Whiskey and wine with Matt Costa

Chilling out backstage with the Brushfire star at the Oasis concert

Relaxed, upbeat, kind of folky, and pretty much unclassifiable musician, Matt Costa, sat down with Metromix after his set at the snowed out Broomfield Event Center on Dec. 8. He is currently touring and jamming out the country with Oasis and Ryan Adams & the Cardinals.

For those unfamiliar with his work, Matt is signed on with Brushfire Records, which is headed-up by Jack Johnson, and carries other artists such as G. Love and Special Sauce, and Rogue Wave. It was appropriate that one of his hit songs is Cold December, and he was playing in Colorado on one of the chilliest nights of the winter thus far. Here’s what the Brushfire rockstar had to say about playing in Colorado, making music, and staying warm on cheap wine.
 
Thanks again for sitting down with us. Great show tonight.
Thanks. No problem. Glad you enjoyed it.

So how does it feel to be in Colorado with a little snow on the ground finally?
Oh, it’s great. It wasn’t really snowing when we first got here, but now it’s coming down. It’s nice.

Over at Brushfire Records you have Jack, the surfer, and you, the skater. Any boarders or skiers?
Oh, I dunno, I dunno. I am sure Jack can board, but I’ve never tried.

Skied?
No, never tried that either. Just skateboarding. I grew up skating. I live in Southern California, but started in Florida, so I was kinda far away from the mountains.

Any special memories from tours in Colorado?
Oh, yeah. This trip is the quickest trip, though. But usually we have time to go hike. I always try to go up to Flatirons outside Boulder. I love it up there. But every show I have had here has been great. The Fox, The Fillmore, Red Rocks– they are all great.

Red Rocks, huh?
Oh, yeah, that place is tight, epic.

We’ve always wondered: Is it as fun to play there as it is to watch?
Yeah, it’s a weird thing though. Normally on stage you're above the audience looking down, but at that place the stage is ground level and you're looking face-to-face with the first row with the rest of the crowd just towering down on you.

A lot of your music has a real positive vibe to it, but yet it seems you have no reservations with making a statement or sending a message. Is it ever hard to balance that?

No, I don’t think so. In order to write, you have to be overwhelmed by something. Whether it’s a feeling or an instant. Something happens, whatever. That kind of compels you to write it, and the story kind of unfolds itself. But as far as the music goes, most of my songs tend to be upbeat, because when I start playing music I get so excited about it. But, there are certain times I sing about things that I may be bummed out about, or if something happened that at the time isn’t sitting well with me, so I feel compelled to write or sing about it. But, then the song always transcends you from that thought by putting melody or rhythm to it, and you just can't help but start to feel good after a while. Certain times too, though, you have to stay dark or whatever, and sulk in that feeling to even go to that place.

Speaking of dark places, what’s your “bottle of reason?”
[Laughs] Oh, that one. Yeah, I keep whiskey in the freezer and wine on top of the refrigerator.

Favorites?
Makers Mark and whatever kind of wine. Penfold is pretty good, it’s like $9.