We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Wells and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Matt, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I think work/life balance is an interesting topic as it pertains to a musician or a band. Many of us start out with big dreams of major label record deals, seeing a million faces, and rocking them all. Through the course of many letdowns, reality checks and overdraft checking accounts-music can make its way firmly into hobby land. For Pasadena, we’ve really tried to build a Venn diagram that allows family, professional life and the band to cross only certain lines to create a healthy sliver that satisfies our creative needs. There is a way to make music you’re proud of, record it beautifully and play it live in front of people. While touring isn’t an option for us, we work together to build a plan allowing us to record and play strategic shows throughout the year that require no real sacrifice on behalf of our family or employers. It’s a…win-win…win situation!
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It’s been a long time coming but we released our first full-length record in October of 2023. It’s entitled ‘Let this be a lesson to your leader’ and is our proudest and most cohesive work. In a world where singles are released at a certain cadence to affect streaming algorithms and playlist, we felt like it was important to build a complete work that chronicled the labor of love that is the the 11 songs you’ll find on the record. Available on all streaming platforms.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Fresh from the airport we’d make a stop at —
Summer Hill’s finest: Halfway Crooks for our fill of Pilsner!
Next a quick jaunt around the belt line to people watch, potential get hit by a bike, have a quick bite at Ponce City Market and to say hi to our bass player Ben who will undoubtedly and inexplicably be at Kroger drinking tiny beers.
Dinner at the Optimist to get our seafood on and then to Vinyl@ Center Stage to support one of our favorite venues and see some music.
The only thing left to do is eat and drink our way North for a few days of car camping, cooking over fire and hikes in the N. GA mountains!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our shoutout is to the Atlanta music community that has embraced us and allowed us trip, fall and grow into the band we are today. To the clubs, promoters, festivals and peers we’ve been privileged to work with, our sincerest Thank You! And to the faithful— that frequent our shows, stream our music and occasionally buy us drinks…LYSM!
Instagram: @pasadena_music
Website: https://linktr.ee/pasadena_music
Image Credits
Andrew Thomas Lee Kurtis Johnson Brandon Clark