Behind Matt Hurray’s charming, spunky and mesmeric character, is a stellar musician. Matt paints his own lane creating albums that are true to the essence of what rock & roll is – a good time mixed with some great music!
He is bold and unwilling to compromise his authenticity and commitment to his craft riding a wave that most musicians today wouldn’t dare to ride – creating instrumental albums.
Here we caught up with him to discuss his album, Bitchin’, a dynamically phenomenal ode to 50s/60’s surf music, his take on the current state of music and basically learned more about the man behind the music. His energy is captivating and is guaranteed to draw listeners in.
Here’s what he had to say:
IATI: Your EP, ‘Bitchin’ is your most recent release. How did you come up with the name for this project?
Matt: EP? It’s a ten song LP!!! Bitchin! is a throwback word to when I was kid and I realized that it needed a strong comeback. I mean come on, that makes me kind of Bitchin, right???
IATI: ‘Bitchin’ pays homage to the surf music pioneers of the 50s and 60s. What inspired you to tackle this particular genre and create this project?
Matt: As a kid my friends and I would listen to The Ventures, The Surfaris, The Challengers and others before we would head out to surf. The vibe and genre always stuck with me and inspired me to write and release my first two LP’s “Egyptian Surfer” and “Unnecessary Commentary”. The fun thing back in the 50′ and 60’s was all of these bands recorded a lot of the same songs and each version had its own style and sound. I wanted to record a collection of these great surf tunes with my band…and Bitchin’ is the first batch…
IATI: It’s a bold move in today’s music climate to release a project that is largely instrumental based. Were you apprehensive to release such a project? Why or why not?
Matt: This is actually my fourth project of all instrumental tunes and I must say I was never apprehensive. It seems like everybody has something to say these days, but most people are saying the same old stuff. The beauty of the surf instrumental is the way it makes each individual feel (which can be very different from person to person) which is a cool thing.
IATI: What do you feel like the current music industry is missing?
Matt: Music industry? What is that??? But seriously, the cool thing today is the availability to find so much music that is out there that someone never would have been able to find back in the days of the big record companies and zero internet.
IATI: What was the best part about creating ‘Bitchin’?
Matt: The best part about creating ‘Bitchin!’ was the process of choosing which songs to record and then doing it! Sounds simple, but I found it really special and fun to be able to mix in songs by two of my favorite bands (The Replacements and The Hoodoo Gurus) with songs written by some surf music legends along with one of my own. I mean, how bitchin is that???
IATI: Do you feel like the popular music today will stand the test of time and be paid homage like you’ve done with surf music — 40 years from now? Why or why not?
Matt: Some of the music today will stand the test of time, and some of it won’t. The interesting thing will be finding out what does and what doesn’t. Think Punk vs Disco. Apparently both have stood the test of time, but their are a lot more punk rockers that are proud of what they did…disco bands, not so much!
IATI: How do you feel about the internet’s impact on music and society?
Matt: The internet changed the entire landscape of music, making it much easier for indie artists to be heard by a larger audience. I would say it has definitely evened the the playing field. It’s especially more meaningful to find cool music on your own and not having some jack at the corporate level force feeding you the latest “rage” that was never all that in the first place.
IATI: What future plans do you have? What are you working on next?
Matt: Future plans for me entail a new original LP in 2020. In the mean time, my next project is volume two of the surf dedication albums entitled ” ‘Nofre Nuggets ” which should arrive in cloud stores late July or early August 2019. I’d say iTunes, but apparently that might not be around when the album drops…Crazy Days!
IATI: Where can we find your music and keep updated on your journey?
Matt: You can find my music at CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and other digital outlets. To stay updated on gigs and happenings, read some reviews, or check out some videos my website is the spot: www.matthurray.com You can even contact me to book a gig! Pretty Bitchin!