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Matthew Ballard
Americana / Country / Roots Music

"New CD, Midnight Drive, out on July 26th"

Austin, Texas
United States

Profile Views:  6700




Last Login:  7/6/2008
View My: Pics | Videos

   Contacting Matthew Ballard

 MySpace URL: 
  http://www.myspace.com/matthewballardmusic  

   Matthew Ballard: General Info
Member Since8/10/2007
Band Websitematthewballardmusic.com
Band MembersJustin Douglas - Guitar/Steel/Dobro/Mandolin/Harmonica and just about everything else
Charlie Irwin - Bass
Jody Thomas - Drums
Ben Swan - Fiddle

Booking:
Jarred Maxwell
Black Dog Management
512-971-7814
jarredmaxwell@gmail.com
Record Labelunsigned
Type of LabelNone





   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Jul 11 2008 7:00P
Private Party Austin, Texas
Jul 17 2008 9:00P
Gray Horse Saloon San Marcos, Texas
Jul 18 2008 8:00P
Vino 100 - Acoustic Show Georgetown, Texas
Jul 25 2008 7:00P
Dale’s Essenhaus Walburg, Texas
Jul 26 2008 8:00P
Mother Egans Austin, Texas
Aug 22 2008 9:00P
Gray Horse Saloon San Marcos, Texas
Aug 23 2008 7:00P
Dale’s Essenhaus Walburg, Texas
Aug 30 2008 9:30P
Mother Egans - Americana Austin, Texas
Sep 4 2008 8:00P
Armadillo Palace Houston, Texas
Sep 6 2008 8:00P
Tavern in the Gruene Gruene, Texas
Sep 12 2008 8:00P
The Cove San Antonio, Texas
Sep 13 2008 8:00P
House of Blue Lights Marble Falls, Texas
Sep 26 2008 8:00P
Riley’s New Braunfels, Texas

Matthew Ballard's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

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   About Matthew Ballard
..
.. "Matthew Ballard’s current CD is titled Time. It is an appropriate name as it is only a matter of “time” before everyone knows about Matthew Ballard. The CD has some Texas standouts contributing to the 11 great tracks on the record. Matt Powell (Wade Bowen Band), Cindy Cashdollar (Sue Foley Band, Van Morrison, and others), and Ric Ramirez (Two Tons of Steel) contributed to the tunes behind Ballard’s poetry on the record. The real treat of Time is the songs and Ballard wrote all 11 tracks as a solo author and his songwriting is what is most noticeable about Matthew as an artist. His songs are a blend of regular country music themes and some Texas social history. The best song on the CD is “The Devil in Palestine” that describes the common Texas struggle of those who live off the land and those who become rich by it. It is the same theme in Texas since independence. Ballard tells the story with class and tragedy. Ballard’s extraordinary songwriting is bound to move him to the top of the pile in Texas music and that is a good thing. Nothing can keep a good songwriter down and Matthew Ballard has the poetic skills that will serve him well. Everyone should keep their eyes and ears on Matthew Ballard."
www.texasmusictimes.com, Apr. 2008

"The first studio release from Matthew Ballard is a solid effort grounded in the traditions of the great Texas singer-songwriters. The first few songs could have been written by Robert Earl Keen Jr. — not a bad start — but Ballard strikes his own chords with a collection of heartfelt and simply stated and personal songs about love, loss and yes, even hope. It's a collection of songs that run the gamut of Americana, alt-country, folk, country rock and honky tonk. His musical influences might include Joe Ely or Guy Clark or any of a hundred of the great songsmiths that have come out of the Lone Star state. Ballard has a crack band backing him, including Cindy Cashdollar on steel/dobro and Matt Powell on electric guitar. Eleanor Whitmore provides subtle harmonies and at times haunting fiddle. This could be a portrait of an artist as a young man, with the promise of even greater songwriting to come. This is a CD that keeps growing on you with each listen." Freight Train Boogie, reviewed by Barry Dugan. Mar 2008

"With his debut album, Matthew Ballard hopes to introduce himself into the pantheon of Texas country, a musical heritage which has spawned songwriters as eminent as Guy Clark or Robert Earl Keen, and with the melodic conventions of the tradition determining much of the material here, hints of the work of such titans abound throughout. There are occasional detours into other territories, such as Bakersfield ('Right Train, Wrong Track') and alt-country ('Am to Blame') but mostly, it's a consistent sound...Up-tempo tracks such as the opening couplet of 'Wrapped Up in You' and 'Her Dreams,' offer both drive and euphony, whilst more reflective numbers such as 'Fatigues' and 'One Line at a Time' see the exploration of more innovative harmonic directions...Ballard is especially blessed by the quality of his backing. The production is bright and expansive without being overly slick whilst the instrumentation offers great depth. Eleanor Whitmore is the particular hero here, contributing exemplary fiddle, mandolin and harmony vocals throughout. It is this consummate execution all round which makes the album and although there may not be quite enough unique material to truly distinguish it, with this work Matthew Ballard displays undoubted potential."
www.americana-uk.com, Apr. 2008



Buy Time by Matthew Ballard




********
Check out Jessie Lee Miller's recording of Matthew's song, If You Asked a Million Times, on her new record -- Waiting.

   Matthew Ballard's Friend Space (Top 16)
Matthew Ballard has 242 friends.
 Justin Douglas is out of the pool 


 Shine Studios 


 Ben Swan 


 Jody 


 Eleanor Whitmore 


 paul pearcy 


 Mother Egan's Irish Pub 


 Mean Eyed Cat 


 Armadillo Palace 


 92.5 The Outlaw 


 TexasMusicTimes 


 LoneStarMusic.com 


 LoneStarMusic Magazine 


 Riley's Tavern 


 The Cove 


 scarlot harlot 





Matthew Ballard's Friends Comments
Displaying 44 of 44 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
lee





Jun 10 2008 8:35 PM

Anytime! I'm in need of a spontanious road trip..hope to catch a show sometime soon.
"Keep up with the hi's and stay above the lows" bro!
♥Heather♥





Jun 10 2008 7:11 PM

Yeppers, we've been sooooo busy this last month. We can't wait to come see you play this Summer. May is always packed full of stuff. We had Alyssa's Kinder graduation, then her ballet recital, girl scouts ceremony and lastly her bday party this past Saturday.
Now she is in gymnastics and swim lessons for the Summer, but being out of work, does great things to me! Can't wait to hear your new cd! Hope you're doing well!
Dana





Jun 9 2008 2:59 PM

So good to hear from you! I cannot wait to buy your new CD next month! We need to catch up...been too long. I wanna hear all about it! Things are good here with me - work, work, work - but, havin' fun too.
~D
Joe Rodriguez





Jun 3 2008 10:26 PM

Hey Matt, thanks a lot for checking out my music, I am glad you liked it. I dig your sound a lot too. Well hey I will talk to you later on.
Joe Rodriguez





Jun 3 2008 10:26 PM

Hey Matt, thanks a lot for checking out my music, I am glad you liked it. I dig your sound a lot too. Well hey I will talk to you later on.
Urban Monroes





Jun 3 2008 9:26 PM

Wow Matthew,
I love every song in your player. Fantastic tunes. I love the sound in general as well as your voice.

Thanks again for being buds with the Urban Monroes

Fran
Jim Adair Music





May 1 2008 9:23 AM

Thanks bud~ Look forward to catchin a show around town!
Granger Smith





Apr 30 2008 6:47 PM

No problem brother! Have a great week!

-Granger
♥Heather♥





Apr 27 2008 1:02 PM

Hey Matt. We had fun last night. Glad we got to come see you. I'm pretty sure I had toooo much fun, though. :) I wanted to add your song to my profile, but I see you have your settings so that no one can add songs. Is that for preventative piracy reasons? Just wondering.
Carolyn





Mar 24 2008 4:38 PM

No problem. I really enjoyed listening to your songs - I like the mix of poignancy and humor. I ordered your cd from Lonestar Music and look forward to hearing it. Oddly enough, I have Jessie Lee Miller's Waiting album on my iPod - I'll have to revisit the song you wrote. Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note.
The True Deceivers





Mar 12 2008 12:31 PM

Hi Matthew

Thanks for the comment. Hopefully we'll make it over to Austin some day.

Love your sound. Voice reminds me a little of a young Steve Earle.

Cheers

Graham
The True Deceivers

The debut album Lies We Have Told on sale now at www. thetruedeceivers. com
Kramsky & Lipman Publishing, L.L.C.





Feb 25 2008 3:21 PM

Love the music. Keep up the great work!

Charles Kramsky
Kramsky & Lipman Publishing, L.L.C.
Dale Watson





Feb 20 2008 10:47 AM

VOTE DALE WATSON and JOHNNY KNOXVILLE
for the CMT Music Awards!!!


DALE WATSON - "Hollywood Hillbilly" (Music Video)
Directed by and Starring: Johnny Knoxville


We've got some good news! Dale Watson's video for "Hollywood Hillbilly" starring and directed by Johnny Knoxville, has been nominated by the CMT Music Awards for "Comedy Video of the Year."

Also, his music video for "Justice For All" has been nominated for "Supporting Character of the Year" thanks to the role played by James Denton (who many of you know and love from Desperate Housewives).

VISIT HERE TO VOTE NOW (before Feb. 25th!):
http://www. cmt. com/cmt-music-awards
Dana





Feb 12 2008 7:26 PM

Hey Matt! Just wanted to show your page some love! Hope things are going well on the Austin circuit! Looks like you are working hard! Awesome! Take care! ~D
Carie Jo





Feb 11 2008 6:12 AM

Matt,

MySpace Comments - Thanks for the Add
MySpace Layouts - Thanks for the Add
Free Comments & Graphics


Have a great week! Hugs, CJ
Crystal





Feb 4 2008 2:25 PM

I was just on Lonestar Music and saw this banner at the top of the webpages! Niiiice.

♥Heather♥





Feb 3 2008 2:18 PM

Hey Matt! We had a great time at Mother Egan's last night. Great performance. I'm so glad we made it out there.
♥Heather♥





Jan 22 2008 4:43 PM

Hey Matt. Glad to see you in the myspace world. Like you said, hopefully we will get to see you soon!
Coopunleashed





Jan 20 2008 1:23 PM

Crystal & Brett said you are playing at Adairs tonight. If Marty is there tell him that Cooper said to give you some free beer. Now that you're local Carrie and I will have to come out and see ya. Oh yea, I thought I would post this pick from the last time we saw ya in Austin. Good Luck Tonight...hope you get a crowd.

YOUNA





Jan 16 2008 5:10 AM

Salut!! Thanks for the add and for taking a listen...much appreciated..any comment or feedback would be great..beautiful weather here..anyways I can't believe it's 2008!! Happy New Years from Bangkok :) Youna
Lisa Hayes





Jan 9 2008 2:05 PM

Hey Matthew,

Happy New Year!

Here's to a great 2008 & to ALL the Independents out there...YEEHAW!!!

Lisa
Amy





Jan 6 2008 4:28 PM

You are playing in Dallas, but not Houston...what kind of crap is that??
W. Jackson & Associates, LLC





Dec 31 2007 3:28 PM

Matthew:

Best,

Terence
lindajane-renee





Dec 9 2007 10:26 AM


Glitterfy.com - Glitter Graphics
Bree Stevens





Dec 5 2007 5:53 PM

Best of luck!
Stop by my page and see me sometime.
BREE
CAJUNEDD





Dec 2 2007 10:54 AM

well here i am right on time. thanks for asking. i will be talking to you soon-cajunedd
ShaunaLeigh





Nov 24 2007 9:03 AM

Hey Matthew, thanks for the comment! Wrote and co-wrote the songs, but I'm not singing on all the tracks....I like "Take Me Home".....good job!
Jessie Lee Miller





Nov 22 2007 10:06 AM

Back Atcha Brother! Hugs, Jessie
Corinne Chapman





Nov 12 2007 11:04 PM

cool music. thanks for the add.
Wendy Jans





Nov 15 2007 7:58 AM

Hey Matthew. Great production on your tunes... thanks for finding me. Check out my new album!
Vadalynn





Nov 13 2007 5:41 PM

Thank you for your friendship!
God bless,Vadalynn
American Bloomers





Nov 10 2007 2:13 PM

Dear Matthew,We hope to play in austin and we'll let you know.Thanks so much for being our friend AB
lindajane-renee





Nov 9 2007 9:37 PM

Myspace Graphics @ HateDrama.com
Sexy Myspace Grap