Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt von Ende.
Hi Matt, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So our band formed out of the ashes of a couple of established Twin Cities-based groups: The Devil Blues Band and the Crooks of Cambridge. Both Brandon (guitar/vocals) and Country Matt (drums) had been playing in the Crooks of Cambridge and Country Matt and I (City Matt – bass) were playing in the Devil Blues Band.
When both of those groups reached their conclusion, we decided we wanted to try to form something new. I have a small recording studio at my house and had done the two Crooks EPs, so we were pretty well-positioned to hit the ground running.
Our first rehearsals were in August of 2022 and it was evident pretty quickly that we had really good chemistry.
Everything started rolling quickly from there. Brandon is the principal songwriter; typically, he’ll bring at least a framework for a new song to rehearsal and we will develop it from there. It’s a very enjoyable process–it allows each of us to contribute while keeping a consistent “voice” for the material.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
By and large, we’ve had no significant obstacles. That’s part of what’s made this such a pleasure for us–we get together each week and either write and rehearse material or record. Having access to the studio has made it easy to capture our ideas in real-time and I’m proud of the sonic quality of our released material.
As for any new band, building the brand and extending our reach is part of the process, so booking shows and playing live is another step to overcome, but we’ve had really positive responses to our shows and we’re getting booked in more and more places.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
So we’re a band specializing in original material. We don’t really do covers at all.
We describe our music as “punk rock and roll,” so there’s an element of hard, fast tempos in each of the songs, but the music is pretty varied. You can certainly hear indie rock influences in the songs and even a bit of 70’s AOR or 80s metal can sneak in there as well. Brandon is a great lyricist. He draws inspiration from real-life sources and is able to translate these emotions into accessible content.
I think one of the defining characteristics of our band is that our songs have relatively complex arrangements–key changes, tempo changes, and dynamic stops-and-starts. It’s not “math rock” but the power is definitely in the ability to blend the unexpected with catchy melodies.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
For music production and engineering, I love Rick Beato’s YouTube channel.
He’s an amazing musician and producer and he does a fantastic job with his series “What Makes This Song Great?”
He has a way of breaking down songs from a music theory perspective that does not lose the overall enjoyment of the music.
Contact Info:
- Website: hushvictoriamusic.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/hush_victoria
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/hushvictoriamusic
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/@hushvictoriamusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1P4pU2xuctKZcYi8US97sb
