Matt Costa

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Matt Costa
Matt Costa performing at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Background information
Born	June 16, 1982
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Label(s)	Venerable, Brushfire
Website	MattCosta.com

Matt Costa (born June 16, 1982) is a singer/songwriter from Huntington Beach, California. He has released three independent compact discs: a self-titled five-song EP in 2003, a full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing' and a six song EP titled The Elasmasaurus EP in 2005.

1 Biography
2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 EPs
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Matt Costa was born in Huntington Beach and raised in Cypress, California. Matt Costa, who is of Portuguese ancestry, states his father "worked in airlines" and his mother "was around the house a lot"[1]. While young, his family moved to Florida where he "pursued skateboarding and high school on the side"[2]. Later the family moved back to Huntington Beach and at age 12, Costa received his first guitar but it was quickly shelved and replaced with a more "thrilling" gift: a skateboard. Costa compensated for his late start skateboarding with intense dedication to the sport and in a matter of years nearly turned pro. In 2003, that path shifted drastically when Matt shattered his leg in a skateboarding accident. The injury required eighteen months of recovery and rehabilitation. During that downtime, Matt directed his energy, passion and talent toward the guitar, writing and recording simple tunes. Initially, a mini tape recorder served as his crude studio. Matt's songwriting later flourished when he invested in a 4-track recorder.

In early 2003, Matt's homemade demo began circulating amongst friends and acquaintances in and around his hometown of Huntington Beach, California. One copy found its way into the hands of No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont. Costa made such an impression that Dumont offered to record more demos for him in his home studio. Those first recordings led to a self-titled 5 song EP that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. As interest in the EP grew, the two were already deep into the sessions that led to Songs We Sing. Considering Dumont's experience as a songwriter, one might expect him to have taken a more active role in the songwriting process. This however, was no usual mentorship, as Dumont remained behind the control board, offering encouragement, more interested in capturing Matt's talent than in shaping the songs himself. Phil Ek (Modest Mouse, The Shins) applied the finishing touches, mixing the twelve tracks that have become Songs We Sing.

Matt Costa spent the summer of 2005 opening on Jack Johnson's summer tour, playing in amphitheaters and baseball stadiums across North America. He has also supported diverse artists such as Pinback, Built to Spill, Gomez, The Vandals and Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard.

Matt joined Jack Johnson for his 2006 European tour. He has also contributed to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George soundtrack; The track is entitled "Lullaby" and it features Matt Costa with Jack Johnson. This song was taken from his The Elasmasaurus EP. The soundtrack was released Tuesday, February 7, 2006.

Matt is scheduled to perform at the 2006 Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Washington.

The video for Matt's first single, "Cold December" can viewed at his website.[3] It was directed by the Malloys and shot in Nevada. It was released February 2, 2006.