Singer-songwriter talks about life and his music

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Singer-songwriter Matt Costa performed in the Wilkinson Center last Saturday, commanding the crowd using nothing more than his guitar. Famous for his low-key but powerful music, Costa has appeared on stages along with The Shins and Death Cab for Cutie and is on Jack Johnson’s music label, Brushfire Records.

Dressed in old jeans, boots and a T-shirt, Costa chatted with band members about songs he’s learning on the guitar and the Cafe Rio chicken salad he had for dinner. As Costa tuned his guitar throughout the interview, it was apparent that he was the kind of down-to-earth guy you would want to hang out with as he discussed books, YouTube videos and his love of eavesdropping.

DU: What’s the first CD you bought for yourself?

MC: The first CD I ever bought was a Queen Greatest Hits record. I went to K-Mart and bought it, and it was when CD’s came in the long cases so they could fit in record bins. I bought two CDs that day. I bought the Queen CD and the soundtrack to “White Men Can’t Jump.”

DU: Who would you say your biggest influences were growing up?

MC: I don’t know… the first songs I learned to play on the guitar were Nirvana songs. I remember learning “Come As You Are” and I still don’t think I can sing it and play it at the same time. I remember that was a challenge.

DU: You’ve played some really big festivals with successful artists. What’s that like? Is it still exciting or is it part of the lifestyle now?

MC: Well, they’re much more normal-sized in person than on stage. Because on stage they’re so small, when they’re far away. I like going to festivals because it’s an opportunity to see a lot of artists that I wouldn’t normally see. Classic ones like Tom Petty, that I wouldn’t get a chance to check out. Everyone’s in good spirits at those things so they’re always fun.

DU: As a child did you ever see yourself as a musician?

MC: As a kid I used to sing Michael Jackson songs into a little recorder, one of those Playskool microphones with the blue handle. I got the most kicks out of making feedback with the microphone rather than actually singing.

DU: What was your experience like the first time you ever recorded?

MC: The first time I only had about 15 minutes to record, I had time to do four songs. I had done stuff at my house on my four-track so I was familiar with it before I got in the studio. I recorded an EP, but it was quick. I haven’t listened to it in a while. I think I would be embarrassed if I did.

DU: Where do you get inspiration to write your songs?

MC: Eavesdropping. As you go through life you have a lot of experiences and you feel things a lot. Sometimes, you take it all in, you’ll be sitting somewhere and you will hear a conversation. You can transpose your own emotions from a situation similar to that one and then you have more stuff to work with.

DU: Is there a certain audience or age group that you write your music for?

MC: No, I just think, “does this sound good?”And if it does than I do that. It’s interesting because as you play more and more music you encounter people from across the world that you never would have expected to listen to your music. That’s pretty amazing to me, I don’t even try to plan it. I don’t think you could.

DU: On the road how do you and the band stay entertained?

MC: I do a lot of reading, I listen to podcasts and things. I like hearing stories, poetry or musical styles. Things like that. Or sometimes we just have bluegrass jams.

DU: Did you grow up in a house full of music?

MC: My parents had a record player but it didn’t have a needle on it. I had a record that my Grandma had given me, it had the song, “Great Balls of Fire” on it because I would always call into the radio station and request it. As a kid my parents would always listen to oldies stations. Since they were oldies I never really saw those people on TV so I never had images of who they were. They were always characters that I would imagine, I don’t even know what I thought they looked like. There weren’t even people, it was just a sound.

DU: Are there any contemporary artists that you’re listening to now?

MC: Yeah, I’ve been listening to this guy, his name is Michael Kiwanuka. I think he’s from England. I heard him on NPR radio, and when I heard it I thought it was some lost soul recording. I just thought it was really good. It was the last thing to really catch my ear.

DU: Your last album “Mobile Chateau” came out in 2010. Are you working on stuff now?

MC: I am, I’ve been writing a bunch of stuff. We’ll try to record it within the next six months.

DU: What’s your favorite YouTube movie?

MC: One that’s really good is the one with Michael Jackson, Prince and James Brown. It’s them performing, I think it’s a live show in the ’80s. It’s a James Brown show and crazy soul havoc breaks out. It’s a good one, you’ve got the check it out.

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