DO YOU "ILIKE" MATT HOPPER?
We just created a profile on iLike.com today for Matt Hopper, or at least took over what was already on there. If you are a fan and love music, you should check out this website, it's pretty cool.

TWO HOPPER TRACKS ON TRANSWORLD VIDEO
Two Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles tracks are featured on Transworld Snowboarding's first feature film offering "These Days" during the bonus footage segment that will be included on the DVD release. "These Days" will hit shelves in September 2008 and showcases the snowboarding of some of todays rising stars. Check out a trailer for the film by visiting Transworld Snowboarding's website.

NEW YORK CITY RESIDENCY IN SEPTEMBER
It's quite rare that I get over to the East coast, so this time I'm staying for the whole month of September. These shows are going to be at 9:30 PM every Thursday night at REHAB (25 Ave B) with some great lineups curated by Russ Lemkin. Check out my Myspace for details. Wait! There's more. Talib Kweli will also be hosting a hip-hop night the SAME night, he goes on at 11:30 - so it's double your fun. And if that wasn't enough, then consider this, drinkers...FREE ABSINTHE from 9-10 PM courtesy of Le Tourment Vert (a.k.a. The Green Torment). Check out the flier below and see you there.

WEST COAST DATES ANNOUNCED
Scroll down and check out show fliers for Seattle, Portland, Eugene, and Boise. Also playing in Redding, Santa Barbara, Flagstaff, and Las Vegas this month.

ALASKA SUMMER TOUR
Performing select gigs in Alaska this summer in between recording dates and some much needed rest, hope you can join me:

July 12 - Wasilla, AK - Kafe Neo AA
July 19 - Kenai, AK - Kenai Playhouse AA
July 24 - Fairbanks, AK - College Coffeehouse AA
August 8 - Anchorage, AK - Blues Central 21+
August 9 - Anchorage, AK - Blues Central 21+
August 10 - Anchorage, AK - Blues Central 21+

For some / most of these gigs I will be joined by members of the Wasilla band Lavoy. I'm playing with a lot of great artists from Alaska while I'm home such as Evan Phillips, Mike Gorder, Emily Kurn, Wagner Logic, Jesse Taurianen, Caleb Arsonson - make sure you check out their music!

ON TOUR NOW WITH DREW GROW
Matt Hopper + Drew Grow will be touring out to New York City and back to the west, catch them at one of the following locations:

17-May SAT Salt Lake City, UT URBAN LOUNGE
20-May TUE Omaha, NE MICKS
21-May WED Minneapolis, MN UPTOWN BAR
22-May THU Madison, WI KIKIS HOUSE OF RIGHTEOUS MUSIC
23-May FRI Grand Rapids, MI LOUIES ROCKET LOUNGE
24-May SAT Grand Rapids, MI HOPCAT
26-May MON New York City, NY LIVING ROOM
27-May TUE New York City, NY REHAB <<< Just added
29-May THU Allston, MA THE DRAFT
30-May FRI New York City, NY CANCELLED
30-May FRI Baltimore, MD DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS PIES HAMDEN
1-Jun SUN Philadelphia, PA WORLD CAFÉ LIVE
3-Jun TUE Chapel Hill, NC MANSION 462
4-Jun WED Nashville, TN THE BASEMENT
5-Jun THU Fayetteville, AR MAGESTIC LOUNGE
8-Jun SUN Denver, CO LIONS LAIR

NEW YORK CITY RESIDENCY IN SEPTEMBER
Rehab on Ave B will be the home of a Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles residency in New York City every Thursday in September. The band will consist of local musicians including Russ Lemkin on the kit (you may know Russ from various tours in the past) and will feature a DJ set by Bill Caribou. Recording will commence as well for the Caribou Bill "NYC" EP to be released in 2009.

NATIONAL TOUR WITH DREW GROW & THE PASTORS WIVES CONFIRMED
Dates are currently being booked for a national tour with Portland, OR's Drew Grow & The Pastors Wives (Careen / Five O'Clock People / Vigilantees of Love) in May. Hopper and Grow will be backing each other up along with Jeremiah Hayden and Seth Schraper on assorted instruments and vocals. Dates and news coming soon.

RYAN VICKERS SHOOTS "MADISON" VIDEO
Los Angeles, CA - Somewhere in a creepy apartment complex off of Laurel Canyon and Mullholland lies the director with the deepest voice this side of Barry White, the soon-to-be-world-famous Redding All-Stars, otherwise known as THE DIP BOYS, own film director Ryan Vickers...who graduates from film school in five days and is letting loose next year with his second short film "Lonely" and also directing a video for Matt Hopper's "Madison". Hat's off to you Vickers, and congratulations on your accomplishments. Release date for the video will be announced at a later date.

CITY WALLS LIVE IN SEATTLE
Um, I haven't shaved in a week, my hair is greasy, and this isn't the best version of this song, but whatever...here is a version of "City Walls" strait from HB Telling's apartment in Seatte.

WRITE UP IN REDDING WEEKLY
Click here to read a current interview conducted by Ryan Prado for Searchlight, in the Redding, CA based weekly "Record".

HOPPER RECORDING "LONELY" SOUNDTRACK CURRENTLY
Matt Hopper is currently in Redding, CA and Oakland, CA working on a soundtrack for the Ryan Vickers short film Lonely. Hatcher Pass Records will be releasing the soundtrack digitally upon the release of the film, as well as select festival musical performances where the film will be debuting to audiences across the country.

Some additonal news that may be of interest:

• A few new shows have been added to the shows section.
• Two new t-shirt designs are on their way from one of the top designers on the west coast, Matthew Cater. One is going to be based on classic design structure - imagine vintage Flying Burrito Brothers or Petty & The Heartbreakers; the other is an edgy/bold print of a lovely model and some striking typeface. You will like; Cater does not mess around.
• An in depth interview will be coming out in Synthesis soon conducting by Ryan Prado.
• In talks about covering a song off of "It's A Shame Around Ray" for a tribute album to coincide with Rhino's re-release of The Lemonheads' classic. The tracklisting is still a secret so we can't tell you what song Hopper will do, but rest assured, it's one of the better tunes on the album.
• Hopper's friends (Roman Candles, the lot of them) Palomino, will be changing their name soon and debuting the new changes by throwing two CD release parties for their amazing debut full length record. Hopper is scheduled to play the Provo, UT release at Velour. Buy tickets, this one will sell out. How do you buy tickets? Call the concert hotline at 801-818-BAND.
• Hopper continues to release demos from his vast archives every week at Myspace.com/MattHopper. He has writing & recording dates coming up in Portland, Oakland, Seattle, Boise, Salt Lake City, Prescott with a variet of excellent band mates and songwriter partners. Tune in weekly for new songs - we welcome all your comments about the song, please leave them on Myspace or via e-mail.

LIVE ON KTUH 90.3 FM HAWAII
Matt Hopper will be performing brand new music on Barefoot Bob's Songwriter Showcase in Honolulu, HI on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 12 noon - 3 p.m. If you want to listen in online on your computer click here.

February Album Writing Month
Matt Hopper has committed to write 14 of his 50 songs this year in the month of February as part of FAWM. Although demos are not being posted at this time, you can catch the lyrics of his latest works over at his FAWM site profile. Be looking for all of these songs to be released throughout the year via Myspace/Nimbit.

On Tour in Hawaii
Hopper is touring Hawaii, mostly in the Honolulu area. All shows are listed in the tour dates section. There is a chance he'll be adding a few more shows and today (Jan 30) he'll be on KTUH 90.3 FM , the college radio station with Ross Jackson's Daydream Nation from noon - 3 p.m. Listen online here.

LOTUS / SOUNDCLASH EVENT w/ Golf Cart Rebellion + House of Tragic
2301 Kuhio, Suite 118, Waikiki, Hawaii 96815 - $5

THE LOFT / ENTERPRISE EVENT 2/1 w/ Temporary Lovers
115 Hotel St, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 - www.loft808.com

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA 2/3 w/ Megum Pie + G. Liu Jr.
Photo/Print Courtyard Art Building 3rd floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 - FREE

LOTUS / SOUNDCLASH EVENT 2/7 w/ The Closet Monsters (Portland), Pimpbot (HI)
2301 Kuhio Ave, Waikiki, Hawaii 96815 - $5

COFFEE TALK 2/9 w/ Golf Cart Rebellion + Hell Caminos + Bari Bari 13 + *ALL AGES*
3601 Waialae Ave, Kaimuki, Hawaii 96822 - $5 808-737-7444

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New Live Music Videos & Interview Up
Matt Hopper conducted an interview with Ali MacLean over at Vlaze.com recently in Los Angeles, CA. Check out the media section for more details. Here is the first of the interview:

click here to see more videos like this

Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles DVD Teaser
In November 2007, Matt Hopper was joined by Jamie Timm (Band of Annuals, Matt Lewis Band) for a Nashville adventure that saw the band showcasing at the Americana Music Awards and meeting new Roman Candles. Footage was shot and is currently being edited by Greg K, a Chicago based film maker, who offered up this teaser for our viewing pleasure. We have loads of digital video from a few past trips and it is a goal this year to somehow cohesively put these together for mass consumption in DVD form by the end of the year. Enjoy.

2008 Release Schedule / Top 5 Albums
In the year 2008, Matt Hopper will be releasing 50+ songs for a potential album towards the end of the year. Each week, a newly featured song will be available for download and steaming listen through Myspace. The songs will range from self-recorded and studio demos, recording outtakes, current rough drafts, and songs with friends from all over the country. You, as a listener and fan, will have the oppotunity to download those songs in their raw/rough draft form and in doing so, show Hopper what songs you dig the most so he can plan his studio album around your favorites to maximize your listening enjoyment. Check back in weekly to see if a new song has been posted to the right of this column.

It's always nice to hear when you're loved and rubbing elbows with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Manic Street Preachers, and Jesse Malin. Check out this write-up at Dane101.com where writer Shelley Peckham describes "Reverse Odyssey is soaked with heartbreaking honey-sweet melodies and more than a few kick-in-the-ass rockers. His prolific writing ability coupled with a love of both classic rock and folk make it easy to see why he is frequently compared to artists such as Ryan Adams and Elliott Smith." Find out for yourself by downloading the album or ordering it online.

Happy New Year
This is going to be an exciting year, can't you feel it? YOU and I both can look forward to hearing and having the opportunity to download 50 songs this year. The songs will be released weekly via this website, Myspace, and Nimbit. The twelve songs for my next record will be based on YOUR downloads, comments, and suggestions.

I am in Arizona right now - playing a gig at this awesome place called The Raven Cafe in Prescott on Saturday. Check out this flier and come out if you need a break from the big city.

 

Nimbit = Digital Downloads
Matt Hopper's music can now be downloaded in the SHOP via a service called Nimbit, which lets us keep 80% of the price of the song, currently the best in the downloads business. We (and hopefully you) prefer getting an album in the mail (where 100% of the profits go to us) but in the case of sold out albums (like The Gold Rush E.P.) this means you can still buy the tunes even though they don't exist in a tangible form currently.

Christmas Single Preview Online
Matt Hopper teamed up with Wilderhood Records exec James Glaves to bring you "Merry Christmas (Get Back On Your Steez)" - a tune Hopper penned in Kasilof, AK during a stint of Alaska shows with Kate Earl & The Old Believers. Earl, Keely Boyle and Nelson Kempf all lended their voices for background vocals. Check out the song on Matt's Myspace page over the next few days before we take it down. It will re-emerge next year probably on vinyl.

LocalCut.com Review / Download
Matt Hopper has been dubbed an honorary Portlander by Amy McCullough over at the Willamtte Weekly! He's definitely spent many a day and night in Portland. Check out what they have to say about Reverse Odyssey and download "Hot Mama" if you haven't had a chance to already. Click here.

Recording Sessions Commence at Wilderhood
Matt Hopper is currently holed up in a studio in Kasilof, AK (google it) working with members of Wagner Logic on a split EP that they hope to release in 2008. The songs getting treatment include "Wolf Eyes" "In It For The Music" and "Happy Girls" - as well as a special Christmas single.

Fox 4 News
Tonight, December 11, Matt Hopper will be on the 9 PM news here in Alaska playing during the entertainment segement towards the end of the show performing a new song "Roadmap" and "Head to Feet" off of his latest release Reverse Odyssey.

Alaska Holiday Tour Dates Announced
Matt Hopper will be performing at select venues over the Christmas holiday. Click here for more details.

Hopper To Score Short Film
Up and coming director Ryan Vickers has asked Matt Hopper to score a short film for La Devastation Pictures, currently titled "Lonely" being shot in January in Los Angeles, CA. Hopper will be re-recording an old tune "Westchester Lagoon" for the film as well as supplementary music for the film score.

AMA Conference Success
Matt Hopper's The Roman Candles included Nashville locals, three drummers, Band of Annuals/Matt Lewis Band guitar hero Jamie Timm, and the motley crew performed no less than six shows for unsuspecting Nashvillians. The Basement, Mercy Lounge, and Exit-In were all treated to rare full band performances and new songs.

AMA Conference Invite
Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles were selected to showcase at the Americana Music Association's annual conference. We will be putting on the ritz at The Basement at 9:30 PM on November 3, 2007 - send all your loud, obnoxious friends.

Recording In Chicago w/ Cameron McGill
Matt Hopper & Cameron McGill, now old buddies from the touring life, are going to be cutting a tune they wrote on tour at B-Side Audio in Chicago. This will probably be released as a single on each of their websites so stay tuned.

Boise, ID Residency Announced
Matt Hopper will be performing a weekly residency in Boise, ID at The Reef starting August 16th.

Let's Go Phishing!
Just Announced: Matt Hopper (solo) to support Page McConnell of Phish
Belly Up Tavern. July 14, 2007. 9 PM. More Info at www.bellyupaspen.com

Old News

 

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