ALL ACCESS - Matthew Mayfield Interview - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the Matthew Mayfield interview:

All Access

Before the days of the Internet and all the digital media outlets we have available to us today, we had very limited ways of having access to our favorite musicians. When I was a little girl, I used to get up early every single morning, run downstairs to my giant wood paneled TV, turn on MTV, and wait and wait for Rick Springfield's video to air. So I started writing letters to him so he knew that I was available for marriage. This is the picture that I submitted:



Yup, amazing why Rick never responded. Matthew made a great point that reminded me of my Rick Springfield obsession. "Being accessible is the key to helping you build a career these days." No more waiting for MTV to play the videos (MTV plays videos?), no need to mail out letters to hope that it wasn't just the President of the Fan Club reading your heartfelt words. You get the picture. Fifteen years ago, accessibility was the complete opposite.(see my picture and Rick Springfield story above?). I remember standing outside of Scotty's Music Shop in Morristown, NJ from 4am until the store opened to HOPEFULLY get a wristband to see a Rush concert. "Many years ago, when artists came into town and you were lucky enough to get a concert ticket to go see them, it was magic! The lights would go down and the whole crowd would go bananas. I think a little bit of that magic is lost nowadays."

Turning Grey into GREEN

The formula is simple. Virtually unknown singer/songwriter + Grey's Anatomy = GOLD MINE!

In terms of exposure, song placement, dramatic effect, and becoming a favorite on iTunes, getting your music played on Grey's Anatomy is the Holy Grail of prime time TV shows. Blending the music with the drama unfolding on the screen, the end result has catapulted the likes of The Fray, Ingrid Michaelson, Katie Herzig, Erin McCarley, Greg Laswell, etc. and now Matthew Mayfield.

So how does someone get their music on this coveted show? Matthew Mayfield had his song "First in Line" on the 100th episode. "It was a total fluke. A guy in New York randomly found me. He asked if he could throw his The Fire EP around in the industry." This was in November of 2008 and in a few months of thinking the chances were extremely slim, he was given a call. "In April, I got a call and they said my song "First in Line" was picked for the 100th episode of Grey's Anatomy." That kind of exposure was ENORMOUS for him. He usually never played that song at his shows and now "First In Line" is requested for every single live show. It was unprecedented to have an artist that is completely independent get a song on Grey's Anatomy. Matthew had about 16,000 downloads in 2-3 weeks.



Music for the cooler people

Musicians typically uncover some hidden gems who are coming up the ranks, too. Matthew gave us some great suggestions:

- Justin Furstenfeld (Blue October) solo album. (www.myspace.com/justinfurstenfeld)

- Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot) has a solo project that's much quieter than his Switchfoot music. According to Matthew, he's "totally unassuming" and just damn good (www.myspace.com/jonforeman)

- Blue Cut Robbery is a trio that plays Bluesy rock and roll (www.myspace.com/thebluecutrobbery)

- Great Book of John is a Birmingham band and according to Matthew, they have "phenomenal songwriting" (www.myspace.com/thegreatbookofjohn)

- Needtobreathe is incredible. "Some of the coolest guys I know and I love touring with them" (www.myspace.com/needtobreathe)

A Few Little Known Facts About You?

- Love, love, HUGE L-O-V-E getting my ears looked into with the telescope thing they use at the ENT doctor. I once got the device as a present (whoa!)
- I never face the shower head...I'm always looking to the side
- I hate the silence between previews. I always hear the smacking and cracking and it drives me nuts
- I can watch movies that I like hundreds and hundreds of times over and over again. I love Rounders and Assasination of Jesse James, to name a few

So, after this interview, I posted a few tweets about Matthew Mayfield on Twitter (www.twitter.com/allisonrebecca1) and Facebook and got some die-hard Matthew Mayfield fans reaching out to me. There are people that travel across the country to see him live as much as they can. Hey, I can totally respect that. At this particular show at the Loft in Atlanta, I brought some of my friends who are huge fans of his AND were totally jealous that I got to spend some time interviewing him (I can't blame them - I'm a lucky gal). After wedding offers and baby mama promises from my friends, I could tell he was blushing a bit.



Matthew, you are a personal musical hero of mine and I am excited to see your legions of fans grow. THANK YOU!

Download his music on iTunes
www.twitter.com/matthewmayfield
www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Mayfield/6522493906
www.myspace.com/matthewmayfieldmusic