Matt Lenny - vocals, guitar, percussion; Tommy Mokas - drums, vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards; Nick Rosenthal - bass, keyboards, percussion; David Jamison - drums; Sonny Ratcliff - drums
Influences
Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Beck, Radiohead, T. Rex, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Black Keys, Cream, Ryan Adams, Hank Williams and more. Always more.
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Matt Lenny and The Breakdown is a Brooklyn-based rock band with a psychedelic sound mixing late 60s/early 70s classic rock with modern grooves and harmonies. Driven by Matt’s unique voice and passionate guitar playing, their eponymous debut EP was recorded in Williamsburg’s own Casa Nova Studios and is slated for a fall release.
Matt Lenny started playing music as a teenager in Oklahoma when a local preacher handed him a guitar and told him to make music for the congregation. Even though he had never played before, Matt did his best to follow along and, after three frantic days, he knew he was onto something. A borrowed copy of Led Zeppelin IV sealed his fate and Matt was soon locked in his bedroom for as many as 10 hours/day tracing classic rock back to the eternal strangeness of the blues.
Matt moved to Chicago to learn the blues firsthand and study poetry at Northwestern University. He soon discovered the city's vibrant indie rock scene and began performing and recording regularly as a sideman with critically acclaimed artists such as Oh My God, Dylan Rice, and Vax Wallo.
While on tour with Oh My God in the fall of 2007, the band's van was hit by a drunk driver and Matt was airlifted to the closest hospital. After months of painful therapy for a broken hand and badly broken leg, Matt got back on his feet and found that new songs began pouring out of him. Matt relocated to Brooklyn to focus on this newfound muse and, over the course of 2008 and 2009, he developed the sound and the songs that comprise the band's debut EP.
Matt took what little money he had received as a result off the accident and hired The Brooklyn Sheiks at Casa Nova Studios to produce the songs and help the shape the band. Their groove-heavy take on atmospheric 60s psychedelia meshed with the straight-ahead rock leanings of Matt's tunes to shape a unique and compelling sound: part classic, part modern, rooted in rocking blues, and aiming for outerspace.
To perform the songs live, Matt recruited the hard-hitting David Jamison (also of The Bleeding Bombshells) on drums, Kevin Mackall (The Burn & Cry) on bass, and Tommy Mokas (The Bleeding Bombshells, Nova Clutch, and many others) on backing vocals and percussion. Matt christened the new group "The Breakdown".
Look for Matt Lenny and The Breakdown performing in the New York area and, ultimately, touring the country in support of their debut EP.
Be careful what you wish for Matt...I would love to come to NYC and hope to do that one day. You are sooooo lucky to live in NYC...The Trash Bar sounds like a great spot! I will be sure to check you out if I should be lucky enough to get out your way. Take care, ~Ashleigh~
Hey Matt- Hope you are well out there. I'm returning to NYC for a while starting with a show at LIVING ROOM on Friday, April 3rd. Also got a new song, 'Until I See Her Again' up this week. Hope you enjoy and to see you soon sometime.
Hey.....it's time to help promote Broads, The Series!! : )
Just Say No to Fast Food Media!
This is a series about women who are making things happen....celebrity and non-celebrity women who are doing great things in their lives and the world. Who would you suggest for the rankings of Ultimate broad....and why? Tell us who YOU want to see!
To promote this project showcasing "broads" and to create a buzz we'd love for you to post comments at these locations as well as on any photos and videos. When the networks check out the pages they'll see all the great feedback and the great comments.
.....and be sure to make suggestions about WHO you'd like to see on the series. Would YOU or someone you know be perfect for this series?
Remember to "become a fan", a "friend" or to "subscribe" respectively on these pages.
Hey NYC'ers. This is your (generic. and i apologize in advance for that fact.) reminder:
Friday Night. Dec 14th.
8:00pm
Googie's Lounge (upstairs @ The Living Room)
FREE. (1 drink minimum)
I promise to not be terrible. Nay, I promise to even be pretty good. And if I let you down, I promise to make it up to you.
(No, i haven't decided how yet, but I'm thinking something along the lines of awkwardly long hugs, chocolate milk, or having your back in an argument someday.)
