The Guitar Player's Resource
Yeeee Haaaawww! That will be your reaction to the shimmering country-fried Tele licks, alternately hummable and haunting melodies and jaw-dropping lead work found on the appropriately titled Twang! by Connecticut guitarist Matt Rae. Matt smartly enlisted the help of bassist Mark Bridgman, drummer Stuart Stahr, and multi-instrumentalist Paul Opalach (who also produced and arranged the disc) for Twang! Upbeat numbers such as the opener, "Road Rage", "The Cottage", "Remington Ride", and the wicked "Tele Savalas" provide the toe-tappin' and foot-stompin' moments, while the evocative "Floatin'" and the achingly beautiful "Almost Home" are tracks that really make you think, something which is not easy to do with instrumental music, in general. Rae is a guitarist and musician with talent to spare, who is able to wrap up his instrumental vision into a very entertaining package.
Matt has been playing guitar with the Arlen Roth band for the past five years. Twang! is his first solo release, and he has received good reviews from publications and online sources such as Pipeline, 20th Century Guitar, New Gaudy Dancer and Phil Dirt, who has also been playing his songs on WKFJC. Matt credits Roth for his creative input into the making of his CD, as well as for being his mentor, teacher and overall inspiration. He also considers Duke Levine and Kevin Barry to be great musical influences.
We'll leave you with guitarist Roger Z's words on Rae's guitar abilities, "Matt was a stalwart at the open mike that used to take place Wednesday nights at The Next Door Cafe in Stamford, CT. Whenever I got the chance to lead a set, I would always hope to draw Matt as the other guitarist. Simply put, he truly understands the art of accompaniment. He doesn't blow you away with bombast, but rather with taste. His is a classic and timeless art."
Matt Rae
United States
Web site: www.mattrae.com