Apheresis, the debut album by Matthew Larsen and The Documents, gets released into the world today. Featuring guest appearances by Dave Chalfant, Philip Price, Matthew Loiacono, Mark Schwaber, Ethan Tufts, Rebekah Dutkiewicz, and Julia Suriano, it was recorded in studios, houses, and apartments in Massachusetts, New York, and California.
It’s available here as well as iTunes, Amazon, and other online retailers.
Since we had such a blast with our last Online Listening Party, we’re doing another one THIS THURSDAY at 9pm. You can watch/listen right here on our site or click here to go to the USTREAM page where you can chat with us while we listen along!
Apheresis, our debut full length album that we’ve been recording for the past couple years, is finally ready to get printed and assembled! It will be released on March 15th. If you pre-order now, you’ll get an immediate download of 3 tracks!
We’re very excited to share this record with you. We recorded it lovingly in studios, apartments, and houses. We recruited a ton of friends to play various instruments on it. It sounds fantastic.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
We’re hosting an extra special online listening party on Tuesday, February 1st at 9pm EST. You’ll be able to hear our new record, Apheresis, in its entirety and chat with the band while you’re listening! Ask us questions. Tell us which one of The Documents is your favorite (mine is Ringo). Here’s the Facebook Event Page for this.
We’ve been working hard finishing up the record. It’s being mastered over the next couple weeks by sir Ethan Tufts of State Shirt in Los Angeles, California. That means that we should have physical copies completed sometime soon! But we wanted to give you whatever the equivalent of a sneak peak is. A sneak listen? A sneak hear?
Listen to Apheresis online with us LIVE next Tuesday, February 1st at 9pm EST by clicking on this sentence or by clicking on the picture of the handsome gentlemen you see below.
In the meantime, if you click on that link beforehand, I suppose you can experiment with Listening Room and/or get your chatty on. Nothing is stopping you.
Talk to you Tuesday!
After organizing and playing a number of successful house shows over the years, I can tell you that they are some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a musician. There is something about the intimacy of someone’s living space that makes the collective experience of watching music being performed much stronger than at a bar or a club, or even a nice music hall. You get to really know each other, which makes for a great connection to the songs… both for the performer and the listener. Each Dark Dining Room show that I’ve organized has been a truly special night.
Playing a Dark Dining Room show in August of 2010. Photo by Rosie Walunas
As my bandmates and I are about to release our first record, our dream is to introduce these songs to new folks in such an environment. As one could imagine, the songs on the record mean a lot to me personally. It’s coming up on five years of being “in remission” for me. It’s no secret that my health struggles have influenced my songwriting, and completing this record while recognizing this five year anniversary is a monumentous thing. What has gotten me through the past five years is the support, love, and friendship of the people in my life. I can think of no better way to share my music than at Dark Dining Room shows with friends, new and old.
So here is the deal. We will travel to you and play a show in your space (house, garage, gallery, studio, loft, etc.). You will get a trio of musicians who are excited about setting up this show for you! We have a small P/A system, mics, and all the necessary things like that. You will have a nice comfortable room/space and 25-30 folks who will want to attend. Sound good so far? Let’s get in touch! Here’s how:
EMAIL US: matthewlarsenmusic@gmail.com
LEAVE US A VOICE OR TEXT MESSAGE: 413-437-0647
We are looking to get this together for February 26th – March 6th, but are open to other dates. What do you think? DC? Boston? Philadelphia? NYC? Providence? Vermont? New Hampshire?
Wow. What an amazing crowd last night. Seriously, you guys. That was great. We never imaged that so many people could fit into the Thirsty Mind! Hopefully everyone who couldn’t find a seat found a comfortable place to stand. That place is so cozy and great. We can’t wat to come back at some point.
Brie Sullivan and Mike Lacourse opened the show. Brie’s amazing voice and guitar was accompanied by some pretty sweet beatboxing by Mike. The crowd loved it.
We took the stage and played a set of originals and a cover of INXS’s ‘Never Tear Us Apart’. We didn’t have the iconic sax solo for this one, but maybe next time.
Our setlist:
SALT
MIRROR
STORM OF THE CENTURY
LITTLE BLACK BOXES
THE SPIRES
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
FOURTH FLOOR
NEVER TEAR US APART (INXS cover)
KINDRED (with Brie Sullivan)
HAPPENS IN STAGES
COMMITTED TO TAPE
YOU WERE A CYNIC
THE GATEKEEPER
FLOWERS ON THE FIRE ESCAPE
PULVERIZED
We’re excited to play a low key duo set (Matthew and Greg) at Thirsty Mind Coffee & Wine Bar in South Hadley, Massachusetts on Saturday, November 15th! Also performing that evening will be the lovely Brie Sullivan, a diminutive acoustic songwriter with an incredible voice that will stop you in your tracks.
Our mutual friend, Heather Rush, is showcasing her artwork/photographs at Thirsty Mind for the month of November, so we are looking forward to performing in this lovely space, made lovlier by being surrounded by Heather’s art!
Any Mount Holyoke students going?
Are you looking for something enjoyable to do in the evening on Thursday, October 21st? Well look no further! There is a duo show happening. Greg Saulmon and myself will take the stage area and play some smaller versions of our large songs. It will be grand.
Sierra Grille is one of Northampton’s greatest restaurants in which you can eat delicious food AND see great music. It is a classy, cozy, comfortable joint.
Thursday shows are part of the “Reanimate The Baystate” concert series. We’re looking forward to it! Show starts around 10pm. There are two other acts, but I’m not sure what order everyone is going in.
We are happy to inform you that Fourth Floor is now up on iTunes, Bandcamp, eMusic, Amazon MP3, etc. for your downloading pleasure. Additionally, you can pre-order our new album, Apheresis here.
The song starts out with piano and cello. By the end, it’s a wall of sound extravaganza featuring David Chalfant, Rebekah Dutkiewicz, Aric Bieganek, Ethan Tufts, and Matthew Loiacono. Think “Hey Jude” without the na-nas.
The lyrics were written on Dec. 24th, 2005, when Matthew was a patient at Brigham & Women’s hospital, waiting for one final blood transfusion before getting released back into the world on Christmas Day. It had been a rough month-long stay in the hospital.
We’re pleased to announce that we are opening for our friends, Fiesta Brava at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Massachusetts. The show is on September 11th at 10pm. I’ve played a few shows with Fiesta Brava in the past and have always been impressed by their brand of rock. Such catchy numbers. It’ll be nice to share the stage this time around with a full band.
Come out to see our first big show as Matthew Larsen and The Documents. We may have a surprise or two in store for you.
Apheresis, Matthew Larsen and The Documents’ debut 12 track CD lovingly recorded in studios, living rooms, and hallways in Massachusetts, New York, and California. Produced by Dave Chalfant (The Nields) and Ethan Tufts (State Shirt).
