Ever wondered what it would sound like if Keith Richards had given songwriting advice to the Eurythmics? No worries if you haven\u2019t \u2013 Matt Webb has already grappled with that question. And what we have here, in the shape of his debut solo EP, is the answer. Kind of.
\n\u201cCinnamon\u201d is part minimalist funk, part Corey Hart, all hook, and possibly the last thing anybody would have expected from Webb on his first working holiday away from Marianas Trench. He even says so. \u201cYou know, I was a little surprised by it too,\u201d he admits, laughing, \u201cbut I\u2019m a big \u201880s sucker. I\u2019ve seen Def Leppard live five times. The \u201880s just sort of rubbed off.\u201d <\/p>\n
Webb adds that his teenage musical diet also included the Matthew Good Band, blink-182, and Foo Fighters. But it\u2019s the sophisticated pop lover who emerges on his upcoming EP. Or \u201cJustin Timberlake if he played guitar,\u201d as one friend put it, about an EP that also offers chest-bursting electro-ballads (\u201cGoodbye Addict\u201d), squelchy, neon, dancefloor-burners (Take You Higher\u201d), and aerobic synth-funk (\u201cBad Girl\u201d),<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been writing a long time,\u201d Webb shrugs, \u201cand I wanted to try something a little different. There are some extremely straight-ahead pop songs on there. But they were really fun to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course they were! When Marianas Trench wrapped up its Masterpiece Theatre tour at the end of 2010, and Webb saw the opportunity to do his own thing, he promptly surrounded himself with friends. And not just ordinary friends \u2013 brilliant friends like Dave Ogilvie, who produced \u201cCinnamon\u201d and mixed a substantial chunk of the finished record. \u201cA consummate pro,\u201d says Webb. \u201cWho wouldn't want to work with the guy that produces Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson?\u201d <\/p>\n
He also roped in Fake Shark! Real Zombie! frontman and \u201cdream producer\u201d Kevvy Maher, who scores co-writing (along with Carly Rae Jepsen) and knob-twiddling credits on \u201cTake You Higher\u201d, along with production credits on \u201cGoodbye Addict\u201d. \u201cI'll be working with Kevvy until I die, guaranteed,\u201d states Webb. \u201cWe're also starting a side, side project called USB Mustache. Stay tuned for very mediocre quality Burt Reynolds inspired \u201870s songs with a hint of 2011 technological prowess.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Webb\u2019s well-calibrated estimation, Ryan Stewart \u2013 who co-wrote and produced \u201cBad Girl\u201d and \u201cRunaway\u201d - is a man who \u201clives and breathes super-hits.\u201d Plus, he works out of his home. \u201cWhich is cool,\u201d notes Webb, \u201cbecause I can hit the studio in a leopard snuggie and no one objects.\u201d <\/p>\n
Finally, we have Webb\u2019s MT bandmate Josh Ramsay, who produced \u201cStage I Remember\u201d and co-wrote and produced \u201cLandslide\u201d. \u201cI've learned so much about music from him over the years,\u201d says Webb, \u201cit seems totally natural that he would be involved. He's been helping me write and record songs since I was 15 years old.\u201d It\u2019s been a fruitful relationship. If Marianas Trench saw the duo\u2019s punk roots evolve into majestic, baroque pop, this EP proves that they can also do sleek. <\/p>\n
Webb\u2019s debut is going to delight the faithful, surprise many others, and probably saddle the young guitarist with an unmanageably successful side-project. Which would be fine with Webb, since touring is his \u201cfavourite, favourite\u201d thing to do. But if it should cause a little anxiety among the Trenchers, don\u2019t let it. Assures Webb, \u201cMarianas Trench is my number one priority and my family, so I\u2019ll make sure this doesn\u2019t interfere with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d he adds, \u201cI\u2019ll sneak it in whenever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ever wondered what it would sound like if Keith Richards had given songwriting advice to the Eurythmics? No worries if you haven\u2019t \u2013 Matt Webb has already grappled with that question. And what we have here, in the shape of his debut solo EP, is the answer. Kind of. \u201cCinnamon\u201d is part minimalist funk, part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5829,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15979,38472],"tags":[34305,34230,38473],"class_list":["post-574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artist","category-matt-webb","tag-indie","tag-pop-rock","tag-pop-dance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5829"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":601,"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574\/revisions\/601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.espol.edu.ec\/scxrl3t\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}