One of the founders of the band, Matt has been in and out of the band more than once. The driving force behind the band’s original material, he is first and foremost a writer/producer. He plays guitar in theRockin45s but has been in many bands over a 40+ year career, playing a variety of other instruments.
As a guitarist, Matt draws heavily upon influences of classic rock, country and Americana songwriter/guitarists like Robbie Robertson, Eric Clapton, Brad Paisley, Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer to name just a few. His musical influences overall are far more varied than that though and his writing shows an appreciation for music from hip-hip to jazz, classical and contemporary alternative.
Beginning his career in the early 1970’s, Matt has played with many different bands original and cover and has been on stage and recordings with some well known stars. He has toured domestically and abroad, recorded albums for major labels and has written songs for many artists.
In late 2001 Matt, along with Micheal Shane, was a founding member of The Houndogs, which later became CA3 and eventually theRockin45s. He was responsible for bringing Bill Capozzi and Mike Barone into the band but don’t hold that against him. We all make mistakes :-). He is also responsible for bringing Janet Spallone Soluri into the mix.
Currently Matt remains the most active member of the band performing as a solo artist, with his own Matt & The Manatees, The Micheal Shane Band and a number of other bands as a hired gun. He also serves as webmaster for the band as well as other music businesses and bands.