On Deck is a series of skateboard / art events as a non-profit organization under the umbrella of The Saratoga Institute. Their main focus is to support and facilitate funding and awareness for public skateboard parks in the Capital Region.

Their first event was held in Saratoga and was a rousing success. The main event was a showing and silent auction of over 70 artist’s paintings on skateboards. On Deck provided the boards and willing artists cut loose to raise money for skateboarding.

When notice came down that On Deck would be putting on a similar event to benefit the Lake George skate plaza, I decided to try my hand at making a board.

The result is the following board. The Braid Board. Made with Sharpies and Prismacolors over two days in August, 2012.

The board should be showing in the opening which is THIS Sunday, September 2nd from 12-5 at the Lake George Arts Project. Bidding for the boards starts that day and will continue online at the On Deck Lake George website throughout September.

The winner of the Braid Board will receive a download (or burned Compact Disc, if you prefer) of a companion piece of music for the work. This music will not be shared or used anywhere else and it is up to the owner to do with it what s/he pleases. The owner could choose to share it with the internet, the world, with friends, whatever.

I had a great time making this piece and I think the idea of it is going to be a blueprint for the next few batches of solo material from my world.

Here’s a first minute tease of the audio:

Clicking over to my With Etiquette profile page, you’ll find a mix of songs from many of my different recordings including instrumental versions of some older songs available now for simple licensing. There are also some unreleased bits and pieces in there, so feel free to utilize W.E.’s most excellent streaming player to check all that out.

This follows Rosary Beard going live on With Etiquette at the end of June. We have had nothing but great experiences with the W.E. folks and look forward to much, much more.

With Etiquette is remarkable on many levels:

For artists:
W.E. has discovered a unique way to find money for musicians where there might not have been money before. By curating a thoughtful, quality catalog, With Etiquette exudes the cornerstone of trust for those seeking great music for their creative projects.

W.E. succeeds when we succeed, so they are continually active and supportive of its artists by regularly tweeting and Facebook statusing (yes, I’m making it a verb) about shows, news and other happenings.

For creators:
W.E. has made it very easy for creators to discover and license fantastic new, independent music at the core of its implementation. The proper song can be discovered, licensed and put into use in seconds if need be.

W.E.’s “The Wizard” simplifies music discovery down to a few clicks, further simplifying W.E.’s already simple, playful user experience.

So if you’re seeking some music for your wedding video, your small business’s training video, your montage of summer fun photo video or your film festival submission look no further than With Etiquette – especially feel free to look here!

(rehearsing some lovely harmonies…)

We will be performing two Capital District area shows this week:

Thursday, June 7th // Putnam Den // Saratoga Springs, NY // 9:30PM (sharp) set time // w/Ben KN // FREE SHOW

Saturday, June 9th // Art on Lark // Albany, NY // Madison Ave. stage // 2PM (sharp) set time // other excellent acts listed here // FREE SHOW

The band this time around is:
Katie Hammon: voice & claps
Matthew Loiacono: electric guitar & voice
Mitch Masterson: bass guitar
Emily Stewart: voice & claps
Ian White: cymbal-less drumset

Our sets will feature at least three brand new songs, old unreleased songs, a few album songs and a few Katie Hammon songs as well.

This is an electric group! There’s a little bit of grit here!

It’s terribly fun.

Here are two self-explanatory categories for music released this year and some random superlative action. Y’all really have to slow down with the great records. I can barely keep up.

Enjoyed Well in 2011

LOW – C’mon
Danny Paul Grody – In Search of Light
Hallock Hill – The Union
Phantogram – Nightlife
Stephen Mathieu – A Static Place
Feist – Metals
Deaf Center – Owl Splinters

Loved, Obsessively in 2011

Frank Ocean – nostalgia, ULTRA.
Frank Ocean’s debut “album” came this year in the form of a free mixtape – a brief, but fulfilling exposition of Frank’s (formerly Chris Breaux) talent. In a similar way to how rappers use mixtapes to freestyle over hit beats of the day, this guy had the chutzpah to take songs from such varied artists as The Eagles, Coldplay, Mr. Hudson and even MGMT and rewrite them for his own as new songs. “Hotel California” re-imagined as a song about the sacrilege of American marriage? Wild. And it’s not just the “covers” here on this virtual tape, it’s the originals. “Songs For Women”, “Novacane”, “Dust” and “Swim Good” all shine with the promise of a well-versed young artist.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen – s/t
It’s been noted that this neo-classical “supergroup” is not treading any new ground on their Kranky debut. And while this notion might be true, this is nonetheless a timeless recording that may just leak into folks who might not normally dig “classical” music’s ears.

Bobby – Bobby
The music of Bobby comes from young minds that must be old musical souls. It was a given that I would listen to this album, what with the Mountain Man connection and all. But having Molly Erin Sarle sing as a foil to Tom Greenberg is just the welcome mat – this is a fantastic, beguiling album. Jazner did a great job here in dissecting the band’s music.

Nils Frahm – Felt
This album from Berlin producer/composer Nils Frahm is torrentially enveloping. By attempting to dampen the strings of his piano at home to avoid disturbing the neighbors, Nils discovered a mysterious world of errant noises in the hyper-amplified sound environment. A supreme listening experience on vinyl.

Grouper – A | A Alien Observer
Two full-length albums from Grouper in 2011? I’ll take them. Of the two, I’d pick Alien Observer as my favorite, but both are equally gorgeous and quietly disarming.

Top Musical Occurrences Witnessed in 2011

Jon Hopkins at EMPAC
RestFest Day 2 at St. Joe’s
We Were Jeneric / The Parlor unveiling at The Foundry

Long-Time Vinyl Scores in 2011

Ida – Will You Find Me
Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill

Albums to Look Forward to in 2012

Winterpills – All My Lovely Goners
The Red Lions album
Will Stratton – Post-Empire
Cuddle Magic – Info Nympho

Folks have been asking where they can pick up copies of the album – best case scenario / payment for me is through the Matthew Carefully Bandcamp page, where you can pick either the full 15-track soundtrack experience on CD or the 10-track digital version.

If cash is tight and you have gift certificates or credits to any of the following digital download stores, here are links to where The Brunswick Soundtrack is available (alphabetically):

The Brunswick Soundtrack on Amazon
The Brunswick Soundtrack on eMusic
The Brunswick Soundtrack on iTunes

Customers of each of these download stores can help support this recording greatly by posting reviews or “sharing” the albums on social networks. Many of these options are built-in and take only seconds to engage. Thoughts about the recordings – likes and dislikes as well as ratings are helpful to other folks who are browsing the stores, trying to make decisions.

If you were unable to join us for the release party at Caffé Lena on Sunday, here is one little clip from an overwhelmingly amazing show with the Bonesteel Memorial Concern. (via Bryan Thomas)

I’ll be taking a break for the next month or so to recharge/work on new material.

Please enjoy this album! I am very proud of it.

On Sunday, December 4th, 2011 Caffé Lena presents the Matthew Carefully Brunswick Soundtrack CD Release Show!

Special guests Bailiwick will kick off the evening at 7PM SHARP and may indeed join-in later in the evening as Matthew Carefully and the Bonesteel Memorial Concern performs the music from Matthew’s Brunswick Soundtrack.

The Bonesteel Memorial Concern:

From left to right: Mitch Masterson – banjo, Ian White – mandolin, Bob Buckley – dobro/singing, Katie Hammon – singing.

Named in honor of Sanford Bonesteel, the farmer who is the focus of the Brunswick documentary, this small acoustic group will enjoy one performance of this music especially composed for the film on this night only!

Advanced tickets are recommended as they are expected to sell out at the door, possibly the week of the performance.

I’d always dreamed of writing music for a movie and this project seemed to fit like a perfect glove.

Nate envisioned the music of Iron & Wine, Gillian Welch, Sufjan Stevens and Horse Feathers as the backdrop to the beautiful scenes of Brunswick’s rolling hills. Each of the aforementioned artists have influenced me at different times throughout my life, so it felt only appropriate to give a shot at writing the soundtrack.

The process took much longer than either Nate or I expected. He would be wrestling with editing the story while I would be trying to find the right mood for the “public meeting scene”. I would work on the music in-between projects and album releases, adding-to and subtracting-from tracks I might have worked on months, even years earlier. Sometimes that dobro part would work, sometimes it needed to be rewrote!

Then I’d hear from Nate a few weeks later, who’d say – “I need a song for this _____ scene”, so I’d go back to that “Brunswick” folder on my hard-drive and start a new file.

After four years of working like this, I found myself having gone completely in another musical direction on my own, utilizing all kinds of electronics, loops, tape delay and half-learned wizardry in my work, so I found it refreshing to have to pick up the banjo to write and finish songs I started in a completely different place.

Finally, I’m proud to say that the movie and the soundtrack are completely finished and ready to be shared with the public! I’ve already shared “Walks With Purpose“, now hear “McChesney Avenue Extension“, the second song on the soundtrack album.

I’m pleased to announce that the soundtrack is now available for pre-order!

There are two versions:

The “Digital Album” version which contains 10 tracks – 6 instrumental acoustic pieces (like “McChesney Avenue Extension”) and 4 acoustic songs with words (like “Walks With Purpose”).

-or-

The “Deluxe CD” version which contains 15 tracks – 11 instrumental acoustic pieces and 4 acoustic songs with words! That’s right, FIVE bonus tracks. Just for buying a CD!

( Click on over to the Discography page to check out the tracklistings! )

Both are available at my Bandcamp page, which will automatically deliver the two songs listed above and will notify you when the rest of the soundtrack is available for download (on or before its “official” release date of December 6, 2011).

I am very proud of how this recording turned out. I liked the music, but what really caught me off guard was hearing Troy Pohl‘s final mixes and mastering. He was able to take four years of work recorded in three very different locations and make it all sound cohesive. Fantastic.

Without trying to, I created an album that is perfect for road-trips in the car or headphone listening. Two of my favorite kinds of albums! This is a recording that is a perfect gift for the upcoming holidays – listenable and memorable without being overbearing. That’s my pitch to you!

Details on the CD release show (12/4 at Caffé Lena – advance tickets recommended!) are coming very soon. I have a special small acoustic group who will be joining me that evening to perform the music from the soundtrack as well as sharing the stage with Bailiwick. This will be great.

This song features Katie Hammon on vocals. It would be a crime to not check out her music as Bear Grass or as one-half of Slender Shoulders.

Soundtrack pre-order begins on Wednesday, November 16th.

If a man walks with purpose, will you remember him?
By the way his hands sink sideways in the dirt and nested green
Would you dare to bless his silence as he walks away sincere?
Without a word, unblinking eyelash
with a clear intended gleam

I don’t know what leaves him silent
I don’t know
I don’t know what leaves him silent.
I don’t know

I don’t know what leaves him silent in the evening

If a man walks with purpose
If a man walks with purpose
If a man walks with purpose, will you remember him?

Day One: Saturday – featuring Deer Tick, Titus Andronicus and a host of Albany area bands went off without a hitch. A huge turnout coupled with nice weather, great beer and fantastic music made for an unforgettable day.

Day Two: Sunday – roared in with Hurricane (well, by then Tropical Storm) Irene dumping high winds and heavy rain all over the Capital District. While my B3nson pals swiftly handled the back room flooding that occurred at St. Joe’s overnight, I tried to keep in touch with all twelve of the other Undone Ensemble members – almost all of which were already preparing to make their way to the Ten Broeck triangle!

Plans had to change for the festival, since Sunday’s two headlining acts – A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Music Tapes were coming from out of town by plane and by van, respectively. Both bands bowed out early due to the weather, so after bailing out buckets of rainwater, the B3nson crew decided to make Sunday’s RestFest “pay what you want”, shove the schedule back two hours and open the doors wide for anyone who could make it to downtown Albany. A move which Harith over at The Rev Recs blog calls “SO ALBANY” – to cobble together something out of nothing and fight for what we believe is beautiful.

As the rain and wind abated, Paul Coleman (drummer in Undone Ensemble!), Mrs. Matthew and I packed up the banjo and the drums and headed down to Albany. We noted that the “Emergency Travel Only” warning signs were appropriate in this case – this was a musical emergency that required our presence!

Arriving just in time to witness Slender Shoulders coming off stage at the end of their set was a bummer, but feelings were assuaged by the presence of their debut EP.

The next hour was a flurry of text messages and phone calls to track down the rest of the ensemble members who were not present. Thankfully everyone arrived with plenty of time to prepare and to even enjoy some music in advance of our set. Swamp Baby turned in a widely dynamic set filled with new songs and old songs that were given new life with We are Jeneric‘s Eric Krans playing drums for the entire set!

By the time We are Jeneric hit the stage, I was a bundle of nerves. Thankfully they were in the middle of performing the best set of their career, enrapturing everyone in the building while no one noticed that I was pacing in the green room!

These were tactical nerves – will we set up the stage quick enough? Will Sooze’s crack stage team be annoyed by our “first show” newbieisms? Will I drop my banjo like I dropped my mandolin at TulipFest?

via Flickr user BVCPhoto. Used with permission.

Luckily, only one of my fears came to life (I kind of forgot some of the words to the first song – “Brooklyn or Bust”) and the first and only Undone Ensemble show came off without a hitch!

Here are the songs we played:
Brooklyn or Bust
Infinitely Red (from Kentucky)
Modest Birds (from Kentucky)
Neighborhood (from A Book About the Rest)
Mustang Walk
O My Luck
Poughkeepsie (from Community Balloon)

The Matthew Carefully Undone Ensemble – ‘Poughkeepsie’ from Bryan Thomas on Vimeo.

Major thanks are in order here: to all ensemble members for their dedication and energy towards this project, to all the ensemble member’s wives, girlfriends, dogs, cats, babies, pets, and families for loaning their loved ones for the summer, to SwordPaw for the availability and awesomeness of their SwordPaw HQ for our rehearsals this summer, to Frank Moscowitz for some crucial advice and cobbled together rehearsal sound fantastics, to Ben Karis-Nix and Taylor Gillis at Design it Together for some fantastic band apparel, and to everyone at RestFest/B3nson for giving us the opportunity to put this show on.

Over the next few weeks, I have a few more posts relating to the Ensemble that I want to share. Stay tuned.

This is the beginning.

The first fifteen people who purchase either a $10 bundle of Matthew Carefully CDs or a $10 clearance Penny Riddle t-shirt get a 10-song mix CD featuring unreleased music I’ve been working on or have been sitting on!

Once these are gone, they are gone.

Due to Tropical Storm Irene’s magic precluding many folks from making it to RestFest Day 2, this mixtape is now available to listen here!

All but “Diamonds (demo)” and “Prayers & Palms (live)” are exclusive to this compilation.
“Ceiling Life” songs are for a more experimental project to be released someday.
The Brunswick Soundtrack will be released by the end of 2011.
Songs I’ve written for eScape will be released as an EP by the end of 2011.
A Deluxe Kentucky iteration will be released someday.

All songs and music written and performed by Matthew Loiacono, except “Relocation Tactics” by SPOUSE/José Ayerve & co. (used without permission – sorry José!)
All songs recorded, mixed and “mastered” by Matthew Loiacono, except “Prayers & Palms” by Holland Hopson and “Poughkeepsie” by Frank Moscowitz
Assembled for RestFest 2011.
All the love.