Matt Costa
An indie folk rocker from Huntington Beach CA, Matt Costa was once hopeful on making skateboarding his profession, but had a bout of strange luck by severely breaking a leg and healing via an underlying zeal for music. His proven skill on the guitar and song writing soon made way to ambitions of hitting the road on a different set of wheels. So he did, embarking across the nation touring popular music festivals.
The majority of songs included in Costa's newest release, Unfamiliar Faces, are a result of him doing some serious soul searching in a room in Sacramento he painted green. Placing his collections of sentimental belongings on shelves and pondering them triggered memories that allowed Costa to open the flood gates from his think tank. He flowingly unveils his sincerely written thoughts, together with primarily cheery vocals, guitar, and thronging keyboards. The energetic pep of his songs could climb any switchback or traverse any obstacle like a thriving organism.
Having many links to Northern California, Costa's opener to Unfamiliar Faces, "Mr. Pitiful", was made into a video that showcases him dancing, sashaying, and twirling up and down the San Francisco landscape wielding a contraption that braces a key board and drum set, together with a guitar strapped on his back in which he unfurls a fury of energetic Ben Folds like fervor. Some of his other songs of note include "Trying to Lose My Mind," and "Never Looking Back," and are mostly acoustic rather akin to Dylan with a tinge of liveliness and an ironic twist.
The cover art for Unfamiliar Faces has an apt portrait of both the front and side profile of Matt Costa himself. Various fans of Costa were introduced to him by way of the soothing musical sensations of Jack Johnson, who also is the co-founder of Costa's label, Brushfire records. ARTHUR GRONEMAN
