Girls - be careful who you turn down. If he's a guitar-playing nerd in high school, you just might be surprised to find he's written some very bitter songs about you 10 years later.
Boston native Matt Nathanson, recently named one of VH1's "Artists You Oughta Know," has documented his numerous failed relationships. But he said he mostly blames himself for his problems.
"I always say things like, 'girls never found me attractive,'" he said. "That's part of it, but it's all about parts of me that are [emotionally] underdeveloped," he said, comparing it to his first expectations about being on a record label.
"It's like, aren't things supposed to be great when you're on a major label? No, everyone's just as insecure as you are," he said.
Nathanson, who will appear in the D.C. area for two shows - on Oct. 3 at the Recher Theatre and Oct. 7 at the Sixth and I Synagogue, said he has faced challenges in his career that make light of even the most unsatisfactory college romance.
"For me, the industry was an amazing, magical place where people minted money ... and you got to be created," he said. "I always thought, 'I can't wait to get there.' I had this real delusion of the record industry ... that [it] would fix me, make me cool and make my music sound like U2."
After four independent albums, Nathanson had a brief stint at Universal Records in the early 2000s. But that period was the final straw in his dreams of an industry that had the artists' best interests at heart, Nathanson said.
"It was like pulling the curtain back at Oz," he said. "It's like ... oh man, it's just a tiny person with ego issues who wants to control the situation."
But Nathanson said he hasn't seen the industry improving in the last decade, calling it broken.
"Any other business would shift perspective... and build a new business model," he said. "They really think they're not doing anything wrong."
Nathanson said he accepted blame for his own role in his dissatisfaction with his first label experience, which he compared to romance.
"You realize when you finally get that, you're just as unhappy as before because you can't get anything from external shit," he added.
Nathanson said there were some positive changes in the landscape of the music industry that are dissipating the power of the label.
"Back then, you couldn't make a record at home," he said. "You couldn't get fans to come to you show by sending out an e-mail. The distribution of information makes it easier for anyone to do anything."
Nathanson said he has seen a shift in power from the labels to the consumers, essentially bringing music down to earth, but he also realizes the effect this has on the old model of the awe and hype of music.
"Believe me, I miss the days of superstardom," he said. "I love when music had a real mystique, when the MTV Video Music Awards was like an event and you'd watch it and be like ... 'I can't wait to see Pearl Jam.' Now it's kind of like, 'Yeah, I can get on YouTube and see that. I lament the death of those kinds of things."
Nathanson said he found a way to survive the hostile industry by building his fan base through touring and through word of mouth. He has also given record labels another shot, signing to Vanguard Records earlier this year.
He compared his situation to rowing a boat, and with his label's support, getting a gust of wind to assist in the journey. Vanguard has opened up new avenues of promotion, such as consistent radio play and a presence on music television channels, he said.
"I can't poke too many holes in that," Nathanson said. "It's the frosting on top of the cake."
You can reach this staff writer at tbrooks@theeagleonline.com.
