Photo: Jennifer Hope McCharen
In many instances, a guy with an acoustic guitar is likely
to produce visions of James Taylor’s brilliant guitar work and
melancholy song stylings or Paul Simon’s poetic magnificence, but Chad
Matheny doesn’t operate in quite the same vein. Under the nom du rocque
Emperor X, Matheny steps onto the platform of acoustic
singer/songwriter with the hallucinogenic imagery of Syd Barrett, the
Emo romanticism and powerful undercurrent of Chris Carrabba and the
swirling disorientation of an unplugged and relatively sober Robert
Pollard.
Although Matheny will often record with an assortment of
supporting musicians making a variety of accompanying noises on
traditional and non-traditional instruments, he is typically alone in
the live setting, a man, his guitar, a handful of delays and other
effects and a head full of heartfelt songs (or a heart full of headfelt
songs, depending on the mood or the moon).
Tuesday, Oct 11
Hailing from the unlikely locale of Jacksonville, Fla.,
Matheny has been curating Emperor X as a musical art project for over a
dozen years.
Emperor X plays Mayday Thursday. Go here to read Brian Baker's full Sound Advice.
