Matthew Solberg (born October 26, 1981 in Kansas City, Kansas) is a guitarist and singer/songwriter. He uses a fingerstyle method of guitar-playing in most of his songs.
Solberg first started to play the guitar when he was about 14 years old and living in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was raised; however, he quickly gave up on the guitar after just a few lessons. It was around this time that he also gave up playing the clarinet, which he had been playing for about 5 years. At the age of 17, after listening to Rush's "Working Man" one day, Solberg felt inspired to dig out his dad's guitar to learn how to play the intro. He soon became obsessed with the guitar and used the Internet to teach himself how to play. As far as he remembers, the first songs he learned some parts to were "Working Man" by Rush and "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd.
Around the year 2000, Solberg was in a short-lived band called X in the Sky. They are best known for their song "X in the Sky."
Solberg did not seriously consider being a songwriter and solo artist until sometime in 2006. It was around this time that he adopted a finger-picking style of guitar-playing. Within about a year, he played his first shows in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was living at the time.
Solberg credits his influences to a countless number of artists. He says that his two biggest influences are probably Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, although Paul Simon, The Beatles, and Daniel Johnston are also significant influences.
Solberg currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2009, he independently released his first album, a 7-song EP entitled I Am a Fool, and he appeared as a guest guitarist on Clap for Daylight's debut album, Break Even. He is currently working on his first full-length album and plans to record it in 2010.
Thanks for the request. I hope everything's going well. If you get a chance, check out some of my music and let me know what you think. Thanks alot, Ryan
Hey Matthew, Nice stuff, I totally agree with you that Elliott Smith and Nick Drake is two of the best songwriters that ever lived. Keep up the good work. Kind regards Joachim
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