Check out this dope cover of My New single.. Go get um Matt! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsL1eKJv7Qo

Catch the cover after the break.  And if you haven’t done so already, why not pick up Matt’s new album on iTunes?  Can’t Help But Wonder is selling like crazy. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

But Mr. Beilis certainly has talent, and his desire to follow his passion has now resulted in the tangible product that is his debut album, Can’t Help But Wonder.

But that’s all Hallmark-style back story.  What’s really important is the music.

You know that candy that sizzles when you put it in your mouth?  Can’t Help But Wonder is even poppier and rockier than those things and it’s slicker than BP’s oil spill.

In fact, the first thing that jumped out at me when listening to this record was how well produced it is.  You’d never guess that this is the debut album from an unsigned act.  Matt did a lot of the production work on it himself, so kudos for that.

The music itself is extremely reminiscent of Maroon 5 and their style of neo-soul adult pop rock with hints of hip-hop drum patterns.  You know, the kind of music that high school and college girls go wild for.  The major difference is Matt’s voice.  Whereas Adam Levine utilizes a rather feminine sound, Matt’s got a distinctly masculine edge to his voice, which can be hard to pull of in this style of music.

He sings about a lot of the same subject matter too – heartbreak, relationship issues – but a good amount of time is spent on the darker stuff.  I have to think Matt was going through some women troubles when he wrote lines like “You never had a single thought in your life/without your friends giving their okay,” and “How could anybody think so little and/say so much.”  It’s nice to see a pop artist try to stretch the lyrical boundaries of the genre, but the bouncy music can’t really accentuate what is being sung.

With just seven songs that come in under 30 minutes, the album definitely doesn’t feel drawn out, but it does sound very homogeneous.  It makes for an easy listen, but not an entirely rewarding one.  And with a style that hews so closely to already established pop groups, it would have been nice to see just a few experimentations here or there.  Basically, if you like contemporary adult pop, you’ll feel right at home with this album.  Even if that’s not your genre of choice, you probably won’t hate it if your girlfriend puts this on in the car.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

-Sam

Matt is releasing his first album, Can’t Help But Wonder, tomorrow, Friday June 11th. It’ll be available in your favorite online music stores such as iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody.

Before the interview, check out the brief introduction Matt did with us a few months ago. It’ll give you a bit more of his history. 

Even more information is available on his website, www.mattbeilis.com.

Read the interview after the jump.

• What’s the story behind your album, “Can’t Help But Wonder”?
  • The album title “Can’t Help But Wonder” came from the fact that I was on the path to a career in finance when I decided that life only happens once and it’s way too short to not follow your dream.  So on the one hand, while I was on that path, I couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like if I were doing what I loved for a living.  I took that leap, and now I can’t help but wonder what life would have been like if I had continued down my original path.
• If there’s one thing you’d want the listener to take away from your album, what is it?
  • If there’s one thing I’d want a listener to take away from the album it’s the idea that you should never do something, just because you were told it’s the right or “smart” thing to do.  Live life to come to your own conclusions about what is best for you.
• What is it like for you to be releasing this album?  Perhaps your first of many?
  • This experience is surreal for me.  I went from dreaming about getting my music heard to having hundreds of thousands of views worldwide.  There’s nothing I could say to come close to describing how exciting this is for me.
• I’ve listened to this thing several times already.  And the following always hits me:  This thing has the wordplay of Jason Mraz, the groove of Maroon 5, the tones and melodies of Ben Folds, and the suaveness of a voice that could be comparable to the likes of David Gray.  As such, what other artists and their genres have influenced you in this album and or career?  
  • I must say, you’ve nailed a good number of my influences.  Elton John has definitely had the most influence on my piano playing style.  I grew up listening to him and emulating the way he plays piano like he IS the full band.  I’d definitely say that Gavin DeGraw, and Maroon 5 have a good deal of influence on my writing style.  I love the kind of hip-hop influence Maroon 5 has incorporated into their pop / rock sound.  My vocals kind of evolved on their own.  I never liked my voice growing up, and even when I started out singing.  It took a good 5 years of singing before my sound became what it is today, stylistically.  Then it almost felt like overnight, I liked the way I sound.
• You’ve already had some success with the reality show StarMaker as well as touring with Teddy Geiger.  What has the success felt like for you? 
  • Well, it’s interesting, with those two specific instances of success, it always felt like I was doing something just one step removed from exactly what I want.  In the case of touring with Teddy Geiger, I was singing on stage in front of 1000 people a night, but it wasn’t my music.  With StarMaker, I felt like even if I won that competition, I would probably be thrown into an already-running machine, equipped with pre-written hits.  So it isn’t really until now that I’ve really felt like I’m succeeding in doing exactly what I want – writing, recording, and performing my songs.
• What artists are you currently listening to? 
  • I’m on a big Al Green kick right now.  And Alicia Keys.
• What can you say to the high school kid who wants to be in music but does not how to get started? 
  • I’d say that the best thing to do is to get started.  Whether it’s practicing every day, auditioning for competitions, or taking lessons you have to be proactive to get what you want.  Music is and has always been an insanely competitive industry, but now you have the chance to build your own audience online and not have to worry about impressing elite industry gatekeepers.  All you have to do work your ass off, and you’ll succeed.
• And finally, what’s next for Matt Beilis?  
  • I’m on to performing around the country, and then hopefully onto some other countries in the near future.  Check my website for tour dates and come out to the shows!

Welcome to my world. I’m Matt Beilis – a singer songwriter and piano player trying to make a living out of what I love to do most. The reason I’m putting everything I’ve got into this is because I couldn’t see myself being happy doing anything else for a living in the long run. I work part-time for a great family-run piano store, which is the ideal place for someone like myself to earn rent and keep myself immersed in music. But MY music is my dream – my only dream. Both fortunately, and unfortunately, I’ve got no backup plan. The good news is, the momentum is finally building, and this dream is no longer fantasy. Thus far, I’ve been doing this on my own, but I want you to join me. The great people here at Suds have allowed me to share my experiences in making my dream into my reality.

I started playing classical piano when I was about 3 years old and started singing and writing songs about 15 years later. I’ve been performing all around NYC for the past 4 to 5 years and more recently have been recording live acoustic performances for my YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/mattbeilis). I’ve had tons of adulation over the years, but it’s never seemed like something I could make into the “larger-than-life” situation that it takes to be successful in music. But ever since I started my Youtube video performances, I got a manager who discovered me through them and recently got two booking agents on board. My shows have also begun to increase in size and energy, and for the first time ever, I caught someone in the audience who I never met singing MY SONGS! That’s the craziest feeling in the world.

Things are looking up at this point and everyone is waiting on the CD – the key to the gate holding my career. I’m doing most of the production myself but also working with some other great producers. Well, I’ll continue to keep you in the loop as things develop, and let you know how I’m dealing with switching gears from a day job to a life job.

www.mattbeilis.com
www.youtube.com/mattbeilis
www.twitter.com/mattbeilis

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Matt Beilis is exceptional musician, songwriter, performer, and everything else in-between.  It’s a pleasure to have Matt on board to give insight into his life as he tries to make a living out of what he loves to do most. 

The goal of these artists posting here is to provide some insight into the lives of an artist.  Many of us don’t know what it takes to get signed, to produce an album, to get known, etc, so we feel it would be great if we can get the true perspective from actual trying artists.

Our first Suds on Bleeker artist will be Matt Beilis.  We’ve posted about Matt quite a few times before (when Suds was housed within SongMeanings), so you might be familiar with him.  Regardless, Matt has some extreme talent and it’s a priviledge to have him on board to give us some insight on his journey as an artist.