Matthew Jordan profile picture

Matthew Jordan

Who says piano can't rock as hard as guitar?

About Me



"Charismatically gifted... his voice is remarkably expressive... Jordan's musical ability is often stunning." - Bernard Baur, Music Connection Magazine
"He's a pro, he can just do *anything*."- Vanessa Carlton on MTV "Duets"
"A welcome addition to the family of piano songsters."- John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting.
"Think of Mayer and Mraz with the jaw-dropping piano skills of Ben Folds, and you just might get an idea of this 22 year old wonder."-Steven Stewart, Nokia Music Supervisor, Helsinki, Finland
There was never a time when Matthew Jordan didn’t want to play piano and sing.
“I can remember telling the teacher in kindergarten that I was going to grow up to be like Billy Joel,” he says, with a soft-spoken smile that suggests a quiet self-confidence. “There was a kid I knew back then who used to sing We Didn’t Start the Fire on the playground. I came home and asked my dad about it, and he pulled out this huge stack of Billy’s old albums. That was it. I was totally hooked.”
But even before that, another piano prodigy inspired him. “We actually lived next door to Tori Amos when I was about two or three years old. She used to come over a lot, because my dad was the photographer who did her early pictures. I called her Toe-y.”
So, with Billy and Tori looking figuratively over his shoulders, a five-year-old boy sat transfixed at the keyboard for hours… which became days… and then years… until he finally graduated from USC’s prestigious Thornton School of Music in 2006. “There’s never been anything else I’ve wanted to do. Of course, everybody in high school thought I was weird, ‘cause in high school ya gotta play guitar to be cool. But I just kept playing and writing, and here we are.”
On the verge of releasing his debut full-length CD Horizon (Quiet Thunder Records) on March 13th, this twenty-two year old wonder has already established impressive credentials: Nearly 30,00 fans on MySpace; chosen as a featured artist by NOKIA Corp. with his music included in their official Podcast at MIDEM 2007; a finalist on MTV “Duets” with Vanessa Carlton; and a starring role in Five For Fighting’s iconic and award-winning video 100 Years in which he plays the wistful 15 year old pianist (“Fifteen – there’s still time for you”).
He recalls the day of the video shoot as the most grueling and exciting day of his young career. “We had to be on the set at 5:30 AM, and we shot for thirteen hours, during which time I had to repeatedly fall out of a giant tree, my own personal Fear Factor,” he laughs. “Then we had to rush back to Hollywood, because I had a huge gig that night at the Hotel Café.”
In fact, Matthew Jordan live performances are really something special. The ability to be passionately into his music while playing, and disarmingly vulnerable and open in between songs is rare, and Jordan has it a hundred times over. Whether performing with his band, as he frequently does at venues all over Southern California, or solo, as he will be on his upcoming Summer 2007 tour, Matthew forges an instant bond with his audience.
Of course, it helps that his songs have lyrics and themes to which everyone can relate. I’m On My Way is an exuberant anthem to finally breaking out on your own, featuring percussive machine gun piano and an insanely catchy chorus. Eventually is a plaintive prayer that a deep love will grow in a heart where none currently exists. That’s a sentiment that nearly everyone has shared at one time or another.
“Most of the time, I bleed my emotions out with the music first,” Matthew says. “I latch on to a feeling and just let it play through my fingers. Then the music tells me what the song is about… Sometimes the meaning of song isn’t totally clear until weeks after it’s written.”
And sometimes those meanings are dark. Both Insomniac and Scared of Love are songs about suicide. Insomniac is about the failed attempt of a high school friend to kill himself over a broken romance. Scared of Love hits even closer to home, written for a beloved uncle who tragically took his own life in 2005.
But mostly, Matthew’s music has a hopeful edge to it. “I try to keep my eye on the big picture,” he muses. “There’s something pretty overwhelming about being an ant on a marble floating in a random corner of an infinite cosmos. That makes it kinda hard for me to take myself too seriously.”
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/14/2004
Band Website: matthewjordan.com
Influences: Ben Folds, Steely Dan, Brian Wilson, Billy Joel, The Beatles and more.
If you like music by Five For Fighting, The Fray, Maroon 5, Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, All American Rejects, Switchfoot, Tyler Hilton, Teddy Geiger, Gavin DeGraw, John Mayer or Jason Mraz, you just might like mine... so check it out!
Click here to join my MAILING LIST!!
Record Label: Quiet Thunder
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

MusicPlus TV Live Performance Footage!

Hey all,Recently I got the opportunity to do an interview and live performance segment on Rock Remedy, a show on the awesome internet TV network MusicPlus TV. Figured I'd upload the performance footag...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:30:00 PST

"Horizon" Now Available on iTunes!

Hey guys!Just wanted to let you know that my new album "Horizon" is now officially available on iTunes. You can check it out by clicking this link:i=250177926&id=250177923&s=143441" target="_blank">Fo...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:45:00 PST

"Horizon" review on MusiqTone.com - check it out! :)

Hey all, Just wanted to let you know that my new album Horizon was given some great coverage on www.musiqtone.com. MusiqTone is a great online music zine covering independent and major music acts acro...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:47:00 PST

The ALL NEW www.matthewjordan.com!

Hey guys,I'm *way* excited to announce the launch of my all new official web site, www.matthewjordan.com! Check it out for the most recent news about my new album and gigs, my very own blog, new bio, ...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Sun, 04 Mar 2007 11:03:00 PST

Check out my new t-shirt design!

Hey everyone,Just wanted to continue my weekly blog updates with a special preview of my brand new t-shirt design! These shirts will be available as soon as my CD is released, and we'll have both wome...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:14:00 PST

Live Performance/Interview Session on www.sunsetstrip.com :)

Hey guys!I recently filmed an "Acoustic Session" for an awesome new website, www.sunsetstrip.com. It features special acoustic performances of "I'm On My Way', "Close" and "Blink" as well as several i...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Tue, 09 May 2006 05:37:00 PST

"Book of Days" EP on CDBaby and iTunes!!

Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that sales and distribution of the "Book of Days" EP has officially been placed in the hands of CDBaby.com. Click here to see some awesome reviews of the EP, hea...
Posted by Matthew Jordan on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 12:00:00 PST