Matthew Griswold Music

Singer-songwriter Matthew Griswold, has been performing music since the age of 15. He sparked an interest in songwriting
after finding his passion through the craft of songwriters like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and Dave Matthews.
He is now a 29 year old native to Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Early Life
Matthew John Griswold was born on Aug 29, 1982 in Austin MN, as the first son to his parents, John and Pam Griswold. John and
Pam later had two other children, David and Katelyn Griswold. At the time Matthew was born, his father was an aspiring
young Radio DJ, which played a huge role in Matthew's early passion for music.

"We always had music playing in the house. Those are some of my only earliest memories".Mg

At a time when the country was in an economic slump, with labor and small town farming communities taking the worst of the
hit, Austin MN was home to the largest meat packing plant in the U.S., Hormel Foods. The Farmer/Labor setback caused the
Hormel Plant to cut wages in half which then led to the nation's largest union strike. P-9 was the local Union, and after
months of both sides refusing to back down in negotiations, desperation began to set in to those who were unemployed
because of the strike. Riots broke out causing the MN National Guard to be activated and deployed to perform riot control
with in the city. In 1990, there was an Academy Award documentary done about the strike in Austin MN called, The American
Dream. Shortly after the violence escalated, the Griswold family moved back to the Twin Cities which is where both of
Matthew's parents were originally from.

Note: The hostile dispute still continues to this day in the town of Austin, MN.

The sudden move back to the Twin Cities caused the family to return to their working class roots. His father's side of the family
had a long history in the rail road community of Saint Paul, while his mother's side of the family were descendants of Danish
and German immigrants with a deep rooted connection to the Lutheran Church. Both of Matthew's grandparents from his
mother's side were first generation naturalized American citizens. All of these hereditary factors played an important role in
Matthew's early upbringing. He even credits them as his reason for finding an early passion in the music of artists like Bruce
Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson.

"I felt like I was living out the imagery that I heard in their songs".Mg

Throughout Matthew's youth, he was a very shy child with a wild imagination. Often keeping to himself and doing anything to
keep his mind active. Though he never had any formal training in music early on, he would try to figure out songs on his
family's piano. He was also causally involved with the church and school choirs up until his early teens. The state of MN is one
of the few states in the U.S. to have passed a law requiring that all schools offer basic music classes which Matthew credits to
his early knowledge of music theory and appreciation. He attended multiple grammar schools around the Twin Cities area,
but he always felt like a social outcast and would rarely take part in any notable activities accept for the occasional minor acts
of juvenile delinquency. In his early adolescent years, he become involved in competitive Teakwondo where he achieved the
rank of 2nd Degree Black Belt and was at one time ranked among the World Top 10 within the organizations, World
Traditional TeaKwonDo Union(WTTU), and the American TeaKwonDo Association(ATA).

Acting Career
With close family ties to Radio Broadcasting and Film Production industries, Matthew had always dreamed of hearing himself
on the radio and/or seeing himself on the silver screen. Matthew had an early passion for the Cinema, and had developed a
knack for acting at a very young age. In 1994 he would get his first chance to accomplish one of his dreams when he took part in
a nation wide audition for a major Universal picture titled, "The Cure" which was mostly shot in the Twin Cities area of MN.
After a number of call back auditions, Matthew made it to the final Producer/Director audition for the part of "Eric" who was
one of the two leading roles for the film. However, the role was then offered to Brad Renfro, who had already starred in the
film "The Client" the year prior, and then when on to star in "Tom and Huck" the next year. Brad Renfro has since had a very
successful acting career and has one a number of awards for
his work over the years.

After Matthew nearly landed the role in a major Hollywood film, he was offered to be represented by the Minneapolis based
talent agency, Portfolio One. Matthew took part in a number of auditions and screenings for commercials and product ads,
but was then dropped from the company after a few months due to his lack of ability to show enthusiasm for products he didn't
use. Matthew did go on to star in a few community and church plays, with his most memorable role as "The Prince" in the stage
comedy/musical, "The Long And Short Of It". The play was a city based production in Woodbury, MN and was also filmed and
broad casted by Washington County's Public Access Television channel. With Matthew's talent and involvement in Tea Kwon
Do at this same time, he had thought that he could find his way into becoming a screen actor by being on screen martial artist.
He then joined a number of Martial Arts Demo teams and performed cinematic style martial art demonstrations at local fairs,
festivals, schools and many other public gatherings. In his early teens, Matthew competed and placed 3rd in the Washington
County talent show with friend and fellow Martial Artist, Mike Moh. Though Matthew was not discovered for any roles in film
for his acting or martial arts skills, his friend Mike Moh has since gone on to work with famed action hero Jackie Chan and has
starred in a number of films and TV shows. He is currently a leading role in the Emmy Award winning TV show, "Kamen Rider:
Dragon Knight"   Check out www.mikemoh.com to learn more about Actor/Martial Artist Mike Moh.

First Role in Music
At the age of 15, Matthew was encouraged to enroll into a smaller private school in hopes that a smaller and more focused
environment would help improve his grades and sociability. He then attended high school at the small Lutheran school of
Concordia Academy. It was at this time in his life he took an obsessive interest in playing the guitar along with his childhood
friend, Andrew Gillson. They would learn songs together on an old Yamaha acoustic guitar that Andrew's father had. They
would follow along with "teach yourself" books and simple chord charts to began their self taught adventure of exploring the
music they had already grown to love. They would often play traditional folk songs, older pop/rock songs, or mock renditions
of the current pop songs of that time. Shortly after he took this interest in playing the guitar his parents bought him his first
guitar as a Christmas present later that same year.

It wasn't long after that he started his first high school rock & roll band, which came full circle the same year he graduated in
2001. At first the band called themselves The Dirt Bags, but then changed their name to The Blood Brothers, in an effort to be
taken more seriously. He was joined by his friend Andrew Gillson, who played lead guitar, and PJ Stohlman, who played
keyboards. It wasn't until Matthew met bass player, Kevin Helander, that the band became a serious commitment. Kevin
played a huge role in Matthew's approach to music at that time and would even later join with Matthew again to form his
break through band, EAP. A mutual friend by the name of Jordan Wright, was the last to join as the drummer and completed
the band's roster until they broke up not more than a few months later. They began as a cover band playing the classic rock
tunes of bands like CCR, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and so on, but Matthew had already taken an active role in
songwriting, so they became an original rock band rather quickly. Due to the musical era of the time and the current musical
taste of the band's members, the sound was more post grunge than classic rock. Matthew's original songwriting strongly
reflected his personal feelings toward the hypocrisy of conservative religious judgements, as well as the questionable ideals of
the "Baby Boomer" generation. His songs were filled with dark religious and metaphorical imagery with very politically
driven statements.

"I remember the first time I heard Springsteen and the first time I heard Dylan, and both times I had thought to myself...that's what I want to do, I want to write songs.
When I could finally do that with my guitar, I felt like I was born again." Mg

The band then released a self recorded album titled, "Days Of Grace", which they made in less than two days of recording in
their drummer's basement using a Tascam 4 Track Recorded. The process was rather monumental and loosely resembled the
Lo-Fi movement of the 1980's. They would record the analog tracks first, then they would play the tracks back while mixing it
manually and recording it to a wave file onto a computer. They could then burn the songs on to CD-Rs and print labels for
them. At that time, having a CD available in a high school band was almost unheard of and it caused a large amount of hype
from other students and their friends. It took the band to a whole new social level. They began hosting house concerts and
playing at parties, which was something that none of the band's members were ever involved with before. After playing a
number of talent shows and band battles, the band broke up just days
before Matthew's graduation.

NOTE: After the departure of bass player Kevin Helander, Kevin went on to play guitar for the acclaimed metal band, Minus Poser. Just as the band began to receive
national attention and opening for bands like Powerman 5000 and American Headcharge, they broke up. Kevin then went on to start his solo project and alter ego,
Panapt icon Report.

College Years
Matthew then decided to pursue music through higher education. He was accepted and then enrolled into the Minnesota
State University at Moorehead as a student to their respected music program. The school was located just outside the town of
Fargo, ND, which at that time had many national merits for it's local music scene. However, Matthew's lack of formal music
training caught up with him at that point and he became overwhelmed with the program, which was mostly geared towards
classically based or jazz trained musicians. He continued to perform on and off campus and even began to recorded his first
solo acoustic songs. He attempted to resemble the folk sounds of early Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, which was at that
time his only real introduction to any acoustic music. He did begin to discover other forms of acoustic music while playing at
the on campus nightclub's popular open mic, "The Underground Unplugged". He was then introduced to many alt-acoustic
styles, such as emo, and the other acoustic-rock sounds that just began to emerge onto the national scene. Matthew had hoped
the recordings would help him break into Fargo's famed folk music scene, which Matthew was still relatively new to. He even
sent his recordings to Barking Dog R ecords, but was denied any contract because his music resembled to much of an
alternative-rock attitude. He did earn the likes of campus radio DJs, and even landed a full featured article in the campus
newspaper. His most notable show that he played while attending school was for a 9-11 benefit concert, which he was asked by
the Student Committee to take part in.

Though Matthew maintained a strong focus in his music, he did discover a talent in creative writing as well. His creative
writing professor, Dr. Thom Tammaro, who was an established author, editor and poet, encouraged Matthew to pursue
creative writing as a degree focus. Dr. Tammaro was so impressed with one of Matthew's writings, that he asked if he could use
it as the new class standard which hadn't been changed in over 10 years. There was a mutual appreciation and Matthew often
attended Dr. Tammaro's poetry readings at local coffee shops around the Fargo-Mooorhead area.   Matthew later credits the
writings of Dr. Tammaro as a primary inspiration of his own lyrical style. Matthew's attendance and interest with school began
to fade toward the end of the year. He only attended the school for two semesters before he set out to perform his music back
in the Twin Cities.

First Professional Attempt
With the national scene taking notice to acoustic-pop artist like Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson and John Mayer and even
folk-rock artists like Pete Yorn, Ryan Adams and Shawn Mullins, Matthew thought it would be a good time to try and develop a
career with his newly found acoustic-rock based style. He felt that if he combined the covers of the contemporary songwriters,
and then mixed in his original material, he could market himself toward that same demographic. However, he was only able
to perform a few gigs at local coffee shops and small outdoor events. Matthew took no real direction towards a realistic career
in music due mostly to his young age, and was still even uncertain as to what his own sound and songwriting style should be.
He was able to record his original song, "Lost Train" at a professional studio and have the song placed on a local compilation
which was given away at a Wild hockey game at the Excel Center. That same year he played his last show, which was ironically
his first officially paid gig, at the Ramsey County Fair in St. Paul MN the Summer of 2003. He was the opening act for the locally
known band, GB Leighton. It was at this show he caught the interest of the co-owner of the famous nightclub, the M innesota
Music Café.   She offered to help Matthew get a regular gig at the club which Matthew had to decline because he was only 20
years of age. With the frustration of trying to emerge into this historic yet seemingly difficult, MN Music Scene, Matthew
decided to sell his guitar a try something else for a while. Even with many family ties to MN music's own history, he
was unable to find a place in it.

"I needed to get out and try something new for a while. I wanted to see the world and a music career at that time wasn't going to take me there." Mg

Military Career
In January of 2004, Matthew enlisted into the US Army and went on to be stationed in Europe. He was a member of the 2nd
Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division based out of Baumholder, Germany , aka "The Rock". Though Matthew had
no ambitions of pursing music while away, he did purchase a cheap Ibanez acoustic guitar while overseas. What started as
something to accompany weekend beer drinking, quickly grew into him playing on MWR stages in Germany, Kuwait and Iraq.
He would even at times play for the locals in Iraq and in Germany. He won a number of Military talent shows and even
received press coverage for his contribution to raising the morale of his fellow troops. He would only play casual cover songs
and went years with out even writing an original, though his own peers and chain of command insisted he pursue a career in
music and performance. Many of which were unaware of his preexisting efforts to be a performer because Matthew was
generally pretty quiet about his past ambitions. Many times his own platoon mates would enjoy seeing the shock of higher
ranking soldiers when they would learn for themselves that "the kid can sing". However, It wasn't until he reached the
threshold of war while fighting in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006, that he began to write songs again. Music then became one of the most
important parts of his life because his own personal, mental and emotional welfare depended on it. Upon his return he had
new ambitions as to what to use his artistic outlet for. He had a new message with a unique perspective, and was even quoted
in saying...

"It feels like a calling now". Mg

In 2008 Matthew was sent back to the U.S. to Fort Knox, KY and he then began traveling and playing in places like Nashville,
TN just to try his new songs out. He became a regular invite to some of Nashville's most respected songwriter venues to include
the famous, Blue Bird Café, as a featured songwriter to the "Writers Rounds" and "Writers Nights" that flooded the Nashville
songwriter's scene. Matthew also became a well known regular in the Louisville, KY circuit, and performed at some of the city's
best live music hot spots. It was then he made the decision to move back to Minnesota and pursue music again as soon as his
contract was fulfilled with the Army. Matthew was then honorably discharged in December of 2008. During his 5 year service,
Matthew received an Army Commendation Medal, 2 Army Achievement Medals, The Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense
Medal, Global War On Terrorism Medal, an Overseas Ribbon, Good Conduct Ribbon, a Service Ribbon, 4 Certificates of
Achievement and was given a commendation coin by the Deputy of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff for serving as a primary security
escort for former president, George Bush.

Professional Break Through
"Matthew Griswold is breaking into the local music scene with a rough and howling edge" -Chris Reimenshneider MPLS Star Tribune

In the winter of 2009, he booked his first show back in MN in over 5 years at the Fine Line Music Café , which he now continues
to play at on a very frequent basis. With the recent success of Johnny Cash's series of American Recordings produced by Rick
Rubin, many other national artists were able to release records in a similar format. Acoustic based rock artists were suddenly
able to hold their gritty edged dark tones, and still maintain the stripped down approach to the songwriting and production.
Artists like Tom Morello: The Night Watchman, Eddie Vedder, Jakob Dylan, Damien Rice and John Mellencamp, are a few
examples of the artists that had released records in a similar format. This made it very easy for Matthew's music to find a place
that it had difficulty finding prior to those releases. Even though he made no direct effort to imitate any other artists, he often
found fans making those comparisons. He was also able to stir up some press coverage early on due to his return from active
duty service and his new and unique perspective with his original music. This helped kick start his professional career. Later
that spring he took part in the MN Singer-Songwriter Spotlight Competition and was a finalist and even placed amongst the top
5 in the contest. He quickly gained friends, fans and important connections who believed in him and his music and suddenly
found himself making very high profile appearances. He was a regular special guests for piano composer/performer, Phil
Thompson, at the Royal River Casino in South Dakota and for one show at the International Market Square (STLF Annual Gala).
Matthew also founded the annual Memorial Day benefit concert known as the Veteran's Aid Concert.   The event is intended to
be an effort to assist and give back to the veterans who are faced with the challenges and struggles of reintegrating back into
civilian society. These current issues are something that Matthew has been all to familiar with.

Matthew became a regular performer with the MN Singer-Songwriter Showcase and MNaked showcases very early on. He also
frequently performed at Steve McClellan's Diverse Emerging Music Organization (DEMO) Showcase. In the summer of 2009
Matthew was booked to play at Minnesota's largest Jam Band Festival, 10,000 Lakes Music Fest. Matthew performed as a solo
artist for the festival's "Scream Freely Songwriter's Showcase" along with Lucy Michelle and his good friend and prior
roommate, Thomas Kivi. Matthew was also selected to be a featured artist for GAP's national "Born To Play" campaign in
support of their 40 year anniversary. Matthew performed a high profile acoustic set at the IDS Center GAP Store. Many
Minneapolis locals remember Matthew for his regular performances at the famous downtown restaurant, Gluek's, for their
Acoustic Tuesday shows.

In the fall of 2009, Matthew was featured on the regional charitable Christmas compilation "Home For The Holidays: A MN
Christmas", with his own rendition of John Lennon's "Happy Christmas(War is over)". The CD sold over 5,000 copies via all Twin
City Metro Target stores. He then took part in the CD release celebration by performing at the Mall Of America the day after
Thanksgiving in 2009. Less than a month later he performed at the Pantages Theater with the other artist from the
compilation for an almost sold out crowd.

In the fall of 2009 he signed to a Twin Cities independent record company, Greater Than Records. He then released his debut,
fully produced and commercial ready album, "Screaming From The Witch's Tower". The album was produced by fellow
founder of Great Than Records and front man of the"The Oh Eeeks", Johnny Park. Additional production and instrument
arrangements were contributed by his long time friend, Kevin Helander, along with drummer for the Oh Eeks, Daniel
DeMuth, and Matthew's acoustic duo partner and lead guitarist, Davis Wilder. The recording process for the album gave birth
to his at that time support band, EAP. Matthew began to rapidly perform throughout the Minneapolis club, bar, coffee shop
and music café scenes even before the release of the record.

The album was released independently in January of 2010, and has since placed Matthew in the local, regional and even the
national spotlight. He gained a large amount of press and media coverage as well as licensing agreements. In the fall of 2010
Matthew signed with a co-ventured company of EMI Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing called APM Music, for
exclusive licensing with all multi-media production use. He is also in an agreement with Clear Channel M usic and has his
music profiled with Adult Contemporary and Alternative Clear Channel radio stations all over the U.S in support their program
Discover and Uncover NEW Music. The song "Unbridled" was also given a spotlight feature just before the first pitch of MN
Twins game at Target field and is now on regular rotation for all home games.

In the late spring of 2010, Matthew was asked to perform at the South Washington Country Relay For Life in Woodbury, MN,
where he wrote and recorded the song, "With Healing Hands (Upon Your Heart)" for use of the events multimedia sources.
The song was given to them courtesy of Greater Than Records. The song then went on to be used for Midwest Regional Relay
For Life, and Matthew now performs the song at Relay For Life events all around the mid-west in support of the cause. The
song was released in Oct of 2010 via all major download sites, with proceeds going to benefit the American Cancer Society, who
is the beneficiary of the Relay For Life events.

We will continue to keep the fans updated on all that happens in the months to come, so please check back often for updates
on this exciting voyage in musical discovery.

Accomplishments/Awards:
-Camp Buering MWR Soldier Talent Show (3rd Place Winner)
-2BCT/1AD Soldier Apollo Show (1st Place Winner)
-Baumholder, Germany "Idol Contest" (1st Place Winner)
-Garageband Song Contest (Winner of Best Lyrics)
-John Lennon Songwriting Contest (Honorable Mention 2007)
-You Bring The Talent Contest (Finalist)
-MN Singer-Songwriter Spotlight Competition (1st Round Winner & 5th Place Finalist)
-Minneapolis Veterans Creative Arts Festival (Winner for Best Rock Vocal & Best Original Vocal)
-Minneapolis Final Call Back for NBC's "THE VOICE"

The Scream
By Matthew J.
Griswold

An autobiographical
look into the
inspiration, insight
and perspective of
the album
"Screaming from the
Witch's Tower". Click
here to read

"Matthew
Griswold is
breaking into the
local music
scene with a
rough and
howling edge."
Chris
Riemenshneider,
MPLS Star Tribune

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