After losing his father at the age of 11, Matthew relentlessly pursued the only thing that brought him peace, the electric guitar. It wasn't until he heard Dave Matthews and Paul Simon that he realized songwriting was a discipline that could help him take the weight off his heavy heart. In 2004, while 'attending' San Jose State University, he realized what he wanted to accomplish musically; link the sweat on the strings with the craft of songwriting. Bent and determined to put the two together, Matthew left for his hometown of Berkeley to assemble a band and put his vision in motion.
Now propelling *his* sound through the constructs of a power trio, Hansen is an electric showman. Comparisons have been drawn to those he admires most; Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and Jimi Hendrix. Palpable, vibrant energy fills his performances, spilling from the stage out into the audience. A member of the San Francisco Songwriters Coalition, Matthew has shared the stage with Bay Area favorites: Tommy Castro, Ron Thompson, Marc Ford (Black Crowes, Ben Harper), Dan Vickrey (Counting Crows), Dave Rude (Tesla), Elliot Randall Band, Jesse Brewster Band, Pine & Battery, and Mike Gibbons.
This up-and-coming guitarist/singer/songwriter blends his love of playing the blues with his natural pop sensibilities, making him easily accessible to a widespread audience. With a distinctive style influenced by many, including Stevie Ray Vaughn, Paul Simon, and John Mayer, Matthew's musical goal is to integrate the licks, lyrics, and tone of blues music into a more mainstream sound.
Venues
Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, Shoreline Amphitheater (Bone Bash) - Mountain View, 12 Galaxies – San Francisco, Boom Boom Room (2 month residency) – San Francisco, The Starry Plough – Berkeley, Hotel Utah – San Francisco, The Sweetwater – Mill Valley, Blakes – Berkeley. Biscuits & Blues (down beat lounge) – San Francisco, Silvies - Chicago, Elbo Room - Chicago, Goose Island - Chicago, Pop Scene @ 330 Ritch St. – San Francisco, The Sweetwater Station – Larkspur, Ashkenaz - berkeley, Red House – Concord, Peri's – Fairfax,4th Street Tavern – San Rafael, Ace in the Hole - Sebastapol, Canvas Gallery – San Francisco, Eli's Mile High - Oakland, Ireland's 32 – San Francisco, Cue Production – Concord, House Concerts hosted by Drew Piece, Jeff Weinstein (art gallery) Private Party Benefit – San Francisco, Panama Bay Co. Coffee – Concord, Todos Santos Park (National Night out) –
Thanks for being one of the 3300+ members of Musicians and Artists for World Peace, now in 60 countries, including Donovan, Melanie, Patti LaBelle, Pete Seeger, Melba Moore, the New Rascals, Willie Nelson's Peace Research Institute, the Dalai Lama, Holly Near, Country Joe, Wayne Dyer, Patch Adams, Jean Houston, Dennis Kucinich & Deepak Chopra's Alliance for a New Humanity to mention just a few.
It would be much appreciated if you would consider placing us on your top friends list. If you have lots of friends you can search for us. Go to Change my Top Friends and paste in musiciansforpeace as the MySpace URL in the "Quick Find " dialog box.
BTW, for the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock, we did a butterfly release at West Fest in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Please see www.2b1records.com/woodstock40sf During the year preceding the event, we organized people world-wide to make sure the 40th anniversary would be a true celebration of peace, love and music. Please check out our page at http://passion.edu/elearn/mod/resource/view.php?id=1712 May Peace Prevail on Earth & In Space!
We have also been invited to join the planning committee for a 3-day concert called "IMAGINE," in some respects similar to Woodstock '69. Imagine will take place in 2010 at the same time as the G8 world leaders meeting in Montreal, Canada. www.imagineconcert.com
Dude you hearing me !!!!! MARC BROUSSARD @ Cafe Du Nord ??????? WHAT, WHAT, Get your tic before it sells out. Come to YOSHI'S in Oakland, this Thurs for GREG SCOTT Let's holla
Matthew HansenThank you for adding the Blues Party Tour by LiveBluesTonight.com BLUES PARTY August 1st Newman CA. $15 general seating 3 Fabulous Blues Bands: Highway 61 Blues Band Big Mo and the full moon band The great Ogle Mogle Blues Band
Its like a miniture Blues Festival with an intimate setting!
Hey what's up? It'd be awesome if you could help me out by Voting for my REMIX to LMFAO's single called LA LA LA. All you have to do is text 'Loud 1050' to the number 41411! and it only takes like 10 seconds or so to vote! There's a lot of WACK remixes with more votes than Spadez?!?! I'd appreciate it alot if you guys vote!! You check it out on Loud.com!!!http://www1.loud.com/contest-entry/lmfao-la-la-la-remix-contest/SpadezOnTheBeat/
Matthew, I mean Nick Tara, I mean Matthew....whatever. DUDE you are killer! Holy shit, way to wake up the place! i look forward to collaborating again!...soon! Thank you for bringing the energy to Bazaar-Stock! take care, kc
