Matt Manning-From First To Last: Interview
Posted by EMPIRE | Filed under INTERVIEWS
Where are you from:
Manning: Georgia
Travis: Georgia
Derek: L.A.
Matt G: Florida
I think Matt Good is from space. Travis and I just moved back to Georgia from L.A. We wanted to get back to the country, live the quiet life, ride four-wheelers and grill and do whatever we want basically.
Previous bands you’ve been in:
I was in a band called Dead Reckless.
What kind of music you did you play:
It was straight Rock N Roll, like the sound a Harley makes when you crank it up.
Was this band always called From First To Last:
It was First To Last when Matt [Good] started it in Florida. Travis joined and then the name changed. I just wanted to name the band Pantera, but that was already taken.
What drew you toward playing this style of music:
When I was younger I listened to a lot of hardcore music. I went to a lot of shows. I think my first show was Lagwagon in 1997.
What are your favorite bands to play with:
Vanna’s a fun band to play with. Every Time I Die, I just like watching them. Every Time I Die is one of those bands that just gets you stoked to play no matter what ’cause they’re just fuckin awesome.
What’s your favorite venue:
Soma in San Diego. The Taberncale. We like playing venues that aren’t too huge or too small. This is our first time playing here [Revolution Hall Troy, NY]. This place seems nice.
They have their own microbrewery. Have you tried the beer:
No, should I? I’ll buy you a beer if you buy me one. Do they have a Nascar?
(laughter)
I only use products that sponsor Nascar, you’re Coca Cola, you’re Tide.. I’m an avid user of UPS.
How does being the band affect your personal lives:
Some of us have girlfriends, but they’re understanding for the most part.. I guess. For the most part this is our lives. This is the best job. I worked in fast food, that sucked. I worked at Best Buy, that sucked. This one doesn’t suck.
How well do you guys work together:
We get along fairly well. We get in little spats here and there, but for the most part we’ve never had any you know.. where somebody threw a bottle at the other person. It’s fairly calm, nothing crazy.
Have you given any thought to adding another permanent member to the band:
Yeah, we have a dude named Chris [Lent] whose on tour. He plays drums, keyboards, a lot of other parts. As far as getting him in the band I don’t know how that works, but he definitely plays with us. He plays on stage, he plays bass a lot. None of us are like ‘we’re four people and you can play behind the curtain’. So most likely we’ll have Chris jamming some keyboards and everything until he gets tired of doing it I guess, if he ever does. I think he gets tired of us every day. He’s always griping and moaning about something.
What was it like working with Josh Abrahms and Ryan Williams:
Awesome, awesome. Josh, super awesome dude, has a great like amazing studio he owns over in Silver Lake called Pulse. The rooms sound great. The equipment they have is amazing. All we do is show up and play and they make it sound amazing. Ryan Williams is like a god of engineering, like as far as getting tones and everything he’s one of the best as far as I know. We’re extremely happy with the record.
What’s your favorite album of all time:
There is a cd that I’ve probably listened to more than anything, and it’s a record called El Camino by this band called Small Victory. They’re just this lttle band from Georgia, and I’ve had it forever and I still love every track on it. So I don’t know if it’s my favorite record of all time, but I’ve probably listened to that record more than any record I own.
Who inspired you to become a musician:
My mom. My mom was always extremely supportive even through school. When I was in high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I always wanted to be in a band since I started playing guitar when I was llike 13 or 14. She’s always been supportive, always. Even times when I was just out trying to tour and times of just being broke. ‘Hey mom can I get some money I’m hungry’, you know, even then she never said anything like ‘hey you should probably go to college and get a real job’. She’s always been 100% supportive, and that’s good to have you know, somebody that’s as close as my mom is. It’s nice not having anybody trying to pull on you when you’re chasing what you want to do.
Where do you go to feel inspired:
Georgia. Whitewater rafting in Idaho. It’s just gorgeous and quiet.
Do you ever feel like people expect too much from you:
I don’t take anything personal from anybody. Especially like with Sonny gone there’s a lot of fans who are like ‘bring Sonny back, where’s Sonny, I don’t like you anymore’. Sonny’s not coming back. So you can’t let people who are hurt that he’s gone affect how you function you know. We just wanna do what we do. I just think it’s best to not take anything personal.. ever, as far as what people think or anything. We’re happy we’re doing what we do, some people like it, some people don’t you know. It’s a free country. God bless America, right?
What message do you strive to send your audience:
The message that I’ve been living by is that there’s almost like a path for your life and it takes you to where you’re supposed to be. I think a lot of people stray off that and try to do different things and I’ve always just been like get what you want. Your dream or whatever it is, go for it. Don’t let anybody tell you not to. Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t because, literally, you can. Go take what you want.
When do you think the height of music was:
The 90s. That was the last time there were tons of great bands and people loved music. You had a lot to pick and choose from. Now you have a lot to pick and choose from, but it’s not that great. There was Rage Against The Machine, STP, Nirvana. It’s easy now with the internet. It’s easy to start a band, record your music and put it online for everbody to have. That’s great because you can go find music all over the place, but there’s so much of it that’s it’s almost harder to get your music out there. There’s a thousand bands trying to pull the same music in the same direction you know. That’s the way it is and you gotta live it out.. see what happens.
Do you have other artistic abilities aside from music:
I draw some pictures sometimes. I used to draw a lot, like all I did in high school was draw. I didn’t pay attention to anything. I didn’t do homework, I just sat in class and drew for however long class was. I just got a sketch pad and some pencils. I was like ‘I’m gonna sit down and I’m gonna draw a picture every day’. So I’ve been kind of doing that. I drew a squid.. I drew Richy in the future as the president.. a voodoo skull with crazy snake hair. The first day I drew a zombie with his hand cut off.
A place you’d like to play where you never have:
Japan.
Do you have fans in Japan:
I don’t know. I don’t speak Japanese.. so they might like it.. you’d never know.
What’s your favorite swear word:
Son of a bitch, that’s a good one. Just the whole phrase.
Travis: You don’t ever say that!
I say son of a bitch all the time! Son of a bitch..
If a movie was made about your life who would you want to direct it and who would you want to play you:
Mel Gibson! To direct and play me.
(laughter)
Mel Gibson and Mel Gibson.
Matt Good: Your love interest could be Brooke Hogan.
(laughter)
You son of a bitch..
Anything else you wish to add:
Matt Good: I haven’t added since third grade dude.
That’s true.
Friends, check out From First To Last on youtube.com/empireunderground, fromfirsttolast.com, & out on tour.
July 6th, 2010 at 9:33 PM
This was an excellent interview with Matt. He is just as sincere in print as in person. Up front and honest and a wonderfully talented guitar player with a super sense of humor. We are very proud of his tanasity and his good looks which came from his mother’s side, our side, of the family. Bazinga!