Matt Sweeney

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Matt Sweeney is a guitarist, vocalist, and producer who has worked with various groups, including 90s bands Skunk and Chavez. He has also played in Billy Corgan's band Zwan, filled in on bass for Guided by Voices, and collaborated with Will Oldham on their group effort 2005 album, Superwolf as well as their single "I Gave You".

Sweeney's work has taken him across a variety of musical genres. In 2005 he produced Brooklyn, NY heavy metal band Early Man (band)'s debut album, Closing In. The following year found Sweeney working in both the country music and hip-hop scenes, providing backup guitar work on the Johnny Cash album, American V: A Hundred Highways and appearing with Yo La Tengo bass player James McNew and Def Jux founder El-P, as guest artists on the first track of rapper Cage Kennylz's album "Hell's Winter". He has also appeared on Cat Power's The Covers Record.

In 2007 Sweeney again collaborated with El-P, this time alongside Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala of Mars Volta, on El-P's 2007 album, "I'll Sleep When You're Dead".

Fat Possum Records announced in early 2007 that ^[1] Sweeney was working on the second Deadboy & the Elephantmen studio release. Dax Riggs has since dropped the deadboy & the Elephantmen moniker and the album, "We Sing of Only Blood or Love", is now scheduled for release in Summer 2007 under Riggs' own name^[2]. It is not yet known if Sweeney played the role of producer, engineer, or musician on the project.

In late 2007 he also collaborated with Baby Dee for her "Safe Inside the Day" tour. The album "We Sing of Only Blood or Love" was released on August 21st 2007. Sweeney provided a combination of guitar, bass, piano and backing vocals for all of the tracks as well as producing the record.

In tune with his many collaborations, an unlikely combination of Sweeney and Neil Diamond was proposed by seminal indie producer Rick Rubin in 2008 to follow-up Diamond's Rubin-produced 2005 album "12 Songs"^[3]. The 2008 album "Home Before Dark", released on the 12th of May, features Sweeney on all songs.