Thanks once again to Matt for taking the time to answer fan questions. Here are the final questions to the 3 part interview. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t already. Hopefully, Matt will take the time to do something like this again some time next year.

Music as a career

When did you KNOW that music was what you wanted?
Submitted by Sara

I guess it was when I was to the point where I thought I was good enough to be able to do it professionally. Looking back, I really wasn’t good enough at that point. It took a little while longer. But after a lot of shows and practicing, it eventually happened.

If you could be something other than a musician, what would it be?
Submitted by Sara

Batman, of course.

Personal questions

Burger or Steak? Wine or Beer?
Submitted by Faith

In-n-Out and Rogue Dead Guy Ale

What kind of tattoo might you be tempted to get, if any? And where?
Submitted by Mary Ann

I’ve been thinking about getting barbed wire around my right bicep. Thoughts?

What did you think about the ending to Lost? If you were stranded with only one LOSTie who would you want with you?

I thought the last season was really good, but I didn’t really like the ending that much. Throughout the whole series, no matter how crazy things got, I kept telling myself that everything was part of some master plan the writers were weaving, and that everything would fit together in the end. It didn’t. I’m mostly just pissed that we never figured out what the big deal was about Walt.

If you could time travel, what time would you like to visit and why?
Submitted by Laurel

I would choose the American west during the latter part of the 19th century, more fondly referred to as “The Wild West”. But only the version from all the movies and TV shows and books and stuff. The real version was probably fairly lame.

What is it about plaid? I mean, what about stripes or solids?
Submitted by Nancy

Last week, we posted the first part of a Q&A with Matt that focused on questions about songwriting. You can read that interview here. In the second part of the Q&A, we asked Matt several questions about performing and about his career as a musician. Thanks to all the people who submitted their questions and to Matt for his responses.

Performing

How did you discover that you could sing well?
Submitted by Olivia

I don’t really know. I guess that once I got up the nerve to start singing in front of people, they reacted well to it, so I figured I didn’t sound that bad.

What makes one concert stand out from others or do they?
Submitted by Amy

They do. There are a lot of factors involved, but it’s mostly the level of attentiveness and positive reaction from the crowd and how I feel about my own performance. The size of the crowd can play a part too, but not necessarily. I’ve had some great shows with small crowds and not so great ones with large crowds.

What’s the best thing about touring? What’s the worst thing about touring?
Submitted by Joan

The best thing about touring is being able to do what I love and share my music with people every night. Being able to travel a lot is pretty good, too. The worst things are being away from home and sometimes keeping a pretty grueling schedule. Also, hotels without free wifi.

Music interests

Who do you go listen to when you go listen to live music?
Submitted by Meg

Since I tour so much, it’s become somewhat rare for me to get the chance to go to shows. When I’m home, I usually try to see Alexander & The Grapes and The Grecian Urns. They’re my favorite local bands from the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Next week I’m going to see Steel Train, a band I’ve listened to for a long time. The last touring artists that went to see were Needtobreathe and Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, and I ended up doing a song with The Sixers, so even at that show I sort of “performed”… That was back in March. I really need to try to get to more shows in 2011.

Which current artists influence you? Do you have any current artists faves who are guilty pleasures or would surprise fans?
Submitted by Amy

Some of my current favorites are Band of Horses, The Killers/Brandon Flowers, Dr. Dog, Mumford & Sons, and this band I’ve been listening to recently called Free Energy. The question about “guilty pleasures” comes up in interviews a lot, and I can never seem to think of any artist that I like that I would consider a guilty pleasure. I was actually thinking about this the other day and, while this artist isn’t current, Iron Maiden would definitely be a guilty pleasure of mine. Yes, Iron Maiden.

On some of those favorites, you can listen to Matt’s favorite songs from 2010 here. And come back next week for our last group of questions.

EOS: Have you ever done a duet? If you could, who would you like to duet with?

MATT: I actually haven’t really done a real duet with anyone. I guess if I had to choose, it would be Feist. Or Tegan and/or Sara.

(i vote for Feist cuz I love her)

Feist – Intuition

Tegan and Sara – Call It Off

EOS: What music might we be surprised that you listen to?

MATT: I don’t really have many “guilty pleasure” type CDs because I’m somewhat of a music snob. I guess the only albums that may be a little surprising would be Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3″, The Spongebob Squarepants movie Soundtrack (which has some great songs on it), and “The Grand Illusion” by Styx.

(Actually only one of those is kind of surprising.)

EOS: If there was a Matt Hires bumper sticker, what would it say?

Matt: “Matt Hires is my 3rd favorite musician.”

(Coming Soon to a bumper near you…)

Matt’s a witty guy.

Next week ~ Matt shares some music you might be surprised he owns.

Matt Hires is a good sport.

Subtitles provided due to poor audio quality.

In a recent interview with Mike Ragogna,  Matt answered some burning questions about song meanings and a little bit of everything else. Its a great interview.

MR: I think “You In The End” might be the best track on the album and a potential single as well as a country hit, although your label isn’t really marketing you that way. Lyrics such as “All I am is just a traveler with dirt on my hands, all I have is dust in my pockets and you in the end” and “Summer to Fall, we’re wrapped up in blankets, we’re wrapped up in everything we fear, it’s all what we make it” are simple yet really strong.

MH: I can’t take all the credit for that one. I wrote it with Sara Bareilles, she has that hit “I’m Not Gonna Write You A Love Song.” My producer also produced her album, so he had her come into the studio one day for us to play together and see what would happen. We ended up writing “You In The End,” and she’s a really cool songwriter, I just love the way she writes. Things flow from her in a cool way, very naturally.
“This isn’t the end. We’re just getting started. The road stretches on and on and on, we’re moving again…” – “You In The End”

Read Full Interview Here

Edge of A Star caught up with Matt last night in DC and asked a few burning questions of our own. Coming next Sunday

EOS:

What gives you a nostalgia rush?

MATT:

I get a nostalgia rush every time I listen to any of the first three Dashboard Confessional records.
I think I could listen to those three and relive my entire life from ages 15-18 in my head. Chris Carabba was a big influence on me when I first started writing songs at 16 or 17.

As one who feels that time is marked by the music you loved at different ages, I adore this answer. This nostalgia rush is for you…..

Screaming Infidelities

Stolen

If you don’t have Facebook or MySpace, you might have missed this “Get To Know You” series Matt did with Jason Castro during the State Lines tour.

Matt Hires and Jason Castro – Getting To Know You – Part 1

Matt Hires | MySpace Music Videos

Getting To Know You (Jason Castro and Matt Hires) Part 2

Matt Hires | MySpace Music Videos

EOS:

We aren’t sick of “Take Us To The Start” yet – but of course have to ask about your next album. Have you started working on it yet, and what can we expect in terms of new songs?

MATT:

“Well, I’m glad you’re not sick of Take Us To The Start yet, because I haven’t even started recording the next one yet!   I’m definitely working on new songs, though. If you came out to any of the shows on the State Lines tour, you probably heard me play “A to B”, which is a new one…

I’m trying to figure out what I want my next record to sound like. I’m a fan of bands that create each of their records with a sound or feel that is specific to each one, while the heart of the records remains the same or similar. If that makes any sense… In other words, I want to make a record that doesn’t sound the same as Take Us to the Start, while the heart of it still sounds like Matt Hires.”

If you missed Matt performing his new song on tour, here is A to B.

Video courtesy of MissTurkeySue