Out singer/songwriter Matt Alber's debut album Hide Nothing is about being open and sincere with his listeners, whether it's being forthright about his sexuality or just the intimacy and soulfulness of his voice. It's in that same spirit that Alber begins his very first tour, a Midwest excursion that includes a stop in Chicago Friday, Oct. 2.
Alber, 34, grew up in Wichita, Kan., but has spent the last several years living in California. Since Hide Nothing was released almost a year ago, Alber has been living in Los Angeles and singing in a cover band called The Gentleman Callers. Now, he said, the time has finally come to hit the road and promote his own work.
Alber, the first to sign to Tommy Boy Records' Silver Label, showcases a variety of musical and vocal techniques on Hide Nothing. Styles range from synth-driven hypnotic pop on tracks such as "Slow Club" to the more classic piano and vocals reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright on "End of the World," his biggest single for which his "Mad Men"-inspired music video has nearly 200,000 hits on You Tube.
But what doesn't change from track to track is the emotion behind Alber's music and the vocal prowess that expresses it. Alber grew up singing in choirs and spent many years performing with world-renowned a cappella ensemble Chanticleer as a soprano, and his falsetto rings pristinely throughout the album.
Now, with only piano, guitar and laptop in hand, Alber will bring his diverse, multi-layered sound across the country.
Windy City Times: You grew up in the Midwest, so this is a bit of a homecoming tour for you. What are your thoughts on coming back?
Matt Alber: Well, I'm hoping it's great; I mean, it'll be an experiment. I made this record at home and I'm definitely getting some help from other people but in terms of people hearing about my record, it's people just telling their friends and people who are kind enough to write about it. I'm kinda crossing my fingers that people come.
WCT: Was there another reason besides it being where you're from that you chose Chicago and other Midwest stops for your first tour?
MA: Well, I went to my manager, Brian, and I said this was a part of the country that I really miss and I would love to go back and sing there, and that—in conjunction with several invitations coming at the same time saying, "Hey, we'd love for you to come"—the tour kinda put itself together in a way.
WCT: In terms of your music, I guess a lot of people, especially because of the popularity of "End of the World," have compared you vocally to Rufus Wainwright, but your voice takes on many different qualities throughout your album. What are your intentions, vocally?
MA: I'm glad that you recognize that there's a lot of different vocal qualities going on; that's kind of why I like making music. I feel like some artists have a signature sound, like you hear their voice and you immediately think "Oh, that's Rob Thomas," you know, or "Oh, that's Dido"—they have a quality that's almost unchanging in a way. And that's just not the way I make music. I grew up learning a lot of different skills about singing and the way I like making music is trying to have every song get it's own voice in a way.
For example, on "End of the World," it's almost like a vintage cover of the actual song that never made in on the record. I tried to make it sound old-fashioned on purpose like it's coming out of a Victrola or something. Instead of singing it in the same way I would sing maybe "Field Trip Buddy," I tried to come up with more of an, I don't know, almost like a torchier kind of voice. Actually, I think Rufus—I'm a huge Rufus fan, by the way—I feel like he definitely approaches his music from that kind of torchier place in his voice. So that people compared me to him that's a huge honor to me. I think he's an incredible songwriter.
WCT: As you begin touring and as you progress your career it sounds like you're not so much interested in honing your sound to any specific category but you want to keep bringing variety to your music.
MA: Yeah, like right now I put this band together called the Gentleman Callers. When we play together we've got a sound that's almost like an R&B/soul kind of groove to our music and so I'm sort of taking my songs that have a little more electronics and finding a way to do them live that makes sense and when I do it with the band I started singing from a lot more soulful place. I'm woking on a new record right now that's going to be much more influenced by soul and gospel which is a lot of fun.
WCT: With Chanticleer, you were touring for half the year in sold out concert halls and stadiums and you were performing in a group and now you're going to small venues performing by yourself, so what are you expectations? Is that going to be a tough transition for you?
MA: It's a whole different ball game when you're presenting something you made that came out of your heart and your soul and your mind, and a couple of the last few gigs that we did I announced that I was going to do a song—"End of the World" or "Monarch"—and the room started clapping and people like, knew it already and I was like "Wow." … You can't explain that feeling that someone took the time to get close to something you made, so it's not a tough transition at all in that respect.
WCT: On your blog it says your favorite music is made by "anyone vulnerable who records at home." These days that can sometimes mean a lot of teenagers. Explain.
MA: I guess the thing that I'm encouraged about these days is that even though you hear all this stuff about the music industry tanking and everything's falling apart, well I think it's just the industry part that's tanking, it's not the creative part—the creative part's thriving because now the tools are in everyone's hands and almost anybody can buy a microphone and a computer and with a little bit of music you can certainly mix a song and a lot of people are doing that now.
WCT: You're openly gay and your album is called Hide Nothing, but being an out singer/songwriter is not explicitly advertised in your bios and promos.
MA: I guess there's lots of bios floating around out there … I guess I'm surprised because most of the bios it's one of the first things they say. I definitely try and put that out there.
WCT: And your "End of the World" video obviously doesn't hide it, either.
MA: Yeah, it's my first music video and I'm being dipped and kissed by a handsome man so, yeah, I'm not in anyway trying to hide it, I think as long as there is a closet for people to be in that it's important for people to be out. It doesn't mean that everything you say or everything you do has to be preaching directly about something that's gay, but the fact that you are out—I kind of pity the people who aren't—so it's really important to me that people know that I'm gay. But I think if you take a listen to my album you realize that I have a lot more to say than just "Hey, I'm gay."
I've also been lucky enough to find a label—they signed me as the first gay artist to their Silver Label—so I don't have to worry about that, you know. I'm not with Universal and I'm not on American Idol where I have to think "oh I wonder what America's going to think?" I get to say and be exactly who I am.
WCT: You've mentioned some of the letters you've gotten from fans. What is it about music from an openly gay artist that's helpful to a person who's either in the closet or coming to terms with their sexuality?
MA: There are people who've written to me—guys that are married to women—and said, "Gosh, I just can't get away from this image in my mind of your video and this is really what I want in my life and it's causing me to deal with my own feelings." You know, when you see somebody else like that, you feel less alone; that's what I hope I've accomplished.
WCT: Speaking of your video, if you could have cast any famous male actor to dance with you, who would you have picked?
MA: Oh, man. My honest answer is I wouldn't have changed a thing. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to turn out. We talked about trying to cast somebody who was a famous actor, and we realized that would just take away from the story we were trying to tell and it would be "it's that video with Jake Gyllenhaal and that guy" it would just be about that instead of being about the story.
WCT: So is that your roundabout way of saying "Jake Gyllenhaal?"
MA: That said, I definitely wouldn't have minded a few rehearsals with Jake Gyllenhaal. I definitely would have gone to those rehearsals.
WCT: Lastly, when you're on this tour, what sort of impression are you hoping to make with you're audience? What do you want to show them most about you and about your music?
MA: I hope the people that come walk away feeling like they got to know me. I also hope they find somebody to make out with while they're out to show because I think music should bring out the intimacy and passion between two people and I think as gay men we tend to be bombarded with images of sexuality that are not passionate, that are not intimate and I hope that my music might inspire people to be more tender and intimate with each other.
Alber will be performing at Gary Airedale's Flesh-Hungry Dog Show at Jackhammer, 6406 N. Clark, on Friday, Oct. 2, with The Aluminum Group. The show begins at 9 p.m. Call 773-743-5772 or see www.mattalber.com .
