Matt Easton

Singer/guitarist Matt Easton has been compared to <a href="spotify:artist:183DuT2WcaEO2tclTJW1tU">Neil Finn</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7290H8m1Dwt8G7jm1y9CQx">Chris Isaak</a>, but in the early '90s, <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> just wanted his music to be heard, a desire that propelled <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a>'s band <a href="spotify:artist:00oynmGP9v9wNRe1jVEsFP">the Jenny Thing</a> onto TV's Star Search. <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> formed <a href="spotify:artist:00oynmGP9v9wNRe1jVEsFP">the Jenny Thing</a> at U.C. Berkeley, CA, in 1991 with Shyam Rao (guitar), Ehren Becker (bass), and <a href="spotify:artist:7qvPuqxswjsFxbsDUfaNGb">Mike Phillips</a> (drums).

Born in Oakland, CA, <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> played piano as a child, but with <a href="spotify:artist:00oynmGP9v9wNRe1jVEsFP">the Jenny Thing</a>, he was able to craft a lovelorn vocal style that gained assurance and emotional depth with every recording; he was also taught how to play guitar by Rao. A fan of '80s new wave acts like <a href="spotify:artist:7bu3H8JO7d0UbMoVzbo70s">the Cure</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3yY2gUcIsjMr8hjo51PoJ8">the Smiths</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5NGO30tJxFlKixkPSgXcFE">the Police</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> ignored the trend towards macho rage on <a href="spotify:artist:00oynmGP9v9wNRe1jVEsFP">the Jenny Thing</a>'s 1993 debut album, Me; released on Kendall Swim School Records, Me offered glimpses of the introspective songwriting and melancholic crooning that <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> would further explore as a solo musician. <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> released two more albums with <a href="spotify:artist:00oynmGP9v9wNRe1jVEsFP">the Jenny Thing</a> before splitting up. In 2000, <a href="spotify:artist:4DItbcZMDgmNPU5NjtXeou">Easton</a> recorded the five-track Love Ambition Demo. Releasing it himself through the Internet, Love Ambition Demo jettisoned <a href="spotify:artist:7bu3H8JO7d0UbMoVzbo70s">the Cure</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0yNLKJebCb8Aueb54LYya3">New Order</a> influences that stoked <a href="spotify:artist:00oynmGP9v9wNRe1jVEsFP">the Jenny Thing</a>'s albums, opting instead for a somber, dreamy sound reminiscent of <a href="spotify:artist:2GATzeg62cr6sH29wSOVWe">the Red House Painters</a>. ~ Michael Sutton, Rovi