THE MINOR ARCANA

Bio:

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First and foremost, Matthew is in the studio right now finishing up recording his new record Emotional Alchemy. Please click on the Kickstarter widget above to help donate money so Matthew can afford to press copies of the record, to learn about the rewards offered for donating, and to keep updated on the record & learn more about the project!

Matthew Landis is a Philadelphia area singer, keyboardist and songwriter. He is currently in the process of spending a large amount of money that he probably can't afford to spend in order to record his debut EP (all the burned CD's he's been giving out for years don't count apparently). He has been performing mostly in the Philadelphia area for several years. He was named stand out performer for March 2006 at the Philly Rising Open Mic Competition at World Cafe Live and subsequently performed at the World Cafe Live Downstairs as part of CREAM: The Best of Philly Rising in January 2007. Matthew has shared the stage with the likes of Erik Petersen (of Mischief Brew fame), Hezekiah Jones, The Spinning Leaves, Emilyn Brodsky, Disciples of Groove, The Blue Method, and more. He has performed as a sideman playing keyboards for Philadelphia area artists Joshua Park (including providing keyboards for his current ep, "One Wish" recorded at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia), Dawn Iulg, Bosco and Peck. He is also one of the keyboard players for national (and international) touring act and Chunksaah Records artist the World/Inferno Friendship Society, having toured Europe and the Northeast with them. "Although missing the familiar handlebar mustache of Franz Nicolay, the group sufficiently compensated with newcomer Matt Landis, a menace at the keyboard." (source: http://www.theway903.com/blog/?p=32) Matthew is also planning to tour with Franz Nicolay this fall. In closing, Matthew believes in the proposition that art should never be boring and complacent and that it should, in fact, be good. He also believes that most art fails to live up to these standards. This has led many to accuse him of being cynical or arrogant. While his detractors may be right, Matthew believes that all in all, he's a pretty nice guy.

If yr interested in booking Matthew Landis, you can email him here: boatload.of.madmen@gmail.com

Please be sure to check out Matt's blog on contemporary poetry, poetics, and culture, Abecedarian/f(x) by clicking on his name in the band member's section of the profile.

You can also view the website for Tony's studio, The Audiolab by clicking on his name in the band member's section. ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Some press:

Firstly, look at the "sounds like" section.

Also:

"...some really terrific song-writing with an undeniable voice." -Frank Deserto, Limewire Music Blog

"Although missing the familiar handlebar mustache of Franz Nicolay, the group sufficiently compensated with newcomer Matt Landis, a menace at the keyboard." -Kim Harrison, WAIH, 90.3 fm Blog

Member Since:

June 08, 2005

Members:

Matt Landis (piano, organ, vox)

On the recording:

Brian Viglione (drums)

Tony Mascara (drums)

Carl Cheeseman (guitars)

Matt Coslop (guitar, bass, drums)

Phil D'Agostino(bass)

Todd Barneson, Dawn Iulg, Ali & Claire Wadsworth (background vox)

Influences:

Elliott Smith, Peter Gabriel & Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, XTC, Scott Walker, Joe Strummer, The Sisters of Mercy, Kate Bush, XTC, Roxy Music, Frank Zappa, Cardiacs, Jeff Buckley, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Okkervil River, King Crimson, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, Adam Ant, Radiohead, Bad Brains, The Adverts, The Buzzcocks, Andy Prieboy, Stan Ridgway, The Burning World by Swans, Patti Smith, The Kinks, Peter Murphy, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Messiaen, Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Boulez, Stochausen, Pendrecki, Nono, Berio, Ligeti, John Adams, Golijov, Taverner, Part, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms piano Intermezzi, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, Andrew Hill, Joe Henderson, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, Brad Mehldau, Bill Evans, Emilyn Brodsky, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Barbez, Joshua Park, Hezekiah Jones, Papertrees, Andrew Lipke, Chris Kasper, Johnny Miles

Sounds Like:

"Matt Landis who occasionally plays with World/Inferno. His striking voice and very apt lyrics alternately made the crowd roar at points and look into themselves, especially "All That We Are," a beautifully haunting song that was made all the better by the atmospherics of the room.

Landis entertained the crowd just as much with his between songs set telling stories of Robert Johnson (who he covered amazingly), hating being compared to Billy Joel and Elton John and playing a quick section of a Randy Newman song."

-Steve Ciccarelli in Phrequency Beta, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Music Blog