I grew up in a large, sprawling Catholic family in Milwaukee in the ‘70s and ’80s. As the second youngest of eight children I was weaned on the folk music, folk rock, singer-songwriter and classic rock music of my older brothers and sisters. My earliest musical memories were listening to their albums – Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Sgt. Pepper, Sounds of Silence, Tapestry, Harvest, The White Album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Let It Bleed, Tea for the Tillerman, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Tommy, Hot Rocks, Aladdin Sane, and Transformer. Later on, I discovered garage rock, punk, psychedelic, prog rock, indie, blues, jazz, alt-country, roots rock, Americana, hip hop, and grunge. I also developed a profound respect and appreciation for the early rock n' roll masters like Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Little Richard the Everly Brothers.
The cover songs I perform span the generations of my life – Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Neil Young, Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, The Ramones, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, U2, REM, Jayhawks, Wilco, Cracker, Beck, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alanis, Jewel, Blind Melon, Guster, Oasis, Radiohead, Jack White, Cold Play, The National, Lord Huron, and The Decemberists. I could list many more, but you get the idea. I also write songs and if friends and family think they're good, I play them too.
Life can be hard and there are only a few simple pleasures that drive connection and bring us together. Music is one of them. My goal as a performer is to drive memory, intimacy and connection…basically, the feels. And hopefully some fun too. Most of the songs I perform are about love— the first pangs, the all-consuming desire, and the sheer hopelessness and desperation that comes from unrequited or lost love.
My stage name is Matt Ryan because it's easier to pronounce and to spell than my actual Polish last name – Gnabasik. It's also a tribute to my mother's side of the family – Irish immigrants who came over to the Nebraska Territory during the Potato Famine of 1848.