Introducing Matt

I really wanted Matt to be Josh. 

Matt is the keyboardist for Bob Perna and Persistance, the jazz band I sing with.  Of this generation of Pernites, Matt has been around the longest.  A friend of mine calls him "Kitten Paws".  It's amazing that such melodious sounds can come from hands that look like they are just randomly slapping the keys.  He also plays for a band called Abstract Giants.  I don't feel right about trying to describe their genre until I actually see them perform.  I have seen pictures, though, and the audience seems to be having a blast. 

I met the lovely gentlemen of Persistance a couple years ago at my audition, and I never thought I would be able to remember all of their names. Coming from New Mexico, I was used to memorizing names like Alejandro, Juan Carlos, and Manuel.  For the longest time I thought Matt was named Josh, and I just decided not to address anyone by name until I was totally sure. 

Once I got a little more comfortable with the idea of actually speaking to my bandmates (about a year later, geez!), I asked Matt to accompany me at a wedding.  He created lovely arrangements of Led Zeppelin and the Doors to play at a swanky ceremony.  Then cocktail hour.  I didn't have a microphone to croon, so Matt pretty much took over.  Matt has an old music soul.  His brain is a jazz encyclopedia.  The bride's otherwise grouchy grandmother sidled up to Matt, and started making requests.  Grandma would give him half a lyric, and he would play exactly what she wanted.  I think she sat with him for 45 minutes.  Awestruck family members remarked that they had never seen her so giddy. 

Aside from being a supportive band member, Matt is creative and makes me laugh.  And I have little personal funerals for his hair when he cuts it short.