Interview: Matt Beck of Matchbox 20, Rod Stewart and Lisa Loeb

Matt Beck is one of the busiest sidemen around, backing up the likes of Matchbox 20, Lisa Loeb, Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas (for whom he also serves as musical director) and Rod Stewart.  In addition to keyboards, mandolin, banjo, lap steel, dobro, bass, cavaquinho and vocals, Matt plays a mean guitar upside down and left-handed.  Beach Boys guitarist Scott Totten (interviewed at Gitbox Culture here) hipped me to Matt's unusual approach after reading my recent blog post about the upside-down lefties Gurrumul, Albert King and Elizabeth Cotten.  Matt generously answered my questions via email.

How is that you started to play upside-down? Were there other guitar players around when you first started? Do you remember the moment that you realized that you were playing in the 'wrong' way?

I started playing that way because I started playing piano at an early age and there happened to be a guitar in the house. I never thought anything about it much until I discovered I liked playing the guitar more than piano. By the time I realized I was playing it backwards (and upside-down), I thought about switching the strings to the normal way, but was already used to my style so I just stuck with it. I think someone who played guitar actually saw me playing once and said "you know you're doing it the wrong way". I didn't care because I was just having fun with it so it didn't matter to me if it was "right" or "wrong".

What are the advantages and disadvantages of playing this way?

The advantages are that everything sounds slightly unique. Whether it's a strumming thing or a finger-picking thing, it sounds different. I can play some chords that are really difficult or impossible for righties to play too. Also, bending is easier as I bend notes down toward the floor so the hand motion is easier because I'm like pulling my fingers into a fist as opposed to bending my finger tips away from my palm. It's an easier motion and I have more control doing that way. The disadvantages are that certain things are harder for me to play. It's harder for me to play really high on the guitar as I have to bring my hand all the way up and over the strings to reach those notes. I'm used to doing it but technically it's harder for me than doing it the normal way. Also, voicings and riffs that use the lower strings "open" or as drones can be harder too.

You mention in your bio that by the time you realized that you were playing upside-down you had already come up with some unique voicings. Can you elaborate on this for the guitarists out there?

Yes, after a while I learned to exploit my upside-down technique to do things that laid easier on the neck for me. I found some chords that only I could play. I found that if I work along the diagonal of the neck that goes from the highest note on the low E string to the lowest note on the high E string, that I could play some chords that are difficult (or impossible) to play with the strings the normal way. Here are a couple:

Bsus13 = 0
                2
                2
                6
                2
                x

Fdim =  x
             3
             4
             6
             x
             1

There are a lot of others too that just lay easy for me so I gravitate towards them more than some normal voicings you might hear from a regular strung guitar.

Do you feel that you are part of a lefty guitarist community in any way? If so, how does this community manifest itself?

I feel a part of the community a little bit from time to time. I was contacted a few years back by an author by the name of John Engel. He was putting together a book about left-handed guitarists. He really did a thorough job of interviewing a ton of lefty guitarists. He even split everyone up into 3 sections (lefties who play normal, lefties who play righty-strung and lefties who play right-handed). A wonderful read if you're into lefty guitarists.

Has being a lefty presented any problems for finding guitars?

Ha! Well the good news is I can walk into any store and play any righty guitar. A lot of the guitars I own are actually rightys that I just flip over. Usually symmetrical body shapes like 335s and SGs and non-cutaway acoustics. When I DO desire a lefty body though, I'm in the same boat as lefties who play lefty-strung. I wind up paying on average 15% more and they're harder to come by. I also have to have the nut switched around to a righty nut and recompensate the bridge if its angled.

How did the Matchbox 20 and Lisa Loeb gigs come about?

I'd been gigging around NYC for a while and wound up doing a bunch of gigs with Lisa Loeb's bassist Joe Quigley. He thought I'd be a good fit for Lisa's upcoming tour at the time and he recommended me for the gig. After doing Lisa's gig for a while I wound up meeting a couple of the guys from Matchbox 20. Actually, the other guitar player in Lisa's band at the time was Dweezil Zappa and Dweezil's sister Moon Unit was married to Paul Doucette of Matchbox at the time so I wound up meeting the Matchbox guys that way and eventually was asked to join them for their upcoming tour at the time. That was 8 years ago and I'm still around with them to this day! It's a good fit.

Can you describe your role as music director for Rob Thomas? What are some of your duties and responsibilities?

Yes, my duties as Rob Thomas' musical director are basically to be responsible that the music being played every night is up to snuff. That basically entails making sure that everyone is playing the right parts with the right sounds. I'm also called upon to help with live arrangements and setlists and hiring of musicians too.

You played in the bands for Tommy and Rent.  How did those jobs compare to your present work with Matchbox 20, Rob Thomas and Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories?

Well, those were basically Broadway show gigs and those are different than recording artist/band gigs. Broadway gigs have the main focus on the cast on stage. So the bands role is to support them in the best way possible. It's not just the music that has to get across, but the whole story line and plot. With bands, the focal point is the song. How can we get this song across in the best way possible in a live situation?

What kind of gear do you bring on the road?

Tough to give you an answer there as each tour is vastly unique from the next. Usually for band tours I will bring 1 (sometimes 2) amps, many guitars and usually a fairly big pedal board to achieve all the tones needed to recreate the songs.

What kind of music do you make on your own time?

I describe my music as powerpop/rock with singer/songwriter leanings :-) You can get my recording "Anything Which Gives You Pleasure" on iTunes or CDBaby.

Any career highlights that you'd like to report?

I spent all of 2007 in Rod Stewart's band. I don't think it get's much bigger than that. :-) He's a living icon! Right now I'm working with Bono and Edge on their forthcoming Spider Man show too. That's been quite a thrill as well. I definitely don't want to downplay my work with Matchbox 20 and Rob Thomas though as those two projects are the closest to my heart. It's just hard not to get a little gushy when you get to work with the idols you grew up on.

Thanks very much to Matt Beck for taking the time to answer my questions.