"Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter
Play It Like It's Music
"To touch the heart, that's the goal"
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"To touch the heart, that's the goal"

036: Joe Matzzie

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music, I’m Trevor. Thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, April 22 of 2020 music is not content! It’s connection.

photo by Judith Ann Warren

Still here, still playing. Trying to stay sane in all of this, and for me that means lots of cello. Meanwhile, we have a great guest today on the show.

Joe Matzzie is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Joe grew up in the post-industrial comic book that is Pittsburgh. He lived in New York City and is now based in LA.

He's not just a songwriter, he's a master of diverse genres as well as a few different instruments. Over the years he has played in Renaissance, Medieval, Traditional Celtic, Bluegrass, Gypsy Jazz, Old Time Fiddle Music, Macedonian Gypsy Folk and Hawaiian outfits as well as scoring for film and TV.

We get into it all, and go on a bit of a tour through his myriad influences. And we don't shy away from some real talk about the lived experience of a gigging musician with the ups and downs you're used to hearing about on the show.

The guy gigs on guitar, ukulele, hammer dulcimer among other things, and we get to hear him play on mic later in the show. He's a really incredible writer, keep an ear open for his music underneath our chat as well as some live performance as we kick it at his space.

We do this in my traditional verité style: ou'll hear creaking chairs and picking up water glasses. NPR I am not, but it's like you're really there in the room with him, so welcome to the world of Joe Matzzie.

Press PLAY above to hear my interview with Joe Matzzie


Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks to Joe for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Joe Matzzie dot com as well as on all the socials.

If you like this show, please tell a friend:

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Follow me on social media @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.

We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out in the culture.

But you gotta keep playing.

We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.

As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.

You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. It’s all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out. Consider hiring me to score your piece, do some cello, teach you lessons, produce your show or back you up onstage.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

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"Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter
Play It Like It's Music
Purists may whine that the best days of music are behind us, that capital “M” music has seen its peak and is no longer relevant. But here at Play It Like It's Music we believe the opposite: not only is the act of musicmaking an essential life skill with a lineage stretching back to the beginnings of human history, but the vocation of the professional musician is more vital today than it ever has been. Once a month, join musician, songwriter and producer Trevor Exter as he drops in on working musicians from every genre.