Tag: Matt Koziol

BGS 5+5: Matt Koziol

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Matt Koziol
Hometown: Linden, New Jersey
Latest Album: Last of the Old Dogs (out April 5, 2024)

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I was probably 4 years old and I saw Elivs on TV. It was like watching lightning in a bottle and I wanted to do it. No one in my family really listened to him, but I heard the sounds and the voice and knew that what he did, I loved. It introduced me to every kind of music that has been an influence for me. Rhythm and blues, country, gospel. It all played a part in the music that moves me. I think hearing Elvis for the first time turned a light switch on in my head. It made me realize music was what I wanted and something I would always be working towards.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

The toughest time isn’t just one moment. It happens often. Co-writing with people, my brain works fast. I had a great writing friend, Jason Nix, once say “dare to be wrong” and it changed my approach to writing in group settings. It made me fluent. When I’m writing alone is when the tough parts come, especially if it’s a subject I feel strongly about. It’s like painting, and you don’t want to use the wrong color you imagine in your mind. Sometimes you have happy accidents, but I’ll use a word or a phrase to describe something in a song and it just doesn’t always make me feel how I felt when that moment happened. The way I’ll work around it is to try and just say what happened out loud like I’m talking to a friend. Then I try to write it in simple language, but every once in a while I just get stuck. And, I mean STUCK. Not a single word comes to mind, or I’m playing the same chords that I’ve used in another song, or a melody that I’ve repeated. At that point, I just put everything down and walk away. I come back to it later, or the next day. The story will still be in my head, but if I can’t serve that feeling justice, then I’ll wait until I can.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I was in high school, and I made a demo for the first time. I brought it to my middle school music teacher (Reggie Turner) and had him listen. He told me to come back a few days later to get his thoughts. What I didn’t know is that he would play it for 20 of his sixth grade students and have them write a short review on how they felt. Now, if you ever want brutal honesty, let a bunch of 10 year-olds review your songs. He then showed me the notes and it was ruthless. They said I sounded like I had a frog in my throat, that they couldn’t understand what I was saying. They said they liked the guitar, but it felt messy. I was trying, at that time, to emulate my heroes. I wanted to play like them and sing like them, but it wasn’t my voice. He then said something I’ll never forget:

“You have your own fingerprint. No one else has yours. If you sing like someone else, and try to be their fingerprint, you’ll always be number two. However, if you sing like yourself, you’ll always be number one. No one has your sound, and no one has your fingerprint.”

I take that with me everyday.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

This is such an awesome question, because I love both of these things so much! I grew up in an Italian household so for me, pasta and wine go with jazz or crooners. Something about good wine and an Italian-made meal feels like Tony Bennett. It feels like Frank Sinatra. When I’m having a good steak and bourbon, I tend to lean towards bluegrass. Something about a rustic meal with my favorite drink bleeds Appalachia. I usually follow up that meal with a fire and more bourbon and a cigar. All those smells and flavors are my favorite. It also depends on people’s tastes, but for me, those are my two ideal pairings for food and music.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me?”

I have very seldomly put a song out that’s a “character.” Songs like “Work All Day” or “You Better Run, Son” have been songs that are stories for me. Things that I’ve read or seen in movies that give me the feeling and I want to write it down. The only other time I’m writing like that is when I have a person in my life whose story I’m telling because they don’t know how. Everything else, however, is me. I’ve lived it. I don’t always love that I have, but I love that I made it through. One of the things said in writing rooms, especially in Nashville is, “How do we make this relatable?” My response to that is always, “Just write what happened. You’re not the first for it to happen to, and you won’t be the last. Someone else has been through this before, they may just need your words to get them through it.”

I think relating with a song comes from the honesty of the writing. I know that I didn’t have the exact same thing happen to me that caused John Mayer to write “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room,” but I sure as hell had something happen that made me relate to the lyrics. It was his story, and I had mine. I needed his words to find a way to understand how I felt. That’s the power of writing. If it’s honest for you, It will be honest for someone else.

Photo Credit: Kaiser Cunningham

BGS 5+5: Matt Koziol

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Matt Koziol
Hometown: Linden, New Jersey
New Album: Wildhorse

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

Rituals before a show are always pretty consistent. I have a glass of bourbon, then find a mirror in a quiet room, look in it, and go, “Hey, have some fun… and don’t screw up.” You can call it some tough love motivation! Then I find the band, and I usually give everyone a hug and say something along the lines of “We ain’t here for a long time, just a good time.” The most important parts to me in any show are a great starting note and a great ending note. Everything in between should be a little unhinged and reckless.

In studio/writing — I have a small ritual. Specifically when it comes to having writers block or needing an idea. I stand between two spaces. So, I’ll stand in the doorway of a room from another. Something about the pulling of two places makes my brain work. I’ve written a good amount of songs that way. If I can’t find the melody or words, I’ll lean in the doorway of a room, and after some time it’ll come to me. I always felt like when my thoughts are left in one space for two long, I need them to move. Standing in the space between two rooms makes me work harder to find the constant while my brain is being pulled.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Elvis. Always has been. Something about him was fictional — a myth. I was too young to have ever seen him live, but only heard the stories about the weight of his music and his life. I remember the first time I saw a video of him, I just stood there and thought, “That’s it. That’s what I want to do.” Watching him entertain with the guitar was the only thing that made sense in my head. Then add in the collection of rhythm & blues, gospel, and country — I knew what I was going toward. Through the years I went through the genres and really tried to pay attention to all the influences and let them move me. His music brought me to so many levels of appreciating everything from Bruce Springsteen to Pavarotti. He transcends generations with his voice and his songs. It has been the thing that drives me to play music, to be a better musician, and to be an entertainer.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

Mostly I spend my time in the river. I love to fly fish. Am I the best fly fisherman? No. However, at a point it’s not about how many I can catch. It’s about being submersed in the action of it. Everything in nature has a rhythm, and actually wading in the river makes me feel it more. It helps impact my work because it’s one of the few times where I allow my brain to shut off and focus on something other than creating. It gives me space and energy back — along with having fresh air, which usually helps. I will listen to music on the way to the newest place to fish, for inspiration, and then I’ll allow myself to be outside in sounds of the woods and the river. That time away is just as important as the time in the creative space. It has taught me patience that I wouldn’t have given myself otherwise.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I think music and food/drinks go hand in hand with another. Music sets the tone, and usually food will then take the senses to another level. I think if I had a favorite pairing, I would have to treat it like a three-course meal. I’m Italian, and the appetizer always sets the tone. I would say start with a light wine and an antipasto salad mixed with Tony Bennett. His voice mixed with the flavors of Italian food make sense in my head. It’s nostalgia and tradition to me.

Then we get into the main course — steak. A cowboy cut bone-in steak. This is where I want to hear more Appalachia roots. The SteelDrivers would be a great pairing. The music is smoky and has the feel of grit and the mountains like the steak. Now when it comes to dessert, I’m a fan of sweets; however, my favorite way to end a nice meal is a tall pour of bourbon. Neat, no ice. This is where James Taylor comes in. I want to let my body soak in the meal, and let my mind slip into the lyrics while the bourbon helps me digest and relax. I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to spend a good meal.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

I feel like it would sound a little something like this: “I make music to feel, to move, and to heal — not only people who hear it, but also myself. So, while I have the chance to do it, I’ll make sure every chord and every note has every last piece of me with it to give. There is no sense and no worth in holding back.”

Photo Credit: Kevin Fagan