Matt O’Donnell

Snapped this picture out my window after the riot police had dispersed of the 400 man crowd (think of that biblically) outside of my dorm. This was being taken mid-sentence of the solitary officer toward the bottom saying:

“Hey Verizon, this is OUR network!”

Fuck yeah, we’re the World Series Champions here in Boston. And don’t none of you forget it.

Just wanted to drop you some pictures from the Jazz Bass Workout 2007 at Jim Stinnett’s in New Hampshire. The other seated man is Todd Johnson, a man who is so wonderfully pioneering the concept of “chord melody” on the electric bass. It’s exciting stuff, something that I’ll be working on for some time to come now. The standing figure is John D’Ercole, a wonderful bass player here at Berklee. The song we’re playing here is “Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise”. I still maintain that I am the least photogenic person I know.

Hey, Matt O’Donnell here, reporting to you from the midst of Red Sox Nation. Game 2 of the 2007 World Series starts in a little over an hour. And what a game it’s going to be. Just snapped this one with my iPod. It’s the Prudential Tower here, with lights in certain offices arranged to show support for the BoSox! Show those Denver dweebs what’s up, men!

Hey all,

I just wanted to drop a little something your way. As some of you may know, I’m desperately into live performance DVDs. I have a passionate love affair with live recordings (instead of studio recordings), but I have an even deeper affection for video footage of live performances, since the presentation of the music is just as valuable as the music itself.

One of the best things I’ve come across in the past couple of years is the five-dvd boxed set of “Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Music”. SNL performances have always been a major-league venue for bands. Even if you’ve had a few hit records, you haven’t really “made it” unless you’ve been on SNL. But, of particular impact to me, probably because it’s all the music I heard when I was ages 8-12, is the fifth disc. Just a sampling of it:

No Doubt - Don’t Speak
Metallica - Fuel
Dave Matthews Band - What Would You Say
Ricky Martin - Livin’ La Vida Loca (one of the most extravagant SNL performances ever!)
-and my favorite-
Jewel - Who Will Save Your Soul (a pretty jazzed out version featuring the INCREDIBLE Joshua Redman on Tenor Sax)

It’s got some great performances from the 90s on it. Wow. Just great stuff. The whole boxed set is incredible, but this is where it’s AT.

Quintet rehearsal tonight. There might be a band naming involved.

Just a quick update. I had a rehearsal for my new quintet last night, and it was really fucking good. It was our second rehearsal so far, and there’s no denial that we made a 100% improvement from the first one. I’d be more inclined to say it was closer to 200%, but it’s written in stone that it was at least 100%.

Watch out, kids. We’re the kind of gang your mom told you to watch out for.

Some iPhone pics from the REALLY amazing Maroon 5 show that Ed Loveall and I attended. We were in the 5th row of the center floor section.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I’d like to make a special announcement.

In the past few days, I’ve been making major strides towards putting together a wonderful new project. It’s something that has gone through careful, but essential, consideration over the past month.

I’ve been looking towards the rest of this academic year with bright eyes as far as being a performer. However, at Berklee, it’s so easy to put together a group that can function pretty well musically, but doesn’t give you your time/money’s worth as far as being something you enjoy doing away from that music. That’s why I’ve sat in seclusion here in Boston while bad singer/songwriters and indie bands play at the Middle East and All Asia every night. I have my 7th semester jury coming up, as well as my Senior Recital in the spring, and so I needed a band for that anyway. But then with offers and brainstorms (MUCH more to come on the brainstorms soon, I hope!), I delicately have placed together……..

The Matt O’Donnell Quintet

Although a better pseudonym may pop up, that’s the best way to present it for now. The guys who make up this group are guys that I’ve only played with a few times each (a couple of them not at all), but I know, and am excited to be surrounded with, their abilities. More importantly, I’ve spent a lot of social time with these guys, and they’re all people that I enjoy having in my life. So, with the right balance of the two, there’s almost guaranteed to be good music pouring out.

Without further ado, I give you the lineup:

Matt O’Donnell (that’s me!): Bass
Abye Osman: Alto Saxophone
Quinn Carson: Trombone, Vocals
Steve Chaplin: Keyboards
Cameron Outlaw: Drums

Our first performance as a group will take place on November 8th, in a closed session that is my 7th Semester Jury in front of the bass department faculty. What’s more exciting, and of course, accessible to you is……

November 14th
The Matt O’Donnell Quintet
Live At Bill’s Bar, Boston MA

We’ll be playing on a lineup with some great, great other groups. We’ll be taking no prisoners that night, and showing the Fenway Park area a thing or two about musical bliss. More details will come as I find them out, but if I were you, I’d just write that into your schedule now and tell everyone who wants you to hang with them to come see what’s going to go down.

I’m excited…….and there’s so much more to come.

Matt out.