Matt Pond PA

Matt Pond PA
Background information
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	1998–present
Labels	131 Records 131records.co
Website	www.mattpondpa.com
Members	Matt Pond Chris Hansen Shawn Alpay
Past members	Rosie McNamara-Jones Dana Feder Josh Kramer Jim Hostetter Sean Byrne Mike Kennedy Matt Raisch Jim Kehoe Eve Miller Will Levatino Dan Mitha Brian Pearl Cory Popp Steve Jewett Brad Gunyon Aram Deradoorian Leslie Sisson George Souleidis Dan Crowell Kyle Kelly-Yahner (Touring) Tierney Tough (Touring)

Matt Pond PA is a New York-based band formed in Philadelphia by singer-songwriter Matt Pond. They have released eleven LPs and eight EPs since 1998.

Throughout the years Pond has enlisted a rotating cast of collaborators for recording and touring, including cellists Jim Hostetter and Eve Miller, violinist Rosie McNamara-Jones, drummers Mike Kennedy and Dan Crowell, bassists Matt Raisch and Josh Kramer, and guitarists Jim Kehoe and Brian Pearl. Chris Hansen, producer and guitarist, has been a core member of the group since 2010. Cellist Shawn Alpay, who performs individually as Completions, is currently recording and touring as a member of the band. ^[1]

Matt Pond PA’s newest album, entitled Winter Lives, was released on November 11th, 2016. It was entirely funded, produced, and distributed independently through Matt Pond’s own label, 131 Records. The record consists of a mix of original, cover, and instrumental songs. ^[2]

Members

• Matt Pond – vocals, guitar
• Chris Hansen – guitar, vocals
• Shawn Alpay – cello

History

Early History (1998 — 2002)

Debuting in 1998 with Deer Apartments, the band quickly gained momentum through claiming top honors in an unsigned bands competition sponsored by CDNOW. Their sophomore album, Measure, was released in 2000 and a follow-up EP I Thought You Were Sleeping was issued the following year. The band first release on Polyvinyl, The Green Fury, was released in the spring of 2002 and The Nature of Maps followed soon after.

Emblems, Several Arrows Later, Last Light, The Freep, and The Threeep (2004 – 2009)

Pond relocated to Brooklyn in 2003 and recorded the band’s breakthrough album, Emblems, which was released on Altitude in 2004.^[3] In 2005 the band issued the seasonal EP, Winter Songs, which gained a larger following when Starbucks used the song "Snow Day" in a television commercial.^[4] Several months later released their 6th full-length LP entitled Several Arrows Later. 2007 saw the launch of If You Want Blood and Last Light. In 2008 the band released a free EP entitled The Freeep which was later sold under the name Auri Sacra Fames in 2009. An EP called The Threeep was also released in 2009.

The Dark Leaves, The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand, and The State of Gold (2010 – 2015)

Holing up in a cabin in Upstate New York, Pond recorded The Dark Leaves with producer Chris Hansen and several other guest musicians in 2010. 2013 saw the brief removal of “PA” from the band name and the release of The Lives Inside the Lines in Your Hand. The band recorded and released 2015’s The State of Gold while simultaneously playing anniversary tours for both Emblems and Several Arrows Later.

Present Day

Matt Pond launched 131 Records in the summer of 2016 as a desire to retain complete control over the musical process. He uses Patreon, a platform that allows fans to directly interact and contribute to the artist, to fund the endeavor.

Discography

Albums

EPs

• I Thought You Were Sleeping (2001)
• This Is Not The Green Fury (2001)
• Four Songs (2004)
• Winter Songs (2005)
• If You Want Blood (2007)
• The Freeep (2008)
• The Threeep (2009–2013)
• Spring Fools (2011)
• The Natural Lines (2013)
• Skeletons and Friends (2014)

Singles

• Lily Two/Golden Brown (2004)
• Halloween (2005)
• Snow Day/Holiday Road (2005)
• So Much Trouble (2005)
• Sunlight (2007)
• People Have a Way (2007)
• The Threeep - Part I - Starting (2009)
• The Threeep - Part II - Remains (2010)
• Starting - (2010)
• Love To Get Used (2011)
• The Threeep - Part III - Ruins (2012)

Compilations

• "Champagne Supernova" (Oasis cover) from The OC: Mix 4 (2005)
• "Green Shirt" (Elvis Costello cover) from Almost You: The Songs of Elvis Costello (2002)
• "I'm Not Okay" (My Chemical Romance cover) from Guilt by Association Vol. 2 (2008)

References

External links

• Official website
• Matt Pond PA collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive