Matt Wilson On His New Album “When I Was A Writer,” Recording Near Prince, Minneapolis & More

Raised in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Matt Wilson formed a group called The Panic and spent much of their youth as under-aged performers in Minneapolis nightclubs, warming up for future luminaries like Husker Du and The Replacements. In the early 80s, Matt followed his brother Dan — future leader of Semisonic and songwriter for the likes of Adele, Taylor Swift and Dierks Bentley — to college in Boston where they formed a number of bands. After returning to Minneapolis, the brothers joined forces with bass player John Munson to form future major label band Trip Shakespeare; Munson and Matt Wilson still perform together via The Twilight Hours.

When I Was A Writer is new the full-length album from Matt Wilson’s latest project known as Matt Wilson & His Orchestra. The album was recorded at Wilson’s home studio, as produced by him and mixed by John Fields (Soul Asylum, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Switchfoot, Rooney). The album’s arrangements are built upon the orchestra’s organic but percussive instrumentation. Acoustic guitar, piano, harp, banjo and electric bass guitar take the lead, rather than the crunchy guitars, layered synths or pulsating drums that you may remember from prior musical projects of Wilson’s.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Wilson — a fun, knowledgeable and likable individual, to say the very least — by phone on March 22, 2020 about When I Was A Writer, how his life is currently being affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Minneapolis music scene of yesteryear, whether he ever encountered Prince, and plenty more. The full interview is embedded below for your listening pleasure, as is a video of the record release show for When I Was A Writer. More on all things Matt Wilson can be found online by visiting www.minneapolismatt.com and/or www.pravdamusic.com.

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Tags: Dan Wilson, Matt Wilson, Minneapolis, Paisley Park, prince, Semisonic, Soul Asylum, Trip Shakespeare

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."