Meet Matt Damon | Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Damon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m originally from the small town of Ola, Ar. A population of around 1,200 people. I grew up on an old dirt road. My mom was a teacher at the school, and my father was a welder/mechanic. My brother and I grew up working and helping out all we could with what needed to be done. We both had dirt track (race) cars and played all the sports. We were both better at football. I was the Qb and he was the running back and a linebacker. We both got to live the small town life and spent most of our time down the old dirt road, old hwy 10.

After my years out of school, and all the traveling I’ve done to different places… I definitely wouldn’t change the way I grew up for anything. The morals and way of life our parents taught us, looking back, has gave me more to life than any school or big city could have taught me. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is, no matter where you go, be who you are. That has led me where I am today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started out traveling doing pipeline work. I didn’t pick up a guitar until I was 25. My first obstacle was being a lefty and learning to play right handed. It seemed like it took a solid year to get to where I could just strum chords in time. When I got decent enough to play at a bar, I found that the traveling for work to different states really helped out. I would find places to play at within driving distance of the job. I would work all day and as soon as quitting time hit I’d book it to the camper and load up my stuff to go play some tunes. I definitely didn’t get much sleep back then. As of today, I’ve played in at least one venue from North Dakota to south texas for the most part. I would say that has been a big help in my success. It definitely hasn’t been easy. I’ve put countless hours in working on learning more about playing the guitar, songwriting, and voice lessons from Jay Lemon. He’s helped me out a ton as well. I’ve learned a ton along the way… one of the biggest ones: No matter how many people are there, always sing your heart out and give it everything you’ve got. Never half ass anything in life. If there’s anything I want people to know about me, it’s that no matter how tough life gets, always chase your dreams. Once I quit trying to quit and started giving it my all, it got a little easier.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We all know I don’t leave the farm much anymore, unless I’m going to play a show somewhere, but I still love to get a little rowdy every now and then. I’d say my favorite place to be would be the stockyards. Do a little bar hopping and check out the places and food. I’d definitely end up at Billy Bob’s and try to catch a show there. As far as heading downtown goes… In Deep Ellum there’s a bar called the Wounded Ostrich. If you’re ever in the area that would definitely be a place you have to check out. Its my kind of place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe a lot of thanks to quite a few people actually. My Aunt Amber has always supported me and been there to help pull me out of a slump when I’m ready to quit and give up. Over the years of traveling and playing music I’ve met quite a few great musicians that have became close friends. Rockey Jones helped me a ton by letting me tag along and set his PA system up and teaching me a ton playing the guitar when I first started. I met Dennis Dunnigan in North Dakota. He’s one heck of a guitar player and all around musician. We spent almost a year playing music and working on things about every day up there. I owe a huge thanks to Dave Percefull for helping produce my songs I’ve written and for being a father like figure helping me guide my way through the industry. I met blues legend George Sanders in Kansas in ‘21. He helped me a ton with some guitar playing and my vocals… as well as having a lot of fun with jam sessions and playing some shows. Proud to say I’m good friends with him as well. I also owe a huge thanks to the Travis family for everything they’ve done to help out as well. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

Instagram: @mattdamonband

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattDamonBand?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Other: My sponsor Honkytonktshirt.com