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Ben Wakeman

  • Catch & Release
  • about
  • music
    • I'm Just the Same As I Was
    • Waiting for the Light to Change
    • Greener
    • The Overall Distance
    • Demos
    • A Quiet Place to Sit
  • Fiction
    • Rewind, Playback
    • The Memory of My Shadow
    • Harmony House
  • Events
  • Podcast
  • contact
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MatthewPerrymanJones

Episode 15: Matthew Perryman Jones Finds His Stride

January 15, 2009

Matthew Perryman Jones is on course to be the "next big thing" and it could not happen to a better guy.  He has paid his dues and earned his way up through the ranks in the post-John-Mayer era of the songwriter genre. Matthew has an achingly beautiful tenor that just seems to stretch out comfortably over the emotive and shimmery pop songs found in his latest two releases: "Throwing Punches in the Dark" and "Swallow the Sea."

In this interview, he talks candidly about his musical journey and what inspires him to write. Matthew's easy and self-effacing nature reveals the young man who got his start as the doorman at the legendary listening room, Eddie's Attic, who, to quote Eddie, was "too damned shy to even look up at the audience when he was singing."

In the last ten years, Matthew has gained confidence, grown tremendously as a writer and his voice echos legendary singers like Jeff Buckley and Bono. This episode of Take Me to the Bridge contains three live recordings from Matthew's last two CDs -- one of which Matthew actually chokes on -- literally!

← Episode 16: Katie Herzig Sings Devil Music with the Voice of an AngelEpisode 14: Gretchen Peters Makes it Look Easy →

SHORT STORIES

LONGER THAN A SONG, SHORTER THAN A NOVEL...

I've always been enamored by the short story. It is probably the most difficult form to master. How can you possibly transport someone into a fully realized world in just a few pages? Songs can cheat because the music does the heavy lifting. Novels have acres of open land to plant the seeds and allow them to grow, produce fruit and even die. But short stories must be dense, concentrated and focused with an engine powerful enough to tow a freight train but small enough to fit in a pocket watch.

This collection of stories represents my meager attempt to learn how the form works. There are moments I hope where I get close, but you can be the judge of that, dear reader.