Note to Fans from Matt Sharp - August 4, 2004

Matt Sharp posted a letter online on August 4, 2004 via the In Music We Trust website.
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===NOTE TO FANS FROM MATT SHARP===
August 4, 2004
i started this new year out by heading up north to visit my father's side of the family. i had not seen them in a long, long time. last time i was around 10 years old. i only have a few memories of that time, like, everyone smoking cigarettes on the airplane, having to wear these light blue t-shirts with an iron on that read "sharp family reunion" and my father in the back yard performing juggling tricks for a small audience during the family barbecue.
twenty some years have past since then and here i'm am at the top of two thousand four, in a rental car, driving off with my father to find his old childhood friend, fred. we rolled down the back streets of modesto, california on a rainy night until we found fred's house deep in the feilds of a modesto vinyard.
i sat and listened as the two recounted their childhood days with all these nostalgic stories about a time that seems to have long since past in america. a time long before the two friends splintered off into different directions.
my father's adventures took him from his rural colorado roots through ivy leauge universties, onto war time thailand, before eventually landing in suburbs of washington d.c. . on the other hand, fred, took another route. persuing the life, the real life, of the american cowboy, living day to day in a world of rodeos, covered wagons and life on the open american plains.
no b.s.
i could see my father looking to him with great admiration for choosing his own path and paving his own way in life. most boys fantasize of that very life, but few of us follow through with all those dreams.
as the night rolled on my father's friend and his wife casually sang to us. one on the banjo, the other with an acoustic. they sang traditional songs, songs from the old west, songs about old lonesome cowboys dying by the campfire. with great pride my father urged me on to join into this song circle. resitant and apprehensive, i was flooded with all these feelings of being such a monumental faker.
and so it goes ...and so it went ...i played "goodbye west coast" and this new one called "safe harbor" ...then returned to the search for something simple and pure.
i'm not saying i want to be a country singer ...but, i would like to find my way to something that falls easy on the ears.
in the first months of two thousand four and i have found myself pushing through to the future while opening doors from back deep in the past.
so, before i say goodbye, i'd liked to share with you what's going on with my friends from past, present and a few thoughts i have on the future.
kind regards,
matt
====ALBUM RELEASE====
too many thoughts, too many people to thank, too too too too much ...i could spend a whole lifetime
andy, greg, josh, curt, brendan, james, dave, ed, bryan, steve, fernando, michael and alex
those are just a few of the great people who are responsible for the recent release of the debut
all these people have my eternal gratitude for making this record a reality.
but, i look to alex at in music we trust (In Music We Trust) and i'll never be able to thank him enough for being has such a good friend. alex was the first one to stand up for the music that josh, greg, andy and myself made at 4212 old hillsboro road.
the unwavering support of mr steininger has paved the way for various possible international versions of the album this winter.
we'll give you a heads up on all that when the time comes.
introducing GOLDENBOY
goldenboy is a band you should know, goldenboy is a band you should throw your arms around, goldenboy is a band you should be gentle with, they are a band you should love with tenderness, you should make them breakfast in the morning and bring them a cup of coffee with the morning news.
if you have not had a chance to hear their debut "Blue Swan Orchestra", you should, it's brilliant and it will bring you into a warm and atmospheric place.
they were kind enough to let me pick out two of my favorites from the album, to share with you, so, with no futher adieu .i'd like to introduce to you ..goldenboy:
"Twenty Months in a Hailstorm" (MP3) and "Almost Perfect" (MP3)
as for their history, i'll let them try to and let them explain, here's an interview with their creative center, Shon Sullivan: http://www.stayfun.co.uk/features/goldenboy.shtm
and for all other things "goldenboy" go to : www.goldenboy.ws
====2004 AMERICAN FALL TOUR====
i'm so happy to announce that i'm returning to the road with goldenboy at my side. trying to make myself useful during the goldenboy songs. this round, i'm going to get off the stool i've been sitting from the past tours and try to stand up straight and face the optimism that byran and shon are bringing to a new day.
Tour dates:
9/20/2004 MONDAY
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Academy of Art
491 Post St (at Post & Mason)
San Francisco, CA
cover: $8
ages: a/a, open to the public
9/22/04 WEDNESDAY
WOW HALL
291 W 8th St
Eugene, OR 97401
ph 541.687.2746
cover: $8/$10
9/23/04 THURSDAY
ASH STREET SALOON
225 SW Ash St
Portland, OR 97204
ph 503.226.0430
cover: $5
ages: 21+
9/24/04 FRIDAY
THE MEDIA CLUB
895 Cambie St
Vancouver, BC
ph 604.608.2871
themediaclub.ca
cover: $10/$12 CDN
ages: 19+
9/25/04 SATURDAY
LOGAN'S
Victoria BC
Ph 250.360.2711
1821 Cook St.
Victoria BC
cover: $12 CDN
ages: 19+
9/26/04 SUNDAY
Seattle Sonic Boom Records
Ballard Location
2209 NW Market St
Seattle, WA 98107
206.297.BOOM
sonicboomrecords.com
Spokane, WA
cover: free
time: 6pm
9/29/04 WEDNESDAY
KILBY COURT GALLERY
741 South 330 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
ph 801.320.9887
kilbycourt.com
ages: all
10/1/04 FRIDAY
KNICKERBOCKERS
901 O St
Lincoln, NE 68508
ph 402 476-6865
cover: $8/$10
ages: 18+
10/2/04 SATURDAY
THE MAINTENANCE SHOP
Iowa State University Memorial Union Rm 007
Ames, IA 50011
ph 515 294-2758
cover: $9/$11, $10/$12
ages: all ages
10/4/04 MONDAY
SOUTH BALLROOM
Purdue Memorial Student Union
West Lafayette, IN 47906
cover: $8 students/$13 GA
ages: all
10/5/04 TUESDAY
BOTTOM LOUNGE
3206 N Wilton
Chicago, IL 60657
ph 773.975.0505
mpshows.com
cover: $10
ages: 18+
10/9/04 SATURDAY
KRESGE RECITAL HALL KNOX COLLEGE
Center for the Fine Arts Knox College
2 E South St
Galesburg, IL 61401
ph 309.341.7000
cover: free
ages: all
10/13/04 WEDNESDAY
HORSESHOE TAVERN
370 Queen St West
Toronto ONT M5V 2A2
atgconcerts.com
onstage: tba
10/15/04 FRIDAY
New York, CMJ: THE LIVINGROOM
cmj.com
New York
10/17/04 SUNDAY
MAXWELLS
1039 Washington St
Hoboken, NJ 07030
ph 201 798-0406
cover: $10
ages: all
doors:
onstage:
tour dates flyer
MattSharp and Goldenboy Show -- official press release
last may, karl koch caught these few photographs of the first show we played together, when i sat in as a guest at the goldenboy resedency at "tangier" in los feliz.
Matt Sharp and Bryan Bos (of Goldenboy)
Matt Sharp on the Moog
Matt Sharp, Bryan Bos, and Shon Sullivan
Matt Sharp (blurry) with his Weezer Black Bass
Matt Sharp with Goldenboy - plus horns!
====KARLOPHONE====
man of many talents, long lost friend, 5th weezer member, archivist and =w= historian karl koch is not only stealthy with a a camera, but he has also recently released a new single on vinyl under the "Karlophone" moniker. the single is titled "desire" it's a truly suave lounge dj type affair that will brighten up your summer days. (official KARLOPHONE website)
====THE RENTALS DVD====
have you ever tried testing your manhood by seeing how many low carb chocolate chip cookies you can eat? ...this is something you shouldn't do!
this is unfortunately, is just what karl and i have been up to, that and archiving all "The Rentals" footage we can find, both things are challenges in their own way, the former due to the fact that they smell and taste vaguely of burning plastic and the latter, because it's tough to find some footage, any footage at all, where i don't act like a "shitty little bitch".
regardless, we push through with the distant dream of putting it all together into a cohesive long form DVD for The Rentals. it could take some time, so in the meanwhile, karl and i wanted to give you an early first look at some of the possible images we may use if it all comes together one day.
here are three clips we found from the final tour of japan:
Tour Clip #1 (coming soon...) (Editor's note: these links were never published)
Tour Clip #2 (coming soon...)
Tour Clip #3 (coming soon...)
for those of you who never had a chance to see us, here a chance to spend some time with miss lisa, carrie, justin, mick and Garvy J
====GARVY J.====
you may know about josh hager from the elevator drops, touring with the rentals or his work helping produce the music we recorded together in leiper fork. but, what you really should know is what lays ahead for josh.
the news is, Josh is heading west to work under the name of Garvy J. from what i understand he'll be here putting the finishing sparkle on their debut album. while were traveling together last year i got a chance to hear a few early demo versions of the Garvy J. record in our trust wenebego, all the ideas i heard worked so well with the wide-open landscapes.
in the end, Garvy J. will find its place in the sun, because it's just too beautiful not to.
my favorite of all the songs, i've heard so far is called "Break You"
you can find out more at Garvy J.
so, take him in to your hearts and homes, but be warned, if you let him stay the night, by the time you wake the next morning you will find more bootleg programs down loaded on to your computer than you could possibly imagine.
====LIVE FROM INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY====
here's a video clip from the tour last spring at indiana state, this is probably the last completely solo show i'll do for awhile. bouts of insomnia, reading out loud from the johnny cash autobiography, long drives and taco bell are most of my memories from that short tour.
this song, barcelona, i play very rarely, but decided to give a try on a very windy and optimistic evening in indiana.
live clip of Barcelona @ Indiana State University (coming soon...)
although, i think i prefer this version in some ways to the chaos of the 7MM version, although, i still really miss maya vocals from the original.
====MAYA RUDOLPH====
Maya and I started this recording of "Not Tonight."
When she had a little time off from her crazy Saturday Night Live schedule. we got good and looped on coffee flavored tequila at the home of James and Laura Saez. I think this the most natural, at ease and relaxed I've ever heard Maya sound. that is why I wanted to share this rough mix with you.
we intially intended this to just be a gift for Sara. although, later I had the idea of putting out a polished version as a seven inch with a cover of "When I Get Up" on the flip side, I recorded a few versions of Tegan's song with Paul Dugre, but my guitar playing was rusty and I had just lost the plot in my own fumbling way.
so to not let that fine tequila drenched day go down in debt, i've included this ulta rough mix with my backround vocals and guitar, danny frankel on the drums and percussion, james saez at the engineering helm and tapping on the glockenspiel and miss rudy singing the lead vocal.
Miya and Matt doing a cover of "Not Tonight"
====TEGAN AND SARA====
speaking of lady T. and lady S. Last March, I went to vancouver for a couple days, slept on sara's couch for a few hours here and there inbetween a couple long visits to the studio, i had to get a fancy work permit, i started feeling so suave and strangely professional. i started wearing this white sport coat until some annoying worker at starbucks said i looked like i was on maimi vice.
maybe i did bring a little don johnson to their record, i don't know ...there's probably a little of that in there somewhere, along with some of my new elka synth quietly floating around, off in the distance.
such a foggy time, so many good songs, so listen up!
====THE NEW TEGAN AND SARA RECORD IS TITLED "SO JEALOUS" AND IS GOING TO BE RELEASED SOON:====
Sept 13: UK/Europe/Scandanavia/Australia
Sept 14: Canada and US
Oct 20: Japan
here some of the photos i took of my personal heroes while we were on the road together last winter:
Tegan and Sarah photo #1
Tegan and Sarah photo #2
Tegan and Sarah photo #3
Tegan and Sarah photo #4
Tegan and Sarah photo #5
Tegan and Sarah photo #6
Tegan and Sarah photo #7
for all the rest go to www.teganandsara.com
====SPECIAL GOODNESS====
frisbee, shuffle board, and gi joe cartoons filled up the night i spent at mr. wilson's palace of leisure. "we drank a whiskey drink, we drank a lager drink, we sang the songs that remind of the good times, we sang the songs that remind of the bad times" ...said that band from some time back and so it goes ...and so it went
we spoke of the unrealised potential of our very first collabration "get people to buy what they don't need" ...we always come back to that one ...i don't remember if it even had a verse or not, but it was our big ticket out.
he was a good man back in the day, seems to be an even better man now
it had been a long time since i'd seen pat. ...he now goes golfing with joey santiago ...insane
this video karl put together should let you in on why you should let pat and the special goodness trick out your car and rock your life.
Karl's Life Goes By - The Directors Cut mpeg download!
if somehow you've missed out on the Special Goodness go to: (thespecialgoodness.com)
====BRYAN BOS====
my gal and i have recently decided that bryan is one that you should put on your short list of the world's greatest people. you should put him in that upper echelon right alongside michael ringer, brendan bourke and possibly even eddie izzard.
alex at in music we trust introduced me to bryan when i was looking for an art director for the puckett's e.p.
if you didn't know, byran is the right hand man in the duo of goldenboy adding percussion, keyboards and backing vocals to their sweet sweetness, that's how this whole goldenboy connection got started.
anyways, bryan is the best designer / art director i've ever worked with and he's recently got his new web-site up and running, so get a closer look at his photography and design :
www.bryanbos.net
====LYRICS====
bryan was kind enough to take a few of my photographs from leipers fork and design these lyric sheets for each song
all those dreams
goodbye west coast
everytime in blue
just like movie stars
watch the weather break
let me pass
thoughts from a slow train
before you go
some days
some come running through
visions of anna
hey, what you gonna do?
====PHOTOBOOK====
when weezer was starting my mentor was a guy named bryan ray, he had big impact on me. he was a burly bear and he taught me lots of things.
bryan now, owns an indie book company. his company, "kill your idols", recently released this book titled "FUCKED UP AND PHOTOCOPIED" the book is a partial history of punk rock posters, flyers and artwork ...and it's mind blowing ...incredibly well done ...filled with righteousness ...and full of soul
bryan ray and i have reunited with he thought of releasing a collection of photographs i've taken over the last ten years.
all in all, the book will most likely contain many of the images that we've projected at the solo solo shows, as well as a few other moments that have been caught along the way.
we're thinking about a release in mid 2005, somewhere, if all goes well. ...i'll let you know more as we move along.
in the meanwhile we're planning on setting up a photogallery section to give you the first look (insert - photo gallery image)
here's a collage of images i've thought about including the nashville collage
====ASH====
if you are a big fan of the big rock, you'll love the new ash record "meltdown". their new album has recently been released and it's full on, all out festival of the rock. their new album was recorded here in los angeles at the same place we recorded the majority of the second weezer album and to make the circle complete i lended mark the orange bass ampilifier i used on pinkerton and believe me it was put to work the way it was always intended to be used, an enormous, big, beautiful wall of bass fuzz.
while ash was here, they were living the life of luxory in julia roberts 1980's palatial estate, no kidding, having these pool parties every night that would make p. diddy say damn!!! i remember "the darkness" being there and all that rock -n- roll. i never took any photos at that house, i wish i had, but, i did stop by the studio and take a few photos, which i heard they used on the inside of the european release.
Ash Songbook
Stringing the Bass
Tim in the Doorway
Tim solo in the live room
Charlotte's '77 punk poster
Charlotte the Gamer
Rick on Drums in Red
Mark in the Dark
Matt playing bass
Matt's Orange head
i just talked to tim and he said they are currently caught in the whirlwind of touring around their new record, so, to find out where they are at now and in the future go to: Ash's official web page - www.ash-official.com
you should also checkout, ash guitarist solo debut at doubledragonmusic.com ...she gave an advance me the 2nd night of coachella, i proceeded to lose it four seconds later on the way to see "belle and sebastien" in san diego. anyways, i just found it at this very moment, so, i'm listening to it for the first time as i write this to you.
====RIVERS====
in the short time we spent together last february, we had a quick and explosive creative period, where we went through 15 or 16 new song ideas, some good, some not so good, but i'm sure there were a few things in there we could have been proud of. unfortunately our own special brand of disfunctionality may keep us from giving this collabaration the proper attention anytime soon.
Matt & Rivers #1
Matt & Rivers #2
Matt & Rivers #3
Matt & Rivers #4
Matt & Rivers #5
Matt & Rivers #6
Matt & Rivers #7
Matt & Rivers #8
Matt & Rivers #9
Matt & Rivers #10
====FUTURE PLANS====
what now ? ,,,after this fall tour there is lots of talk of bringing "the matt sharp and goldenboy show" worldwide
i want to go find those futuristic euro-hotels, where there are no employees, there is no desk clerk, there is no maid ...all is clean and sterile ...all in a very stanley kubrick type way
many other things to come, that i can't speak of for fear of the jinx.
====THANKS====
god bless, long live, and all bow to steve and fernando.
mike tyson has been supposedly been couch hoping for the last few months.
see you soon,
m.
==See also==
*Matt Sharp / Rivers Cuomo album
*Matt Sharp
*Gallery:Photos from Matt Sharp letter 2004
==External links==
*Link to original post of the letter
Category:Matt Sharp
Category:Cuomo-Sharp collaborations
Category:Transcripts