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/mattlennymusic/sets/50-50-in-2020" target="_blank">SoundCloud</a></li> <li><a contents="YouTube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuJSTKVsuIT1oEk5rO0bX-w-TIaEW-2-H" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
</ul>
<p>And here's what I think I've learned:</p>
<ul> <li>
<strong>Creativity feeds on itself</strong>. I was initially concerned that I would be struggling to have enough ideas for original songs each week. It turns out to be the opposite, though. Last week, for instance, I wrote on song completely from scratch, wrote lyrics and a melody to an existing guitar part (and recorded a guitar, drums, and vocals studio demo...to be released this week once I figure out how to edit multi-cam video), wrote totally revised lyrics and revised melody to make a completely different version of my week 1 tune, "Warning Sign", and then I have like 5 promising lyrical snippets and ideas for new songs. In short, it turns out that I actually can't keep up with the pace of my own ideas. So, the real challenge may be the combination of prioritizing and finishing. </li> <li>
<strong>Revisions are dangerous</strong>. Lyrics are often one of my biggest areas of anxiety. Are they good enough? Are they clear enough? Too clear? Are they effectively telling a story? Does anyone care? And so on and so forth. I wasted a lot of time writing and rewriting lyrics too quickly without giving myself space to ponder and let what I'd already done sink in. Nothing like staying up super late to record a "new and improved" version only to wake up tired the next day just to realize my first version was way better.</li> <li>
<strong>Revisions are necessary.</strong> I may have "wasted" a lot of time, but I also think I am figuring out how to hold myself to a higher standard. For this week's song, for instance - "<a contents="Your Trustin' Heart" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/CY4wsmBJTeU" target="_blank">Your Trustin' Heart</a>" - I did multiple versions, but just kept feeling like my chorus is really strong and my verses kinda weak. I could be wrong and maybe this will fall into the category of "revisions are dangerous", but I think I finally rewrote them yesterday morning to fully tell the story and paint the character that I had in mind. (And now, of course, I feel the need to re-record a demo, which brings us back to my first bullet...too little time!!) In short, I feel like I often quickly get some crucial part of the lyrics down - often written immediately following the guitar part or at the very start of the concept - and then it takes repetitive work to bring it to completion. I think I run into problems when my revisions steer me too far away from my original idea. It's like some sort of inspiration strikes and is <em>true</em> in some mystical artistic sense, but then my conscious brain shows up and ruins the party. It takes work to figure out how to flesh out the inspiration without ruining it. <a contents='As Jason Isbell recently said, "Songwriting is like attempting to solve the NYT crossword during a therapy session"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://twitter.com/JasonIsbell/status/1199115676096614400" target="_blank">As Jason Isbell recently said, "Songwriting is like attempting to solve the NYT crossword during a therapy session"</a> <ul> <li>I'll email when the re-recorded version is up, but I think these are the revised lyrics (complete with my abominable handwriting): <a contents="https://www.evernote.com/l/ACNq8u_kh0lPD5Gu7RcBFKm611FltL0kzKg" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.evernote.com/l/ACNq8u_kh0lPD5Gu7RcBFKm611FltL0kzKg" target="_blank">https://www.evernote.com/l/ACNq8u_kh0lPD5Gu7RcBFKm611FltL0kzKg</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li>
<strong>Videoing and recording myself relentlessly is gonna teach me a lot. </strong>Man oh man...it's brutal hearing and seeing myself on camera multiple times per week. I just learned a <a contents="John Prine song" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/BFKQgWV6RWg" target="_blank">John Prine song</a>, for instance, and it took me hours to get a take I felt like was acceptable despite it being an <em>extremely</em> simple tune (3 chords, simple melody, memorable lyrics). And ya know what...I still don't think it's a great take. I think the first verse is trying to be too uptempo or peppy somehow and the tune doesn't really find itself until the last verse and chorus where I seem to settle in and focus more on the sadness in the song. John's version, on the other hand, feels a lot less sad, but I just couldn't make a peppier version work. Maybe because I changed the key? Maybe just because of the tone of my particular voice? I don't know, but it sure is interesting. And humbling. With one guitar and someone else's song, you really have anywhere to hide.<br> <br> I don't have any fully formed thoughts, but I think I'm gonna figure out how to be truly compelling by the end of this year. Watch the John Prine video...isn't my whole body language and screen presence more compelling at the tail end of the song? I feel like it is and somehow the key is in dialing in the right balance of sadness and intensity. I'm not a party guy at heart, so that's probably why my attempts at that make a visual/audio disconnect. Even if I sell it musically (which I think I rarely do), I don't LOOK right...I look boring somehow. But that problem goes away when I embrace something a little more...I don't know...thoughtful and sad (or even angry or frustrated). The counter-argument is that maybe I need to just work on my facial expressiveness...but hey...either way, I'm following breadcrumbs. I think it's gonna pretty instructive to watch my performance videos at the end of the year vs. the start of the year. Or, at least, I hope it will...<br> <br> As a side note, apparently I wear the same set of flannel shirts an awful lot. Yikes. </li> <li>
<strong>I love the limitation of one guitar/one voice</strong>. I've struggled a lot to figure out how to balance my love of playing solo vs. making music with a full band. I'm realizing how much I love the challenge and constraints of just working with my voice and an acoustic guitar. Like I said above, there's just nowhere to hide and every single little thing makes such a huge difference in whether or not the song really carries over to an audience. Turns out I'm really enjoying that. It's like a high wire act and I can feel it coming in and out of focus. It's such an amazing feeling when it does and I want to be able to do that reliably. If I can do that, I think bringing it to the band will only make it exponentially more powerful whereas working the other way around might mean I sometimes get lost in arrangement questions, guitar tones, etc. at the expense of the song. That said, I'm trying out everything this year and we'll see how I feel in a few weeks/months. </li>
</ul>
<p>Alright, hope some or all of this is of interest to anyone. But I'm enjoying myself at least, so that's not nothing!</p>
<p>Hope you all are well. Let me know about your projects, too. I like this notion of surrounding my brain with artistic activity and ambition as much as I possibly can...</p>
<p>With love,</p>
<p>Matt</p>
<p><a contents="https://mattlenny.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.com/" target="_blank">https://mattlenny.com/</a></p>
<p> </p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/60656182020-01-07T10:53:08-05:002022-05-22T03:21:19-04:00Two songs, band name, and "50/50 in 2020"<p>Happy 2020, everyone! </p>
<p>I don’t know about you, but 2019 was a tough year for me personally. I say that even though I know I'm really lucky in almost every imaginable way. I live in relative affluence, I'm healthy, my family is healthy, and I have good friends and community. I guess it just felt like the year was back-to-back with small challenges and difficulties and it never let up. We’ve got little kids and I took a new job this year and, while those things are both investments in the future, they’re definitely a lot of work. Kinda felt like we just couldn’t ever really get a break. </p>
<p>Not to mention the state of the world. I try not to be alarmist, but the combination of climate change and this insane and cruel political movement exemplified by Trump and all his greedy and heartless cronies makes me fear for the world my kids are growing up in. I fear we humans have engineered a society past our ability to psychologically or scientifically cope with. </p>
<p>Anyway, sorry to be a bit of a downer, but that’s where my head has been at. I hope this new year and this new decade prove my worst fears wrong and give us all a sense of hope for the future. (Not to mention some relaxation and enjoyment in the present!) </p>
<p>In my little corner of the universe, I’m both excited and nervous to share my plans for this new year. </p>
<p><strong>First off, let’s get the stupid out of the way.</strong> It’s a long and ridiculous story, but we went through all the trouble of rebranding ourselves as “Kid Bear” and…well…it turns out I just can’t stand it. From my bandmates and friends has come a chorus of, “I told you so”, and they’re well earned. But so it goes. </p>
<p><strong>So, from here on out, I’m back to being Matt Lenny and, with the band, it’s Matt Lenny & The Breakdown.</strong> Website: <a contents="https://mattlenny.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.com/" target="_blank">https://mattlenny.com/</a> Sorry for the confusion, but I just couldn’t handle the Kid Bear name anymore. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/d97cc8ac57c282b1008b70110a79e40c7033cdb9/original/ml-and-the-breakdown-logo-web.png/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.png" class="size_xl justify_center border_" />My my...look at the fancy logo! </p>
<p>Ok, with that out of the way, let’s put something interesting stuff out on the line. I’ve been doing music for quite a long time at this point. I mean…my 20 year college reunion was this fall and I started playing music in clubs and trying to make recordings well before that. And I feel like I worked pretty darn hard at over a lot of those years. But, if I’m honest with myself, I don’t know if I ever worked hard enough. </p>
<p>Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I didn’t consistently work hard enough at the things that mattered. I got distracted by fluff and fear: Which guitar should I buy? How should we promote? Is the website good enough? Should I focus on acoustic or play more electric? What should the band name be (oops)? </p>
<p>Those things aren't completely without importance. Each in their own way, they are consequential decisions, but they aren’t the heart of the matter for me. The thing that matters…really the only thing that matters is the songs. Writing the best damn songs I possibly can. And then, secondarily, learning how to perform in the most convincing way possible. Here’s a rough expression of rough priority: </p>
<p>1) Write the best songs I possibly can <br>2) Learn to perform those songs as compellingly as I can <br>96-120) Everything else </p>
<p>When I look back over my career, I’ve put a lot of energy into numbers 96 and up and, to be honest, shortchanged the first two. That’s not to say I’m not proud of a lot of the songs I’ve written or of the shows we’ve done, but I have inarguably not put as much energy and focus into those as I could have. I haven’t studied songwriting in a methodical fashion or written on a regimen. I haven’t studied performance video and iterated to make it compelling. And so on and so forth. </p>
<p>So, here’s the plan for the year. I’m tired of fucking around and, quite frankly, I’m too old and don’t have enough free time to waste it. I need to give 90-95% of my energy to the first two concepts and the remainder to everything else. And this is how I’ve committed to doing it. I’m calling it, <span class="font_large"><strong>“50/50 in 2020”</strong></span>: </p>
<ul> <li>
<strong>I’m going to learn a new cover song and record a demo of myself performing it every week. This will always be a video and, when I can, will also be a high quality home studio demo. All of these will be posted on YouTube and SoundCloud on a dedicated playlist. I’m allowed two weeks off, which means I need to create 50 video demos of cover songs before the end of the year. You can see/hear the first one here: </strong>
<ul> <li><strong><a contents="YouTube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/kO9glRZbaaY" target="_blank">YouTube</a> </strong></li> <li><strong><a contents="SoundCloud" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/mattlennymusic/tell-me-why-neil-young-cover" target="_blank">SoundCloud</a> </strong></li> </ul> </li> <li>
<strong>I’m going to write a new original song and record a demo of every week. Same with the covers, my current thinking is that this will always be a video and, when I can, will also be a high quality home studio demo. I’ll similarly allow myself two weeks, which means a I need to write 50 new songs this year. You can see/hear the first one here: </strong> <ul> <li><strong><a contents="YouTube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/oD-GNil-O4I">YouTube</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a contents="SoundCloud" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/mattlennymusic/warning-sign-acoustic-demo-1-4" target="_blank">SoundCloud</a> </strong></li> </ul> </li>
</ul>
<p>Why? Because I want to be the best songwriter I can and I want to figure out how to be a compelling performer. So, I need to learn other people’s songs to see what makes them tick, but also try them on for size and see which styles suit me. And then I need to write regularly and just keep it up. Finally, I need to study the video and try things to figure out how to make it pop. If I can’t make the videos compelling in some way, then…well…maybe performing isn’t for me. </p>
<p>Here’s the thing that both keeps me going and makes me super frustrated. I think I can actually do this. I don’t mean that I think I can hit these quotas. (I’m actually worried I’ll flake out or get depressed and fail at that.) I mean that I think I can actually be a great songwriter and compelling performer if I set my mind to it. I’ve tasted it. I’ve written a couple songs that people have told me meant something to them and, as recently as this past summer, a total stranger told me that I reminded her of Bono in the passion of my performance. That said, more often than not, I’ve also written shitty songs, sang out of key, done lackluster shows and every other mediocre thing. But I <em>have</em> touched it, so I know it’s in me. The question is, am I gonna do something about it? </p>
<p>They say that maybe talent is overrated and it’s hard work that really gets you there. So, I’m gonna get to work and worry later (or maybe not at all) about whether or not other people tune in or anybody ever pays me another cent. I’ll be proud of myself if I can hit this goal…a repertoire of 100 songs is nothing to sneeze at!…and I think I might be able to make a darn good record next year if I start with 50 songs to choose from… </p>
<p>Anyway, if you read these emails, thanks for reading. And, in my other 10%, I may ask you all some questions about what kind of content/updates/etc. you’d like to see more of or less of from me. (I still do want people to hear the music I’m making!) But, in the meantime, I do sincerely appreciate having some folks I can email about music and what inspires me. </p>
<p>Here's to a productive year.</p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Matt</p>
<p><a contents="https://mattlenny.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://mattlenny.com/" target="_blank">https://mattlenny.com/</a></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/59322222019-10-18T14:10:00-04:002022-05-10T12:25:30-04:00Songwriter Night / We're on the radio! / Video from FitzGerald's<p>Happy Friday, everyone! And a huge welcome to the new folks on the list! We really appreciate you signing up and hope you'll stick around!</p>
<p>Since it is Friday, probably the last thing you want is <em>more</em> long emails to get through, so I'll keep it quick. <strong>We've got some cool things to share:</strong></p>
<p>First of all, for you Chicago folks, I'll be performing solo acoustic as part of a <strong>Songwriters Night at Flatts & Sharpe Music Co in Rogers Park.</strong> I'll be sharing the stage with my good friend, Cory Hance, and my soon-to-be friend, James Weigel. The fun starts at 6:30pm and it's BYOB, so come on out! Details are here: <a data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/526154291476379/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/526154291476379/</a></p>
<p><strong>Second, we are gonna be live in-studio on the radio this Sunday afternoon! </strong>The show is "Playtime with Bill Turck & Kerri Kendall" and it airs from 1-3pm CT on Sundays. I believe our portion starts at <strong>2pm</strong>, so tune in! Tune in via web, on the radio, etc. via:<strong> </strong><a data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://1590wcgo.com/" target="_blank">https://1590wcgo.com/</a></p>
<p>Finally, thanks to my good friend Cedric, we've got some video from our 9/5 show at FitzGerald's! <a contents="Check it out " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/FFU4nEbFTFk" target="_blank">Check it out </a>and huge thanks to the dancers for making it such a fun night!</p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFU4nEbFTFk" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>See you all soon and hope life is treating you well!</p>
<p>-Matt / Kid Bear</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/58815352019-09-04T14:35:00-04:002021-12-29T06:50:51-05:00The Deli Chicago premiered our single, "A Simple Thing"<p>Check it out! We've been doing some press to promote our new EP and The Deli Chicago was kind enough to premiere our first single, "A Simple Thing".</p>
<p><a contents="Take a listen:" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://chicago.thedelimagazine.com/41615/song-premiere-kid-bear-%E2%80%9C-simple-thing%E2%80%9D" target="_blank"><strong><span class="font_large">Take a listen:</span></strong></a></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large"><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://chicago.thedelimagazine.com/41615/song-premiere-kid-bear-%E2%80%9C-simple-thing%E2%80%9D" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/6e640d612531397f8ad3234bff16a64664f87c1b/original/ep-2-cover-a-simple-thing-web.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a></span></strong></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/58600492019-08-16T12:36:30-04:002021-08-11T04:35:05-04:00EP Release / Fear, Faith, F*ck It!<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I’m a really crap artist. No, I don’t mean in the big “Artist” sense of things…I’m actually pretty happy with some of my skills as a guitarist and songwriter and overall musician (which is not to say they couldn’t get a ton better). I mean it in the Leonardo DaVinci/Michelangelo/anybody who can draw something that doesn’t look like it was done by a drunk 6-year-old kind of way.</p>
<p>That said, I sometimes find it helpful to do some little doodles to express something and here’s one of them.</p>
<p><strong>But first…the context for this is that we have an EP Release Show coming up on Thu, 9/5 at Fitzgerald’s.</strong> We’re opening for my good friends, The Claudettes, and this is a really big deal for us. More on that below, but if you’re in Chicago on 9/5, it would mean the world to us to see you there. </p>
<ul> <li>FB Event: <a contents="https://www.facebook.com/events/1402854579877878/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1402854579877878/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/1402854579877878/</a>
</li> <li>Tickets: <a contents="http://www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/events/view/The-Claudettes-Kid-Bear-EP-Release" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/events/view/The-Claudettes-Kid-Bear-EP-Release" target="_blank">http://www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com/events/view/The-Claudettes-Kid-Bear-EP-Release</a>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Ok…so, here’s the thing. I’m kinda terrified about this show. Not because the show is scary and not because I’m worried people won’t show up (a perennial fear that never actually comes true), but because we’ve done something I’ve never done before: <strong>we’ve hired a publicist</strong>. </p>
<p>Why is this scary? <strong>Because that means I’m actually gonna see if anyone wants to listen to our recordings or not.</strong> Let’s be honest…I’m super bad at promoting myself. And I’m trying to learn, but part of it is probably that, psychologically speaking, it’s a defense mechanism. If nobody ever hears about it, I don’t have to find out if anybody actually likes it. This means I can safely stay in my little cycle that roughly goes like this: write song —> record song —> decide I can make something better —> ignore song I just made —> start new song. It’s safe, but also deeply unsatisfying. </p>
<p>And here, friends, is what I realized about how I make decisions that are scary:</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/58b2820a76dd154949592c756f219b04b56eabf8/original/evernote-snapshot-20190812-120059.png/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.png" class="size_xl justify_center border_" />First, there’s the <strong>Fear</strong>. And it’s a monster. </p>
<p>And I wish I had more <strong>Faith</strong>…I wish it were a bigger component. But it’s kinda just a little seed…</p>
<p>The launchpad always seems to be…well…just…”<strong>Fuck it!</strong>”. Like…at some point, I just close my eyes, grit my teeth, and just say “Here goes nothing!” and jump. </p>
<p>And it’s not just music. I think this is pretty much how I’ve made a lot of my major life decisions. I often don’t have confidence in my decisions…but if I can feel that Fear is there and Faith is also there (even if it’s small), then I just have a pretty robust “Fuck it!” factor. The key, though, is that all three are there:</p>
<ul> <li>Fear tells me there is some reason I’m avoiding it. </li> <li>Faith tells me that I do, at heart, believe it might be true. And because I value truth and honesty, that’s a signal that it’s a healthy thing or something that I might want. </li> <li>Fuck It gives me the courage to finally jump.</li>
</ul>
<p>What I’m tying to say here is that “Fuck it” doesn’t mean I just run around doing random things like “Fuck it…I’ll steal that car! Fuck it…I’m gonna drink a case of beer for breakfast on my way to work!”. That’s why fear and faith need to both be there. And, if they are, “Fuck it” can be a positive tool.</p>
<p>So…fuck it! Let’s see if we can get some attention for this EP. Let’s see if maybe my songs could mean something to people I’ve never met. Here goes nothing…</p>
<p>Thanks for reading.</p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Matt / Kid Bear</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/57988822019-06-21T06:25:00-04:002023-12-10T11:56:49-05:00Unreliable Magic: Songs, Spells, and the "Self" (and a show!)<p><strong>Greetings from the islands of Hawaii! </strong></p>
<ul></ul>
<p>Sadly, no, I haven't moved or anything, but we are here on a family vacation (with the extended family...which always adds some...shall we say, "interesting" additional dynamics). I'm basically a walking sunburn waiting to happen, but SPF 40000 is pretty effective and the view ain't too bad! </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/b26502ba8634fcb6e603ba9478ec2e6e614f73b6/original/img-9479.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_xl justify_center border_" />Nothing says "rock and roll" like swim shirts and floaties!</p>
<p><strong>Anyway, this is gonna be an essay of an email, so here's the TLDR version:</strong></p>
<ul> <li>
<strong>3 new releases available now on Soundcloud and coming soon to Apple Music, Spotify, etc.</strong> EP 2 starts with a brand new song and the rest are songs of mine that I rediscovered and want to actually try and share with the world (instead of burying them in a fit of insecurity and perfectionism):
<ul> <li>EP 2 - <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2</a>
</li> <li>American Top 4 - <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4</a>
</li> <li>This Is My Home - <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home</a>
</li> </ul> </li> <li>I'm playing a <strong>solo acoustic show on Friday, 6/28 at Friendly Tap</strong>. Music starts at 8pm and I'd love to see you there. <a contents="Details at this link." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://kidbearband.com/event/2744829/500631041/solo-acoustic-show-friendly-tap">Details at this link.</a>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large"><b>Unreliable Magic: Songs, Spells, and the "Self"</b></span></p>
<p>Anyway, I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few months about songwriting and the strangeness of the "self." Now, I'm hardly the first person to point this out and will certainly not be the most eloquent, but it really is true that we are many different people over the course of a life.</p>
<p>I've also been thinking about magic. As a kid, I was super into fantasy stories (Lord of the Rings, all the Forgotten Realms stuff, Drizzt Do'Urden, basically just a D&D nerd...). And the thing is that I don't think I ever stopped. In those stories, magic and strange adventures transformed normal people into heroes, made life into an epic, and made me feel like maybe I wouldn't always be a dorky 15-year-old with dubious social skills.</p>
<p>Those books were spells themselves: they summoned whole universes and transported me there. I would eat whole summer days reading books like that. Plowing through hundreds of pages at a time and then swapping books with my friend Josh and doing it again. (And Josh...if you're reading this, I think you still owe me fresh copies of 5-6 books that you managed to drop in the bathtub while reading them...not to mention all those folded back covers...what kind of monster folds back a book cover?!).</p>
<p>As I got older, went to college, starting talking to actual girls and even, occasionally, dating a few, I slowly lost interest in fantasy novels. I still read one here and there and, while I enjoy it, I also end up feeling a curious sense of disappointment and dislocation when I'm done. It's a strange combination of feeling sad to be back in the real world and...I don't know...maybe somehow guilty that I spent so much mental energy leaving it?</p>
<p>But I never gave up on magic and I never lost that appetite for being transported. I just switched my loyalty to a different school of wizardry: rock and roll, guitars, and songwriting.</p>
<p>I know this is kind of a cliche, but it's totally true. I walked across the bridge that is, was, and shall forever be Led Zeppelin. Lyrics tracing the strange (and morally dubious) connections from fantasy conquests to sexuality and girls. Huge riffs and drums. Vocals like some strange valkyrie. The whole thing sounds like it's taking place on top of the mountain of the gods and there's nothing quite like it. Yeah...a lot of it is ridiculous and, like I said, as much as I love it, there's definitely some really questionable aspects to it. Appropriation, some misogyny (perhaps unintentional, but there nonetheless), shallowness, excess...but it's also glorious and probably saved my life as a lonely teenager. </p>
<p><strong>So, that's where I started. I believed that, if I learned to play guitar and could write songs like that, I could also be transformed. </strong></p>
<p><strong>And here's the crazy thing: I was! </strong>I totally, 100% was. The road of songwriting, the path of guitar playing, the pursuit of tapping into the music and getting out of my own head...all of them led me to experiences and people and a level of "cool" that I could never have dreamed of otherwise. Yeah, sure, I'm still a nerd and may never actually be a rock star. But I've played guitar solos that made people scream for more, I've turned up loud and heard my guitar echo out across the festival as the sun went down, I've written songs that made people cry, I've worn ridiculous clothes and pulled it off, I've worn ridiculous clothes and didn't pull it off, I've nailed tunes in a single take in the studio, I've done drugs in legendary venues, I've been stone cold sober in unknown rooms and had a better time (but I still tell the other story)...in short...I've actually been and FELT cool.</p>
<p>"Where's that confounded bridge?" It was Zeppelin and grew into the Stones, The Beatles, Radiohead, Bowie, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Emmylou, Jason Isbell...so much, so many. Those are some of the big ones, but I've been moved and transformed by so many in so many genres. And, more importantly, walking across those bridges for more than two decades now did forever change me.</p>
<p>And that's because a song IS a spell. It transports you, it allows you to see and feel that your own life IS epic, it ties you to the universe, it allows you to escape yourself and be transformed into and merge into something bigger and beautiful. And trying to be that kind of wizard has strange and powerful effects on the course of a life.</p>
<p><strong>But here's the hard and kinda shitty part (and how it will all connect back to the changing nature of the self): if a song is a spell, the caster can never fully fall under it. </strong>Even more, the spell caster often can't even tell if the song worked.</p>
<p>Imagine if you had somehow learned a spell of invisibility. When you cast it, nobody would be able to see you. BUT, to yourself, everything would still look normal. You'd look at your body and see it just fine, you'd see yourself in mirrors, etc. </p>
<p>So...would you have the courage to tell your friends, "Hey, check it out! I've learned a spell of invisibility!"...cuz...I mean...what if you didn't? Cuz that's totally crazy.</p>
<p>And, to make matters worse, what if the magic was unreliable and only worked on SOME people but not others? To some, it would be an astounding transcendence of the day-to-day laws of the world. To others, you'd just be an idiot, waving your arms around trying vainly to "get attention" for your pathetic daydreams.</p>
<p><strong>The only way to tell is to go for it.</strong> To cast the spell and then let it out in the world. And, usually, you'll think it was a spell and it wasn't. Or maybe it was kind of half of a spell and you'd ALMOST pulled it off and then you did something dumb and broke the magic. Or maybe you did the right spell for the wrong person.</p>
<p>Anyway, <strong>I didn't always have that courage.</strong> I've written hundreds of songs by this point in my life and recorded dozens, but I've often failed to share them in any meaningful way. I couldn't hear them clearly and I couldn't see if the magic was there and I didn't trust my gut. I knew so intimately the dumb parts and I forgot that even the best music has fodder for mockery (Led Zeppelin, anyone?). And so I buried it and tried again and moved on.</p>
<p>But time is a funny thing and the "self" is a moving target.</p>
<p>For reasons involving pitching a song for a TV commercial, I recently had to go back through all my old recorded output. I was looking for tracks that might match the creative brief because, hey, why not make a few buck on some old songs if I could? (I didn't get it, but they asked me to submit again for future projects, so that's pretty good.)</p>
<p><strong>But what I found was a pile of spells that suddenly worked on me.</strong> Because the "me" that recorded them and was so fearful of their shortcomings is not really the "me" that was listening to them. The years had made me a stranger to myself and I could actually see the magic.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong; there were some serious clunkers in there, but there are songs I'm proud of. There are songs with real magic. There are things that I hated about them then - the ways they didn't match my goals, the innocence, the "uncool" - that now seem unique and valuable. I dreamed they were spells and they are.</p>
<p>So, I'm releasing them (after culling a few of the ones that really were just bad) along with one <a contents="brand new track that I'm super proud of" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/a-simple-thing" target="_blank"><strong>brand new track that I'm super proud of</strong></a>. The me that wrote them is still me and I can still live in these songs and bring them to life on a stage. So, it's time to give them their public airing and see if anyone else agrees with me. Maybe these were just spells past-me cast on future-me without knowing it, but I think and hope that won't be true. <strong>Maybe some of these will work on you or on your friends. Please let me know.</strong></p>
<p>These are all up on SoundCloud now and should be hitting Apple Music, Spotify, and all the rest sometime in the next week or so. Here are the details:</p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/d7a66fd0ba06081ed149a540fa078b7bfeb344a7/original/ep-2-cover-2000-x-2000.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></a></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>EP 2 - <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep-2</a></strong></span></p>
<p>The first song in this collection is a brand new one, entitled "A Simple Thing" and I'm really happy with how it turned out. David Jamison and I tracked this together in my home studio and...well...like I said, I really like it and I hope you do, too. The rest of these songs (and the cover art) reflect some of my musical journey up to this point. Most of these have been "released" at some point or another, but not all, and none of them have been actually promoted in any way. I feel like these represent a pretty good cross section of who I am as a songwriter and I'm excited to get them out of my lonely hard drive and onto yours. </p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/150898024e70f982462d7bf93f65ba52717b6815/original/american-top-4-cover-image.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></a></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>American Top 4 - <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/american-top-4</a></strong></span></p>
<p>In June of 2007, I came to Chicago with Sonny Ratcliff (drums), Bucky Hayes (guitar), and Keven Mackall (bass), and we cut these 4 tunes live to tape at Electrical Audio in Studio B. Nick Kraska recorded and mixed them and then...well...then I left them on the shelf. Hearing them today, I want to go back and kick myself. I know what I feared or disliked about them, but it no longer seems to matter in comparison to the sheer energy and passion of the performances. (Sorry about that, guys.) </p>
<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/f4937b2455d5dba9788c8af307f98d5755bae5fe/original/this-is-my-home-cover.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></a></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>This Is My Home - <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/this-is-my-home</a></strong></span></p>
<p>A recurring tension in my songwriting life has been between my more rock and roll tendencies and my singer-songwriter side. Big riffs and guitar or quiet acoustics and heartfelt lyrics. I still feel this tension today...like I should "pick one" or something...but I think it's mostly a false notion. So, here is a collection of acoustic "folk" or maybe "Americana" tunes I was way too scared to put out back when I recorded it. These are pretty naked and vulnerable and, hearing it now, I wish I'd had the same courage in releasing it that I had in making it. Oh! And and recording this album is also how I met David Jamison. He was the session drummer hired by the producer, so the very first thing we ever did together was play music together. Happy to say that, while lots of things in life have changed, we're still making music together.</p>
<p>=======================================</p>
<p>Alright, that's all for now. I sincerely hope you give some of this stuff a listen and, if any of it strikes you, it would mean a lot to me to hear about it. </p>
<p>Hope to see you next Friday, 6/28 at Friendly Tap!</p>
<p>With love,</p>
<p>Matt / Kid Bear</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/57039492019-04-02T11:29:01-04:002021-08-09T07:17:15-04:00One Night, One Song<p>Hi everyone, </p>
<p>How did it get to be almost April already? I owe you all a real update after sending over my <a contents="small novella of a blog post" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://kidbearband.com/home/blog/dave-cobb-and-the-bhag">small novella of a blog post</a> back in January. I'm actually kinda pissed at myself that it's taken me this long to send another email, but so it goes, I guess. Sigh. My goal is an email every 2 weeks, so let's see if I can hold myself to that going forward. I've historically been super bad at anything other than wrestling with music privately at home or in the rehearsal or recording studio and I'd like to fix that. </p>
<p>ANYWAY, I don't have any big update to share at the moment, but I do have a new track with a fun story. </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Just gimme the music:</strong></span> The track is called, "Make Myself", and you can hear it here: <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/make-myself" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/make-myself" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/make-myself</a> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Tell me the story:</strong></span> Last summer, I was having a tough week. I'll spare you all the details, but I was unsure what to do about my job and we were in the thick of it with a 6-month old and 3-year old. So, I was tired and confused and feeling like I'd never have time to make music again at the level I've always wanted to do it (I'm naturally a bit dramatic anyway and sleep deprivation and the demands of little kids don't help.) </p>
<p>Fortunately for me, I married a wonderful woman who has come to accept that, if I don't get some music time, at some point my brain just breaks. I wish this weren't so and I actually spent several years trying to kill of this side of my personality, but it doesn't work. There is just a point where, if I haven't done enough music, I pretty much can't function. And I'd definitely reached that point last June. </p>
<p>So, Laura told me to go make music that night. But I didn't want to just fiddle around with some songs or practice licks or whatever. I felt like I wanted to do something dramatic, something big, something that would not allow me to think me about anything than music for a few hours. I called David (drummer, harmony singer, and keyboard player extraordinaire) and shared my idea: Our mission for the night was to write, record, mix, and release a whole song in one evening. Chords, riffs, melodies, lyrics, arrangement...the whole 9 yards. I had 30 seconds of a guitar riff I'd written that afternoon while on an excruciatingly boring conference call and we'd have to make the rest. </p>
<p>But hey, we're old and soft in the middle, so first we went to get dinner. Priorities, people!! </p>
<p>So, we got started at about 8:30pm and finally collapsed at about 1:30am. In that time, we'd managed to write, arrange, and record a full song, but ultimately couldn't do a real mix and release it into the wild. </p>
<p>And then...well...then it took me until last week to finally mix the damn thing. Sigh. Sometime in the fall, I also overdubbed one extra guitar part (doubling the main riff and adding some weirdness to the B sections), but otherwise what you hear is what we recorded that evening and nothing else. </p>
<p>I gotta say...I think it rocks pretty hard! There's something about a tight timeline that meant we couldn't overthink anything. It was as much instinct as anything else and I kinda like it. </p>
<p>Oh...and here's a video of us setting up and making it!</p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="1iS4IYiPC7M" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/1iS4IYiPC7M/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1iS4IYiPC7M?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you all are doing well and I appreciate you taking the time to read this and to listen. I really do appreciate it. </p>
<p>'Til next time, </p>
<p>Matt / Kid Bear</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/55990052019-01-16T18:34:53-05:002021-11-30T04:05:42-05:00Dave Cobb and the BHAG<p>Let me start by saying that I really, really hate “inspirational” quotes and “spiritual” self-help books or instagram posts. I have zero school spirit, don’t root for any teams, think most forms of patriotism are shallow and knee-jerk. I don’t like dressing up for Halloween and…well…as my wife says pretty frequently, “God, you’re such a Scrooge-y old man!” </p>
<p>But here’s the thing: I’m trying to teach the old dog of my heart some new tricks, and I think it might actually work. </p>
<p>It’s too much to talk about here in any real detail, but I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last few months focusing on figuring out what’s next. My home life is good (albeit crazy, as home life always is if you have two young kids), but I was feeling confused and a bit stuck at work and directionless musically. Both those areas had good things happening and loads of potential, but I felt like I’d lost the plot and didn’t really know what my role should be or where I was trying to go. Nor how to balance that with the home life that is important to me. </p>
<p>So, what did I do? I went to Germany for a week and <a contents="walked in the woods with a bunch of other tech people" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/tablexi/videos/199343177608703/UzpfSTY4MTMxMzEyNDozMDYwNjExMjk0OTk0MTQ6MTA6MTUxNDc5MzYwMDoxNTQ2MzI5NTk5OjgzNjIzNTc5MDczNzIzODg3Nw/?fref=search&__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARD79ocGI-vGmwMWq4DgETr6n0yZUy0rsY21BypYJiJgCfpvoqs3iTiJjbe9-Pf1ODEDq5jY-rP4ikQY" target="_blank">walked in the woods with a bunch of other tech people</a>. I read “Designing Your Life” and started working on it (still doing that, but also just trying to think about things in an iterative and experimental way has been transformative). Read about Google Design Sprints in the book “Sprint” and pondered how that kind of methodology could apply to artists (again with open-mindedness and experimentation). And finally, I read Traction about how to structure, manage, and market a business. </p>
<p>And, along the way, I encountered a ton of cheesy shit. I mean…good God…in Germany, the improv coach made us “write words with nature” and people did things like write “share” with twigs. (I am fighting the gag reflex just thinking about it…what am I gonna learn by writing words with nature?! Sigh…) And, if you’ve ever read a business advice book…well…let’s just say there is a lot of “inspirational” talk and every salient point is generally followed by 5 pages of ridiculous anecdotes. </p>
<p>But here’s what surprised me the most: it actually helped. Writing my word with sticks and rocks was…well…kinda dumb. But seeing the generous words like “share” that the other people on the Germany trip wrote…well…these are all people in positions of power. People with artistic and creative spirits who have created or run companies. And I learned the degree to which they’ve done this by focusing on meaning and inspiration and how to lift up and empower others. So…the twigs…ok…but the fact that the CEO of a big agency wrote “share” on a trip with her competitors…well…that’s a bit different. </p>
<p>And so, to get to something like the point, I’ve been trying to be more open to this kind of stuff. I mean…honestly…what do I have to lose? I’m a quick reader. So I don’t like something? Ok. Move on! But sometimes I’ve found that something can be both cheesy and TOTALLY MAKE YOUR HEART BEAT A LITTLE BIT FASTER! My mind can say “yuck” and yet I still find myself feeling better and making bigger plans for myself. </p>
<p>I knew my internal editor was pretty darn strong, but I’m starting to think that, at least in the early stages of encountering something, he’s basically George Costanza: Whatever he recommends I do, I should strongly consider doing the opposite. </p>
<p><strong>So, what does the have to do with Grammy winning wunderkind super-producer Dave Cobb?</strong> Why am I dragging this poor superstar and his friends/clients like Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Amanda Shires, John Print, and Brandi Carlile into this morass of my internal struggles? He’s innocent for god's sake! </p>
<p>It goes like this: </p>
<ol> <li>They say you’re supposed to have 1-3 Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) that you are working on any at one time. These are goals that feel scary and ambitious, but just might be possible if you really work at it. I didn’t have any... </li> <li>I read an inspirational Facebook quote (ugh) that said, “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action becomes reality." </li> <li>I realized that I did have a super clear dream and that the only thing preventing me from calling it a “goal” and making a plan was fear. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of not even being able to give it my best. </li> <li>I don’t want to live by fear. </li>
</ol>
<p>My dream is this: <strong>I want to make a record with Dave Cobb.</strong> Everything about how he approaches making it record is my dream of how to do it. You can read more about it here: <a contents="https://vintageking.com/blog/2017/05/dave-cobb/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://vintageking.com/blog/2017/05/dave-cobb/" target="_blank">https://vintageking.com/blog/2017/05/dave-cobb/</a> Long story short, he uses amazing gear in an amazing room and prioritizes getting a full-band take with live vocal. Ya know…the way so many of my favorite classic records were made. </p>
<p>And the other part about it is that…well…he seems like a nice dude! And he hangs out with other people who seem like they are cool and talented people with functioning moral compasses: Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, etc. Unlike the stereotypical rock star BS with drugs and stuff, these are people tackling real-life issues in their songs and living real lives with kids and political engagement and generally trying to actually be adults while still making amazing creative work. </p>
<p>In short, to paraphrase Hamilton, I want to be in the room where it happens. And THAT is the room and those are the people where I think it’s happening. </p>
<p>And, even crazier, I think I could fit in. In my heart, I think I have the talent to be part of that crowd. I’m afraid that I don’t. But, again, I don’t want to live by fear. And I’m not there yet in so many ways, but I think I COULD be. And I’m not “young” anymore, but I’m not dead yet. So fuck it. </p>
<p>My goal is to be in the studio making a record with Dave Cobb by no later than Jan 15, 2024. Bonus points if Jason Isbell plays guitar on the record and Amanda Shires plays fiddle. ? But the goal is to make a record with Dave Cobb in Nashville (or wherever he has his main studio at that point in time.) </p>
<p>So…holy shit…now I guess I need to break this down into steps and make a friggin’ plan. And I better get moving on it!! Cuz that date feels awfully near and there’s a lot of hard work (on myself, on my music, on my songwriting, on building an audience, on getting press and attention) between me and making a record with Dave Cobb. </p>
<p>As part of this, I plan to be sharing more content and more updates. I hope you’ll stick around and join me on this journey. </p>
<p>Love, <br>Matt / Kid Bear</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/55916572019-01-11T14:34:31-05:002022-03-03T08:54:01-05:00New song demo / Having kids is no joke...<p>This is the first acoustic demo of a new song, "A Simple Thing". Might still tweak the lyrics and such, but I felt like it wanted to get out of my brain and onto the internet brain, so here it is. </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="QpqKfR1Oi_k" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/QpqKfR1Oi_k/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QpqKfR1Oi_k?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>One of the things that I think we don't talk about enough as a society is how hard it can be to be a new parent. When my wife and I had our first son, I can honestly say that was the darkest and hardest time of my life. I love the kiddo dearly and he now has a little brother and they're both hilarious. So, it obviously worked out. But, at the time, I couldn't see that at all. I would find myself walking my crying son around the dining room table in the middle of the night and just feeling like my life was over. I felt cut off from my music, from my friends, from my wife, and from myself. And, even worse, there was no going back. I think that was the closest I've ever come to actually feeling suicidal and I don't ever want to get that close again. </p>
<p>And the thing is that we had it easy. Both our kids have been pretty darn mellow and cooperative and are/were, by baby standards, pretty good sleepers. I literally cannot imagine how people with colicky babies or babies with health issues get through it! HUGE respect and awe for people who do deal with that and get through it. </p>
<p>So, anyway, this song is kinda coming from that place and, like all songs, isn't 100% "true". I inflated some of it and, even at the worst of it, I didn't feel horrible all the time. But I wanted to try and capture that strange mix of awe and gratefulness and loneliness and horror. </p>
<p>And let's repeat: I love my kids and my wife and I think I live a pretty charmed life. Just a song, people. Just a song!!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/55626092018-12-20T17:07:01-05:002021-12-28T06:25:10-05:00R.I.P. Matt Lenny...Long live Kid Bear!<p>Hi everybody,</p>
<p>I'm beyond excited to share some big news with you! So, without further ado...</p>
<p><a contents='"Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYMD_W_r3Fg" target="_blank"><b>"Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss"</b></a></p>
<p>It's been a a long time coming, but we are changing the band name to <strong>Kid Bear. </strong>My real name is actually Matt Neuroth (which is terrible for a band because...who can spell it or remember it?!), which is how I ended up being "Matt Lenny" (nickname from a guitar shop where I used to work).</p>
<p>But it felt weird to be pursuing music that feels true and resonates with my real life all the while maintaining two totally separate identities. Not the end of the world, but I just didn't feel like the nickname I got in my twenties felt true anymore. So...R.I.P. Matt Lenny...long live Kid Bear!!</p>
<p><strong>Come on and Join the Band!</strong></p>
<p>And to celebrate, we’ve got a new EP that will hit all the streaming services next week (HOPEFULLY right on Christmas Day). In the meantime, you can listen to the songs on good ol’ Soundcloud at: <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep1" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep1" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/kidbearband/sets/ep1</a> (We'll share the links when it's live for streaming.)</p>
<p><strong>New Set of Clothes!</strong></p>
<p>We’ve also go a swanky new logo courtesy of the one and only <a contents="Gary Camaro" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://garycamaro.myportfolio.com/" target="_blank">Gary Camaro</a> and a new website (<a contents="kidbearband.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.kidbearband.com">kidbearband.com</a> if you're not reading this on the site now).</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/177552/d6a121021833a3dbcfec5f990eb79f4788226e5b/original/kid-bear-full-logo-square-small.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong>Thanks oh so much, Facebook!</strong></p>
<p>Unfortunately, a casualty of this is our Facebook page. Even though we are the same people in the same town playing the same music for the same fans, Facebook has decided that changing our band name would be "misleading" and so we cannot do it. As a result, we'll be shutting down our "Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council" page. Please, please, please check us out and like us over at <a contents="https://www.facebook.com/kidbearband" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/kidbearband" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/kidbearband</a> And a sincere thanks to the greedy, data-leaking, techno-jerks over at FB.</p>
<p>I'm extremely proud of this new music and excited for the new "identity" and can't wait to share it with you on the internet and at our shows.</p>
<p>Hope you all have a wonderful last days of 2018 and that 2019 is a banner year!</p>
<p> - Matt Neuroth / Kid Bear</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/54939172018-10-31T13:18:39-04:002021-09-19T16:27:22-04:00Rehearsal - 10/30/2018<p>Man...that was a fun one. We've got our little headquarters set up at our space using a hybrid acoustic/electronic setup. It's amazing what you can do with technology these days. (More on the setup later!)</p>
<p>Anyway, here's some snippets of what we're working on. Some Rolling Stones Chicago style, some Emmylou/Dan Lanois-influenced country, and some modified fingerpicking blues. Can't wait to share some of these with you at Friendly Tap!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZbG4CXEVYtc" width="560"></iframe></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/53942702018-08-20T11:39:05-04:002021-12-18T07:59:23-05:00Back in the saddle...<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>It's been a long winter/spring/summer on this end. Quick summary of the highlights:</p>
<ul> <li>Developed some vocal trouble: Turns out I sing ok thanks to years of lessons, but I actually talk wrong. So, I was starting to lose my voice completely and have had to basically re-learn how to speak. Fun stuff!</li> <li>My wife and I welcomed a baby boy to the household. First name: Bowie. Yup. After that Bowie. I figured he'll either grow up feeling super cool or hate us for that choice his whole life. Either way, we win (even if it is in a "Boy Named Sue" kind of way...)</li> <li>Did a bunch of work at the day job, went on some vacations, figured out how to juggle two kids, learned a bunch of fingerpicking blues in the wee hours of the mornings</li> <li>Got serious about home recording and mixing</li> <li>Set up a project studio for the band</li>
</ul>
<p>I'll try to write more about all these things later, but it's officially time to get back into performing and releasing music.</p>
<p><span class="font_large">So...here's the first couple tracks! These hit Apple Music/Spotify/Etc. later this week, but you can hear it here now:</span></p>
<p><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/573741879&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p>Hope you all are doing well and looking forward to seeing you at some shows and/or online in the coming months.</p>
<p>-ML</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/48695032017-09-28T18:02:19-04:002022-08-07T03:08:45-04:00Sylvie’s Lounge / Gestures against the void<p>Hey everyone,<br></p><p>You’ve got things to celebrate. Maybe you’re happy it’s no longer 90+ degrees outside. Maybe you’re grateful for family and friends who survived earthquakes and hurricanes. Maybe you’re happy we’re not (yet) in a nuclear war. Maybe you’re glad we’re not gonna strip health care away from millions of people just to prove an empty point (at least this week).</p><p>Or maybe you’re worried or mourning. Tons of good reasons for that, too. <br>And we’re gonna play some rock and roll music this Friday at Sylvie’s Lounge at 9:30pm. Some guitars, some drums and bass, some lyrics. Some heart and soul. Some sweat. Some beer. Some cheering. Some being with real people in a real place for a moment to make some art. Some songs: little tunes against the great tides of history. Some hope that somehow things work out. Some gestures against the void.<br></p><p>Won’t you join us? <br></p><p><b>When:</b> Fri, 9/29 at 9:30pm<br><b>Where:</b> Sylvie’s Lounge<br>1902 W. Irving Park Rd<br>Chicago, IL</p><p>-Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/47833362017-07-18T10:30:23-04:002018-03-12T03:02:10-04:00Thanks! - Thoughts on musical community and good people<h2><b>Hey friends,</b></h2><p>I just wanted to take a quick minute<b> to say thanks</b> to all of you for coming out to see us at shows, for being cool at an open mic, and generally being part of/supporting a vibrant musical community here in Chicago, Oak Park, and Berwyn. (And for those of you not in the Chicago area, for supporting us/me for all the many years leading up to now.)</p><p>As a bit of context, I moved from NYC (Brooklyn, to be exact) to Chicago (Oak Park, to be exact) a few years ago. I loved New York, but was reaching a saturation point with it and my wife and I really wanted to find a better work-life balance (and more living space than the closet we had in NYC). We both had roots and family in Chicago, so it was the obvious choice.</p><p>But one of the things I underestimated <b>was just how hard it was to leave the musical community</b> I had been a part of in NYC. I was there for nearly 10 years and, during that time, I built up a really large group of world-class musicians and singer-songwriters that I performed, recorded, and generally hung out with. And because I started in my 20s and it took so long…well, I think I basically kinda took for granted that it would be easy to rebuild that elsewhere. I had just gotten used to having the guys in my band do a show with me at a tiny club and then head off and tour with a critically acclaimed band and then come back and do it all again.</p><p>Anyway, I was obviously wrong. It takes years and a lot of love, sweat, and tears to build up a musical community and it’s a harder to do that in my late 30s/early 40s (holy crap!) than in my 20s.</p><h2><b>What’s the point of all this? </b></h2><p>Well, I finally feel like I’m building/joining/finding a musical community again.</p><p>The first part is the band I’ve been lucky enough to put together. With Dave Mendez on guitar, Erik Vaveris on bass, and David Jamison on drums I’ve got a truly world-class set of guys backing me up. Seriously…each of these guys is a total musical badass and, just as importantly, a super nice dude and a really tasteful musician. They make my songs sound dramatic and gorgeous no matter if it’s a ballad or a full-on rocker. <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mattlennymusic/it-adds-up-rehearsal-demo-2017-05-18">For instance, here’s a rehearsal recording of a song that’s not even 2 hours old at the time of recording. </a>(Finished writing it on the way to rehearsal and check out what the guys did with it. The chords couldn’t be simpler, but they transform it in a super cool way. You can <a href="https://youtu.be/l7DZXgdw-2U">see a solo acoustic performance of it here</a> if you’re curious to hear the difference.) </p><p>And here’s a video of another new tune from a recent performance at Friendly Tap in Berwyn:</p><figure class="tmblr-embed tmblr-full" data-provider="youtube" data-orig-width="540" data-orig-height="304" data-url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHDHkTL9xmyQ"><iframe width="540" height="304" id="youtube_iframe" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HDHkTL9xmyQ?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></figure><h2><b>Which brings me to the second part: great venues and good people.</b></h2><p>We’ve had the chance to play at some very cool spots like Tonic Room, Friendly Tap, GMan Tavern, and others. And…man!…what a cool bunch of people! It’s not easy working at a bar, booking bands (like herding inebriated cats), running an open mic, and generally making sure there are spaces in which people can create art. In particular, I’ve been having a blast lately at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Friendly-Tap-74786580336/">Friendly Tap</a> for the simple reason that it’s right down the street from my house. But they really do have a cool bunch of people showing up there week after week to play music (along with coffee during the day, a music school onsite, cold beer, etc.). Not a bad thing to have basically right in your backyard!</p><p>Also, we’re gonna play there (Friendly Tap) on Sat, 8/5…so, that’ll be cool! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/498932870461709/">Show info is here.</a></p><h2><b>So…yeah…feeling pretty lucky these days:</b></h2><p>I’ll leave off for now since this is already a long email, but thanks again for listening, for booking us, for playing in the band, and for signing up and reading this message!!</p><p>Hope you’re all having a fantastic summer and I’d love to hear about any other musical communities/hotspots anywhere around here (or cool virtual ones)!! Always a good thing to expand the circle!</p><p>-ML</p><p>Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council</p><p><a href="https://www.mattlenny.com/">www.mattlenny.com</a></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/47603322017-06-28T15:44:46-04:002018-04-18T02:45:59-04:00This is a brand new song that I finished writing about 30...<iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F323439024&visual=true&liking=false&sharing=false&auto_play=false&show_comments=false&continuous_play=false&origin=tumblr" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" class="soundcloud_audio_player" width="540" height="540"></iframe><br><br><p>This is a brand new song that I finished writing about 30 minutes before rehearsal. I showed it to the band and we worked up this version within about 1 hour. Recorded with a Shure Motiv MV88 on an iPhone in our rehearsal space + a vocal overdubbed at home so you can actually hear the words.<br></p><p>There’s pretty much nothing in the world I like better than when a tune comes together so fast like this. Call it the muse or a state of flow or luck or whatever you want, but there’s something otherworldly about it. </p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/46376732017-03-20T14:57:20-04:002020-11-11T19:33:55-05:00Here’s the first full-band performance of a new song, “Doubt”,...<iframe width="400" height="225" id="youtube_iframe" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HDHkTL9xmyQ?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br><p>Here’s the first full-band performance of a new song, “Doubt”, from our show at Friendly Tap on 3/10/17. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and made it such a great evening!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/46224852017-03-08T14:31:01-05:002018-05-06T14:03:18-04:00Oh…did we mention that we have a show on Friday at...
<video id="embed-58c0b0d9d6200957018192" class="crt-video crt-skin-default" width="400" height="225" poster="http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_omigutFoPv1s7uy14_smart1.jpg" preload="none" muted data-crt-video data-crt-options='{"autoheight":null,"duration":32,"hdUrl":"https:\/\/mattlenny.tumblr.com\/video_file\/t:tweNmOS-nSa6eVGgetZcbQ\/158159568427\/tumblr_omigutFoPv1s7uy14\/720","filmstrip":{"url":"http:\/\/68.media.tumblr.com\/previews\/tumblr_omigutFoPv1s7uy14_filmstrip.jpg","width":"200","height":"112"}}'>
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<br><br><p>Oh…did we mention that we have a show on Friday at Friendly Tap? Yeah, well we do. And here’s another teaser from last night’s rehearsal (complete with one iffy note in the middle from yours truly). Move over, Eagles! See you Friday! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/305124423223676/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22timeline%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22surface%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D&source=22&action_history=%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22timeline%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22surface%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D&has_source=1">https://www.facebook.com/events/305124423223676??ti=ia</a><br></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/46219012017-03-08T14:28:39-05:002021-06-29T13:01:11-04:00Alright, kids, it’s getting close! Hope to see you Friday...
<video id="embed-58c05b6ba07cc317936052" class="crt-video crt-skin-default" width="400" height="225" poster="http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_omigr79Ss41s7uy14_smart1.jpg" preload="none" muted data-crt-video data-crt-options='{"autoheight":null,"duration":24,"hdUrl":"https:\/\/mattlenny.tumblr.com\/video_file\/t:tweNmOS-nSa6eVGgetZcbQ\/158159493958\/tumblr_omigr79Ss41s7uy14","filmstrip":{"url":"http:\/\/68.media.tumblr.com\/previews\/tumblr_omigr79Ss41s7uy14_filmstrip.jpg","width":"200","height":"112"}}'>
<source src="https://mattlenny.tumblr.com/video_file/t:tweNmOS-nSa6eVGgetZcbQ/158159493958/tumblr_omigr79Ss41s7uy14/480" type="video/mp4">
</source></video>
<br><br><p>Alright, kids, it’s getting close! Hope to see you Friday at Friendly Tap! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/305124423223676/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22timeline%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22surface%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D&source=22&action_history=%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22timeline%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22surface%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D&has_source=1">https://www.facebook.com/events/305124423223676??ti=ia</a><br></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555532014-04-05T11:05:33-04:002020-11-09T06:43:58-05:00Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council @ Tonic Room, on...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/efa8e348c4a5ccc059ffb386fa92bbd5/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o3_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/e026d815a7cf8cb10c2bb7d72fed6ea6/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o4_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/c0627e276deae9abd29fa3ca4b5cf7ec/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/c0e01dd70d0579a0769308f339ea9e19/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o2_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/286256cbfab793786c49effac9777eef/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o5_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/7684046e1c1a2c83e26860142d3c401a/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o6_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><p><strong>Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council @ Tonic Room, on 4/3/2014</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Me and Bucky Hayes playing his tune, “Iva Louise”</li>
<li>The band playing, “Come On and Join the Band”</li>
<li>Dave Mendez and I getting into some ridiculous guitar battles. (As usual, he won, but I made him work for it!)</li>
<li>(Same as #3)</li>
<li>Bucky joins us for a cover of “Wurlitzer Prize”.</li>
<li>(same as #5)</li>
</ol><p>That was an awesome night. Huge thanks to every single person who came out and supported us. You made it memorable in every way.</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499492014-04-05T11:05:33-04:002021-09-26T14:15:28-04:00Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council @ Tonic Room, on...<img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/efa8e348c4a5ccc059ffb386fa92bbd5/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o3_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/e026d815a7cf8cb10c2bb7d72fed6ea6/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o4_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/c0627e276deae9abd29fa3ca4b5cf7ec/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/c0e01dd70d0579a0769308f339ea9e19/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o2_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/286256cbfab793786c49effac9777eef/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o5_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/7684046e1c1a2c83e26860142d3c401a/tumblr_n3kceuYgVm1s7uy14o6_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><p><strong>Matt Lenny & The Elm City Council @ Tonic Room, on 4/3/2014</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Me and Bucky Hayes playing his tune, “Iva Louise”</li>
<li>The band playing, “Come On and Join the Band”</li>
<li>Dave Mendez and I getting into some ridiculous guitar battles. (As usual, he won, but I made him work for it!)</li>
<li>(Same as #3)</li>
<li>Bucky joins us for a cover of “Wurlitzer Prize”.</li>
<li>(same as #5)</li>
</ol><p>That was an awesome night. Huge thanks to every single person who came out and supported us. You made it memorable in every way.</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555542014-01-29T13:31:00-05:002017-01-18T23:07:27-05:00I was watching this on Monday and was saddened to hear about...<br><br><p>I was watching this on Monday and was saddened to hear about Pete Seeger passing later that night. R.I.P, Mr. Seeger. Thanks for the music and for all the heart and soul you put into the things you believed in. You were truly a model for us all.</p>
<p>On a side note, young Johnny Cash is wild! Check out the shoes and how he’s just draped all over that chair. Wild!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499502014-01-29T13:31:00-05:002018-05-11T02:46:55-04:00I was watching this on Monday and was saddened to hear about...<iframe width="400" height="300" id="youtube_iframe" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GDBtrzka2X4?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br><p>I was watching this on Monday and was saddened to hear about Pete Seeger passing later that night. R.I.P, Mr. Seeger. Thanks for the music and for all the heart and soul you put into the things you believed in. You were truly a model for us all.</p>
<p>On a side note, young Johnny Cash is wild! Check out the shoes and how he’s just draped all over that chair. Wild!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555552013-12-09T11:00:00-05:002021-07-22T15:55:10-04:00David Simon: 'There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show'<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/david-simon-capitalism-marx-two-americas-wire">David Simon: 'There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show'</a>: <blockquote class="link_og_blockquote">David Simon: Capitalism in America has lost sight of its social compact</blockquote>
<p>I agree with a lot of this. The specific policies will always be (and should be) subject to debate, but I think he has a real point about how we have lost sight of how connected we all are and the responsibility that creates. Extra ironic in the age of “social media”, which, I have to say, seems more and more like just some sort of refracting mirror for group narcissism than any actual driver of socializing and connection. (Not all the time, not all the people, but I think there is something in the way it connects only to “neighbors” we choose that pulls us away from our real-world interconnectedness in a stultifying way.)</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499512013-12-09T11:00:00-05:002021-08-20T06:06:14-04:00David Simon: 'There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show'<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/david-simon-capitalism-marx-two-americas-wire">David Simon: 'There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show'</a>: <blockquote class="link_og_blockquote">David Simon: Capitalism in America has lost sight of its social compact</blockquote>
<p>I agree with a lot of this. The specific policies will always be (and should be) subject to debate, but I think he has a real point about how we have lost sight of how connected we all are and the responsibility that creates. Extra ironic in the age of “social media”, which, I have to say, seems more and more like just some sort of refracting mirror for group narcissism than any actual driver of socializing and connection. (Not all the time, not all the people, but I think there is something in the way it connects only to “neighbors” we choose that pulls us away from our real-world interconnectedness in a stultifying way.)</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555562013-10-24T18:59:00-04:002017-01-18T23:07:27-05:00Every once in a while, we get to play a show that stands out...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/9a3c0a57cb0f66dc2d71b38bc5fb3550/tumblr_n202450fLP1s7uy14o1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p>Every once in a while, we get to play a show that stands out from all the others. It could be because the audience was extra special or the venue was beautiful or…well…all sorts of things that serve to separate it from all the hundreds (thousands?) of other gigs we’ve played.</p>
<p>In late September this year, we got to play just such a gig. It was fundraiser show for the Glenwood Sunday Market in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and it was my first introduction to the concept of “glamping” (def: <span class="st">To camp in style, comfort, and/or luxury while still experiencing the great outdoors; to go glamping).</span></p>
<p><span class="st">We set up in this amazing backyard and played under the stars and the beautiful lights and then sat down to an absolutely delicious dinner prepared with ingredients from the Sunday Market (a farmers market). The wine, food, friendly people, and the atmosphere led to the whole thing being a beautiful night out. Now we just hope they ask us back next time!</span></p>
<p><span class="st">And, lucky for us, the fabulous Cara Spitzner was on hand to take this (and many other) gorgeous pictures of the whole evening.</span></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499522013-10-24T18:59:00-04:002020-01-22T04:40:41-05:00Every once in a while, we get to play a show that stands out...<img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/9a3c0a57cb0f66dc2d71b38bc5fb3550/tumblr_n202450fLP1s7uy14o1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p>Every once in a while, we get to play a show that stands out from all the others. It could be because the audience was extra special or the venue was beautiful or…well…all sorts of things that serve to separate it from all the hundreds (thousands?) of other gigs we’ve played.</p>
<p>In late September this year, we got to play just such a gig. It was fundraiser show for the Glenwood Sunday Market in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and it was my first introduction to the concept of “glamping” (def: <span class="st">To camp in style, comfort, and/or luxury while still experiencing the great outdoors; to go glamping).</span></p>
<p><span class="st">We set up in this amazing backyard and played under the stars and the beautiful lights and then sat down to an absolutely delicious dinner prepared with ingredients from the Sunday Market (a farmers market). The wine, food, friendly people, and the atmosphere led to the whole thing being a beautiful night out. Now we just hope they ask us back next time!</span></p>
<p><span class="st">And, lucky for us, the fabulous Cara Spitzner was on hand to take this (and many other) gorgeous pictures of the whole evening.</span></p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555572013-10-08T16:56:00-04:002017-01-18T23:07:27-05:00New website / Journey through the past<p>First things first: I’m happy to announce that I/we have a new website! You can see it at <a href="http://www.mattlenny.com">www.mattlenny.com</a> and, thanks to Virb (the site builder I used), it’s totally mobile friendly and (I think) looks great. Social networks are probably the place most people will see anything info about the band, but it’s still nice to collect it all into one place.</p>
<p>And that’s the other thing that’s been interesting. Those of you who know me know that:</p>
<ol>
<li>I’ve recorded a <strong>lot</strong> of music over the years.</li>
<li>I’ve officially released/promoted very little of it.</li>
</ol><p>There a lot of reasons for the latter, but the biggest one is basically that I’m a relentless perfectionist. If we record 10 songs and I decide that 2 of them don’t live up to my notions of what they should be, I have a hard time promoting the whole set. I usually start writing new tunes, too, and then I think to myself, “If only I had waited to record these instead of [insert song I don’t love], then this album would be really good. I should wait until I can do that.” Or I might like the song, but feel like we failed to do it justice in the studio.</p>
<p>All of this, by the way, is usually completely disconnected from what my listeners actually think. In fact, in some cases, people single out as their favorite a song that I can no longer stand.</p>
<p>I can’t change the past, but I definitely need to be better about this in the future and try to remember that a recording is a snapshot of a moment in time rather than the ultimate statement of what a song is or isn’t.</p>
<p><strong>Anyway</strong>, in collecting everything into one place for the website, I ended up cataloguing all the original master tracks for everything I’ve recorded since 2005. And, in the process, I realized that there are tracks I really love that were part of albums I didn’t. Now, the world as a whole may disagree with me and say they’re no good and they range across a variety of styles (all subsets of rock/folk/blues) that might not equally appeal to everyone, but it was incredibly validating to hear it and realize that…well…I’m kinda proud of myself! I really didn’t just waste all that time! It didn’t bring me riches and fame or thousands of fans, but I made art. Real art. Flawed? For sure. But passionate and committed and…if I dare say so myself…not without some skill and degree of success.</p>
<p><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/8d63908ca5e98323d53b4b28ecaaa0b0/tumblr_inline_mud8fyz8Wm1rh5wep.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="image" /></p>
<p>So, I’ve collected my favorites into a FREE collection entitled, “The Unexplorer - Odds & Ends (2005 - 2011)”. <a href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/the-unexplorer-odds-ends-2005-2010" target="_blank">You can get it here and I really hope you enjoy it.</a> I know I did and sometimes I forget that the joy of it all is the point, the original dream, and the reward all in one.</p>
<p>Onward!</p>
<p>-Matt Lenny / The Elm City Council</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499532013-10-08T16:56:00-04:002018-04-06T04:29:40-04:00New website / Journey through the past<p>First things first: I’m happy to announce that I/we have a new website! You can see it at <a href="http://www.mattlenny.com">www.mattlenny.com</a> and, thanks to Virb (the site builder I used), it’s totally mobile friendly and (I think) looks great. Social networks are probably the place most people will see anything info about the band, but it’s still nice to collect it all into one place.</p>
<p>And that’s the other thing that’s been interesting. Those of you who know me know that:</p>
<ol>
<li>I’ve recorded a <strong>lot</strong> of music over the years.</li>
<li>I’ve officially released/promoted very little of it.</li>
</ol><p>There a lot of reasons for the latter, but the biggest one is basically that I’m a relentless perfectionist. If we record 10 songs and I decide that 2 of them don’t live up to my notions of what they should be, I have a hard time promoting the whole set. I usually start writing new tunes, too, and then I think to myself, “If only I had waited to record these instead of [insert song I don’t love], then this album would be really good. I should wait until I can do that.” Or I might like the song, but feel like we failed to do it justice in the studio.</p>
<p>All of this, by the way, is usually completely disconnected from what my listeners actually think. In fact, in some cases, people single out as their favorite a song that I can no longer stand.</p>
<p>I can’t change the past, but I definitely need to be better about this in the future and try to remember that a recording is a snapshot of a moment in time rather than the ultimate statement of what a song is or isn’t.</p>
<p><strong>Anyway</strong>, in collecting everything into one place for the website, I ended up cataloguing all the original master tracks for everything I’ve recorded since 2005. And, in the process, I realized that there are tracks I really love that were part of albums I didn’t. Now, the world as a whole may disagree with me and say they’re no good and they range across a variety of styles (all subsets of rock/folk/blues) that might not equally appeal to everyone, but it was incredibly validating to hear it and realize that…well…I’m kinda proud of myself! I really didn’t just waste all that time! It didn’t bring me riches and fame or thousands of fans, but I made art. Real art. Flawed? For sure. But passionate and committed and…if I dare say so myself…not without some skill and degree of success.</p>
<p><img src="//33.media.tumblr.com/8d63908ca5e98323d53b4b28ecaaa0b0/tumblr_inline_mud8fyz8Wm1rh5wep.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="image" /></p>
<p>So, I’ve collected my favorites into a FREE collection entitled, “The Unexplorer - Odds & Ends (2005 - 2011)”. <a href="https://mattlenny.bandcamp.com/album/the-unexplorer-odds-ends-2005-2010" target="_blank">You can get it here and I really hope you enjoy it.</a> I know I did and sometimes I forget that the joy of it all is the point, the original dream, and the reward all in one.</p>
<p>Onward!</p>
<p>-Matt Lenny / The Elm City Council</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555582013-10-03T14:38:54-04:002017-01-18T23:07:27-05:00Classic country and #blues gig tonight. Getting in a quick warm...<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 400px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div>
</div>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/fA5YNdHFsC/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A video posted by The Elm City Council (@mattlenny)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2013-10-03T17:41:37+00:00">Oct 3, 2013 at 10:41am PDT</time></p>
</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><br><br><p>Classic country and #blues gig tonight. Getting in a quick warm up!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499542013-10-03T14:38:54-04:002015-09-10T17:32:14-04:00Classic country and #blues gig tonight. Getting in a quick warm...<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 400px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div>
</div>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://instagram.com/p/fA5YNdHFsC/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_top">A video posted by The Elm City Council (@mattlenny)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2013-10-03T17:41:37+00:00">Oct 3, 2013 at 10:41am PDT</time></p>
</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><br><br><p>Classic country and #blues gig tonight. Getting in a quick warm up!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555592013-06-07T12:31:10-04:002017-01-18T23:07:27-05:00
What the city is missing: Thierry Cohen photographs cityscapes...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/a64da5afa252352b9cbd2d6f8a7b58f0/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso2_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> San Francisco<br><br> <img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/3540fd155bfce0676bbd3031850cb289/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Paris<br><br> <img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/7450eba435b043c74ebdbc0ef4d9f327/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso5_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Tokyo<br><br> <img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/13c9ba60db99f323f5e4081b31b397f9/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso6_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Los Angeles<br><br> <img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/b95c064b89021bbfd43d426d3b9f87ff/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso9_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Hong Kong<br><br> <img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/70395b693219c8c0ef1377efc0e8c396/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso7_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Rio de Janeiro<br><br> <img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/70cd93c314350e2c8810cce2f8233623/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso8_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> New York City<br><br> <blockquote>
<p><strong>What the city is missing:</strong> <a href="http://thierrycohen.com/">Thierry Cohen</a> photographs cityscapes and then photographs deserts at night, combing the two to show us what our cities would look like with the lights off. The stars are not enhanced, they are actual photos from relative latitudes that would expose the same starry sky view if it weren’t for light pollution. Click on each photo to see which city it is.</p>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499552013-06-07T12:31:10-04:002021-06-29T23:19:18-04:00
What the city is missing: Thierry Cohen photographs cityscapes...<img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/a64da5afa252352b9cbd2d6f8a7b58f0/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso2_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> San Francisco<br><br> <img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/3540fd155bfce0676bbd3031850cb289/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Paris<br><br> <img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/7450eba435b043c74ebdbc0ef4d9f327/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso5_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Tokyo<br><br> <img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/13c9ba60db99f323f5e4081b31b397f9/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso6_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Los Angeles<br><br> <img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/b95c064b89021bbfd43d426d3b9f87ff/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso9_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Hong Kong<br><br> <img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/70395b693219c8c0ef1377efc0e8c396/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso7_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> Rio de Janeiro<br><br> <img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/70cd93c314350e2c8810cce2f8233623/tumblr_mm3telgtXQ1qzxhoso8_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> New York City<br><br> <blockquote>
<p><strong>What the city is missing:</strong> <a href="http://thierrycohen.com/">Thierry Cohen</a> photographs cityscapes and then photographs deserts at night, combing the two to show us what our cities would look like with the lights off. The stars are not enhanced, they are actual photos from relative latitudes that would expose the same starry sky view if it weren’t for light pollution. Click on each photo to see which city it is.</p>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555602013-06-07T12:27:45-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00fred-wilson:
yup, this is all kinds of...<iframe width="400" height="300" id="youtube_iframe" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RmHhVEj3n1U?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://fredwilson.vc/post/52371220559/yup-this-is-all-kinds-of-awesome">fred-wilson</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>yup, this is all kinds of awesome. </p>
<p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://davehyndman.tumblr.com/post/52370485207/a-father-and-his-2-year-old-dont-let-me">davehyndman</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>A father and his 2 year old - <em>Don’t Let Me Down</em> (The Beatles)</strong></p>
<p>This is all kinds of awesome.</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499562013-06-07T12:27:45-04:002015-09-10T17:32:14-04:00fred-wilson:
yup, this is all kinds of...<iframe width="400" height="300" id="youtube_iframe" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RmHhVEj3n1U?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://fredwilson.vc/post/52371220559/yup-this-is-all-kinds-of-awesome">fred-wilson</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>yup, this is all kinds of awesome. </p>
<p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://davehyndman.tumblr.com/post/52370485207/a-father-and-his-2-year-old-dont-let-me">davehyndman</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>A father and his 2 year old - <em>Don’t Let Me Down</em> (The Beatles)</strong></p>
<p>This is all kinds of awesome.</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555612013-06-05T01:23:29-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00This<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/c111c38fb7b7505a947d66b8759387e0/tumblr_mnwhuilMUB1qzpsuoo1_500.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p>This</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499572013-06-05T01:23:29-04:002017-01-16T12:20:39-05:00This<img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/c111c38fb7b7505a947d66b8759387e0/tumblr_mnwhuilMUB1qzpsuoo1_500.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p>This</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555622013-05-27T16:32:39-04:002017-02-05T16:58:12-05:00prostheticknowledge:
Quotidian Record
Data sonification: a...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/1c734ded667cab676c6546e3f8d42692/tumblr_mnf8llW24U1qav3uso2_r1_500.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/eb8fb1f8f4a95966b858dea54c841c49/tumblr_mnf8llW24U1qav3uso1_500.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/050af2a8ba85114a1ff90641053f10d5/tumblr_mnf8llW24U1qav3uso3_500.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><p><a href="http://prostheticknowledge.tumblr.com/post/51415133410/quotidian-record-data-sonification-a-years" class="tumblr_blog">prostheticknowledge</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Quotidian Record </strong></p>
<p>Data sonification: a years worth of location data turned into electronic music, by <a href="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/" title="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/">Brian House</a>. Video embedded below:</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/48919422?color=ffffff" width="500"></iframe></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Quotidian Record</em> is a limited edition vinyl recording that features a continuous year of my location-tracking data. Each place I visited, from home to work, from a friend’s apartment to a foreign city, is mapped to a harmonic relationship. 1 day is 1 rotation … 365 days is ~11 minutes.<br><br>As the record turns, the markings on the platter indicate both the time as it rotates through every 24 hours and the names of the cities to which I travel. The sound suggests that our habitual patterns have inherent musical qualities, and that daily rhythms might form an emergent portrait of an individual.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/" title="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/">More Here</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Very cool</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499582013-05-27T16:32:39-04:002017-02-04T23:19:43-05:00prostheticknowledge:
Quotidian Record
Data sonification: a...<img src="//33.media.tumblr.com/1c734ded667cab676c6546e3f8d42692/tumblr_mnf8llW24U1qav3uso2_r1_500.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//38.media.tumblr.com/eb8fb1f8f4a95966b858dea54c841c49/tumblr_mnf8llW24U1qav3uso1_500.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><img src="//33.media.tumblr.com/050af2a8ba85114a1ff90641053f10d5/tumblr_mnf8llW24U1qav3uso3_500.gif" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br> <br><p><a href="http://prostheticknowledge.tumblr.com/post/51415133410/quotidian-record-data-sonification-a-years" class="tumblr_blog">prostheticknowledge</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Quotidian Record </strong></p>
<p>Data sonification: a years worth of location data turned into electronic music, by <a href="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/" title="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/">Brian House</a>. Video embedded below:</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/48919422?color=ffffff" width="500"></iframe></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Quotidian Record</em> is a limited edition vinyl recording that features a continuous year of my location-tracking data. Each place I visited, from home to work, from a friend’s apartment to a foreign city, is mapped to a harmonic relationship. 1 day is 1 rotation … 365 days is ~11 minutes.<br><br>As the record turns, the markings on the platter indicate both the time as it rotates through every 24 hours and the names of the cities to which I travel. The sound suggests that our habitual patterns have inherent musical qualities, and that daily rhythms might form an emergent portrait of an individual.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/" title="http://brianhouse.net/works/quotidian_record/">More Here</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Very cool</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555632013-05-27T14:31:11-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00pantslessprogressive:
Via Ezra Klein, today is a good day to...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/5b6c7fbcdf19bd961eb165a49a7c4b57/tumblr_mngwvwFI5h1qzr73ro1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://pantslessprogressive.tumblr.com/post/51486623547/via-ezra-klein-today-is-a-good-day-to-remember">pantslessprogressive</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Via <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/27/america-is-the-only-rich-country-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid-vacation-or-holidays/">Ezra Klein</a>, today is a good day to remember that the U.S. is the only advanced country that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation days and paid holidays. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/27/america-is-the-only-rich-country-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid-vacation-or-holidays/">About a quarter of U.S. workers don’t receive paid time off.</a> </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, low-income employees and part-time employees are less likely to get paid time off, with less than half of low-income workers receiving paid vacation days. <span>And let’s not forget that approximately </span><span></span><a href="http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=30eb717c-6ad5-4206-8d41-49506b5285ef">7.26 million Americans work more than one job</a><span>. [<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/27/america-is-the-only-rich-country-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid-vacation-or-holidays/">Wonkblog</a>]</span></p>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499592013-05-27T14:31:11-04:002017-01-16T12:20:39-05:00pantslessprogressive:
Via Ezra Klein, today is a good day to...<img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/5b6c7fbcdf19bd961eb165a49a7c4b57/tumblr_mngwvwFI5h1qzr73ro1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://pantslessprogressive.tumblr.com/post/51486623547/via-ezra-klein-today-is-a-good-day-to-remember">pantslessprogressive</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Via <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/27/america-is-the-only-rich-country-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid-vacation-or-holidays/">Ezra Klein</a>, today is a good day to remember that the U.S. is the only advanced country that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation days and paid holidays. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/27/america-is-the-only-rich-country-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid-vacation-or-holidays/">About a quarter of U.S. workers don’t receive paid time off.</a> </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, low-income employees and part-time employees are less likely to get paid time off, with less than half of low-income workers receiving paid vacation days. <span>And let’s not forget that approximately </span><span></span><a href="http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=30eb717c-6ad5-4206-8d41-49506b5285ef">7.26 million Americans work more than one job</a><span>. [<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/27/america-is-the-only-rich-country-that-doesnt-guarantee-paid-vacation-or-holidays/">Wonkblog</a>]</span></p>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555642013-05-25T00:23:52-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00devilduck:
A 19 year old Theodore Roosevelt during his freshman...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/da37eba0416ee1d5dcc89319f6f6caef/tumblr_mn4k7cdXpo1sn8lqro1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://devilduck.tumblr.com/post/51166237784/a-19-year-old-theodore-roosevelt-during-his">devilduck</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span>A 19 year old Theodore Roosevelt during his freshman year at Harvard in 1877.</span></p>
<p>“<span class="quote">If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.</span>”-Theodore Roosevelt</p>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499602013-05-25T00:23:52-04:002017-01-16T12:20:39-05:00devilduck:
A 19 year old Theodore Roosevelt during his freshman...<img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/da37eba0416ee1d5dcc89319f6f6caef/tumblr_mn4k7cdXpo1sn8lqro1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://devilduck.tumblr.com/post/51166237784/a-19-year-old-theodore-roosevelt-during-his">devilduck</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span>A 19 year old Theodore Roosevelt during his freshman year at Harvard in 1877.</span></p>
<p>“<span class="quote">If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.</span>”-Theodore Roosevelt</p>
</blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555652013-05-23T14:13:30-04:002018-03-11T07:46:27-04:00staff:
Stay in school, kids!<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/14f5ebd3b725a0b4a3a52b7446b2bbd5/tumblr_mn82ynOVx61qhub34o1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a href="http://staff.tumblr.com/post/51160643377/stay-in-school-kids" class="tumblr_blog">staff</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Stay in school, kids!</p></blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499612013-05-23T14:13:30-04:002021-06-26T17:55:01-04:00staff:
Stay in school, kids!<img src="//36.media.tumblr.com/14f5ebd3b725a0b4a3a52b7446b2bbd5/tumblr_mn82ynOVx61qhub34o1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a href="http://staff.tumblr.com/post/51160643377/stay-in-school-kids" class="tumblr_blog">staff</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Stay in school, kids!</p></blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555662013-05-08T22:46:39-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00vintagegal:
“The Serenade” by B. Wennerberg, 1914
Lobsters...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/96f293df5ab043bc515eb4809ed538da/tumblr_mkzvw3mKiD1qa70eyo1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a href="http://vintagegal.tumblr.com/post/49977407606/the-serenade-by-b-wennerberg-1914" class="tumblr_blog">vintagegal</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The Serenade” by B. Wennerberg, 1914 </p></blockquote>
<p>Lobsters and banjos and bathing beauties. Makes perfect sense!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499622013-05-08T22:46:39-04:002017-01-16T12:20:40-05:00vintagegal:
“The Serenade” by B. Wennerberg, 1914
Lobsters...<img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/96f293df5ab043bc515eb4809ed538da/tumblr_mkzvw3mKiD1qa70eyo1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a href="http://vintagegal.tumblr.com/post/49977407606/the-serenade-by-b-wennerberg-1914" class="tumblr_blog">vintagegal</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The Serenade” by B. Wennerberg, 1914 </p></blockquote>
<p>Lobsters and banjos and bathing beauties. Makes perfect sense!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555672013-05-08T20:00:32-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00chrisgoesrock:
Faces Billboard Magazine Advertise 1971
Was...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/22fafd575358924e47007ec3388ca340/tumblr_mmgy1zgAW51s3w3ano1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://chrisgoesrock.tumblr.com/post/49920662223/faces-billboard-magazine-advertise-1971">chrisgoesrock</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Faces</strong> Billboard Magazine Advertise 1971</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Was just listening to this today!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499632013-05-08T20:00:32-04:002017-01-16T12:20:40-05:00chrisgoesrock:
Faces Billboard Magazine Advertise 1971
Was...<img src="//40.media.tumblr.com/22fafd575358924e47007ec3388ca340/tumblr_mmgy1zgAW51s3w3ano1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://chrisgoesrock.tumblr.com/post/49920662223/faces-billboard-magazine-advertise-1971">chrisgoesrock</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Faces</strong> Billboard Magazine Advertise 1971</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Was just listening to this today!</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555682013-05-05T12:36:01-04:002017-01-18T23:07:28-05:00"When you eat a McDonald’s hamburger, you are casting a vote for a certain kind of agricultural..."“When you eat a McDonald’s hamburger, you are casting a vote for a certain kind of agricultural system, and for a certain kind of climate. In a sense, everything we do casts a vote for a certain kind of world.”<br><br> - <em>Malcolm Gladwell in “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits”</em>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499642013-05-05T12:36:01-04:002015-09-10T17:32:15-04:00"When you eat a McDonald’s hamburger, you are casting a vote for a certain kind of agricultural..."“When you eat a McDonald’s hamburger, you are casting a vote for a certain kind of agricultural system, and for a certain kind of climate. In a sense, everything we do casts a vote for a certain kind of world.”<br><br> - <em>Malcolm Gladwell in “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits”</em>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555692013-05-04T19:12:32-04:002017-01-18T23:07:29-05:00"Workaholics are driven by fear, and I have not found myself in a position where I need to spend six..."“<p>Workaholics are driven by fear, and I have not found myself in a position where I need to spend six or eight more hours at work because I’m trying to make everything okay.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>If you’re in this frame of mind and need control, being a workaholic is a socially acceptable way to try to achieve that. Your boss thinks it’s great, and you can get a raise for doing it. In the short run, it works really well because you can — at some level — control what you’re doing and keep pushing the ball forward. You get into trouble when you get better at your work, and there’s an increase in the number of people who want to interact with you and have you do more. So this kind of working method doesn’t scale— you end up exploding.</p>
<p>The people who are doing great art and having an impact on the world aren’t approaching their work in this way. I recently did an interview with the architect Michael Graves. Michael Graves works a lot. He’s been in a wheelchair for more than seven years. He would be excused if he decided to scale back now after what’s been an amazing career. But, instead, he’s working on a multibillion-dollar development in Singapore, etc., etc. If you look at the way Michael works, he brings a good heart and the right attitudes to his projects at all times. He is doing important work — work that changes things. But he’s not a workaholic because he’s not doing it defensively. He’s doing it productively.</p>”<br><br> - <em>Seth Godin from “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits”</em>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499652013-05-04T19:12:32-04:002015-09-10T17:32:15-04:00"Workaholics are driven by fear, and I have not found myself in a position where I need to spend six..."“<p>Workaholics are driven by fear, and I have not found myself in a position where I need to spend six or eight more hours at work because I’m trying to make everything okay.</p>
<p>[…]</p>
<p>If you’re in this frame of mind and need control, being a workaholic is a socially acceptable way to try to achieve that. Your boss thinks it’s great, and you can get a raise for doing it. In the short run, it works really well because you can — at some level — control what you’re doing and keep pushing the ball forward. You get into trouble when you get better at your work, and there’s an increase in the number of people who want to interact with you and have you do more. So this kind of working method doesn’t scale— you end up exploding.</p>
<p>The people who are doing great art and having an impact on the world aren’t approaching their work in this way. I recently did an interview with the architect Michael Graves. Michael Graves works a lot. He’s been in a wheelchair for more than seven years. He would be excused if he decided to scale back now after what’s been an amazing career. But, instead, he’s working on a multibillion-dollar development in Singapore, etc., etc. If you look at the way Michael works, he brings a good heart and the right attitudes to his projects at all times. He is doing important work — work that changes things. But he’s not a workaholic because he’s not doing it defensively. He’s doing it productively.</p>”<br><br> - <em>Seth Godin from “Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits”</em>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555702013-04-23T20:45:46-04:002017-01-18T23:07:29-05:00The future according to Mr Google (great piece by The Guardian)<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/20/eric-schmidt-google-alan-rusbridger?goback=%2Egde_3701017_member_234355968">The future according to Mr Google (great piece by The Guardian)</a>: <p><a href="http://www.thefuturesagency.com/post/48638411855/the-future-according-to-mr-google-great-piece-by-the" class="tumblr_blog">futuresagency</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“There’s a lot of discussion in the world about the two billion that are connected,” he says. “We spend all day talking about the issues of e-commerce and start-ups and globalisation and so forth, and we forget that the majority of people are not online and that they will come online, the majority of them in the next five years. “It’s going to happen very fast. It’s going to happen in countries which don’t have the same principles that we in America have from the British legal system – around law and privacy and those sorts of things. All sorts of crazy stuff is going to happen. Human societies can’t change that fast without both good and negative implications.” April 22, 2013 at 12:53PM</p></blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499662013-04-23T20:45:46-04:002021-07-14T14:35:17-04:00The future according to Mr Google (great piece by The Guardian)<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/20/eric-schmidt-google-alan-rusbridger?goback=%2Egde_3701017_member_234355968">The future according to Mr Google (great piece by The Guardian)</a>: <p><a href="http://www.thefuturesagency.com/post/48638411855/the-future-according-to-mr-google-great-piece-by-the" class="tumblr_blog">futuresagency</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“There’s a lot of discussion in the world about the two billion that are connected,” he says. “We spend all day talking about the issues of e-commerce and start-ups and globalisation and so forth, and we forget that the majority of people are not online and that they will come online, the majority of them in the next five years. “It’s going to happen very fast. It’s going to happen in countries which don’t have the same principles that we in America have from the British legal system – around law and privacy and those sorts of things. All sorts of crazy stuff is going to happen. Human societies can’t change that fast without both good and negative implications.” April 22, 2013 at 12:53PM</p></blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555712013-04-23T17:31:02-04:002017-01-18T23:07:29-05:00Future Tech Report: How To Save the World & Impress Your Boss This Earth Day<a href="http://futuretechreport.com/post/48645523197/how-to-save-the-world-impress-your-boss-this-earth">Future Tech Report: How To Save the World & Impress Your Boss This Earth Day</a>: <p><a href="http://futuretechreport.com/post/48645523197/how-to-save-the-world-impress-your-boss-this-earth" class="tumblr_blog">futuretechreport</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Greening Data Centers Using Application Aware Software</em></p>
<p>by Tom Emrich</p>
<p>When we think of saving the environment, especially on a day like Earth day - we immediately gravitate towards what we can do at home: turning off the lights, keeping the heat and A/C to a minimum and unplugging appliances…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Awesome. I’ll have to check that out. It’s truly amazing how much waste there is just from data centers.</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499672013-04-23T17:31:02-04:002021-07-13T11:55:55-04:00Future Tech Report: How To Save the World & Impress Your Boss This Earth Day<a href="http://futuretechreport.com/post/48645523197/how-to-save-the-world-impress-your-boss-this-earth">Future Tech Report: How To Save the World & Impress Your Boss This Earth Day</a>: <p><a href="http://futuretechreport.com/post/48645523197/how-to-save-the-world-impress-your-boss-this-earth" class="tumblr_blog">futuretechreport</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Greening Data Centers Using Application Aware Software</em></p>
<p>by Tom Emrich</p>
<p>When we think of saving the environment, especially on a day like Earth day - we immediately gravitate towards what we can do at home: turning off the lights, keeping the heat and A/C to a minimum and unplugging appliances…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Awesome. I’ll have to check that out. It’s truly amazing how much waste there is just from data centers.</p>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/45555722013-04-23T14:15:41-04:002017-01-18T23:07:29-05:00amandapalmer:
what i am seeing all around me right now, in one...<img src="//68.media.tumblr.com/f03a4a17cd1e39849cdaddc3c348b913/tumblr_mlonmg3NOK1qzozjoo1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a href="http://amandapalmer.tumblr.com/post/48654987739/what-i-am-seeing-all-around-me-right-now-in-one" class="tumblr_blog">amandapalmer</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>what i am seeing all around me right now, in one simple diagram.</p></blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdowntag:mattlenny.com,2005:Post/38499682013-04-23T14:15:41-04:002017-01-16T12:20:40-05:00amandapalmer:
what i am seeing all around me right now, in one...<img src="//41.media.tumblr.com/f03a4a17cd1e39849cdaddc3c348b913/tumblr_mlonmg3NOK1qzozjoo1_500.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" /><br><br><p><a href="http://amandapalmer.tumblr.com/post/48654987739/what-i-am-seeing-all-around-me-right-now-in-one" class="tumblr_blog">amandapalmer</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>what i am seeing all around me right now, in one simple diagram.</p></blockquote>Matt Lenny & The Breakdown