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Matt Alber Creates Most Romantic Gay Album Ever

Give a man a beautiful voice and he can sing. Give that man a Macintosh computer and he can create one of the most beautiful gay romance albums you’ve ever heard. Emerging new openly-gay artist Matt Alber did just that! Talk about talent.

Formerly a soprano in the Grammy award-winning male vocal ensemble Chanticleer, Matt has a voice that’s clear, dreamy, inspiring and tender… Just perfect for wooing your honey-bear come Valentine’s Day this month.

Matt’s new album Hide Nothing is available for download right now.

Matt wrote The End Of The World almost five years ago in San Francisco — most of it on the number 30 Stockton MUNI bus en route to his gig performing in the famous Beach Blanket Babylon show.

The biggest love of my life had fallen out of love with me because he thought I had fallen out of love with him. This was the saddest thing that had happened in my life romantically to date.

The song was a real attempt to reconcile with someone who meant very much to me.

Matt, Hide Nothing is one dreamy, swoony album! How would you describe your music?

I don’t know, how about “Great to listen to with both ears,” or “Great to make out to.” I’d rather just hand you my headphones and let you decide for yourself. The best I can do is tell you that I have a hope: when people listen to my songs I wish for them to get that feeling you get when someone close to you confesses they aren’t strong enough to do this alone.

You went from singing classical a capella choral pieces with Chanticleer to messing around with country to Hide Nothing. How did your sound evolve? Did you know you were producing the album you’ve produced?

I don’t know that I have a sound. Somebody told me one time that I’d never make it because my voice sounds different on every song. I guess I try to find the sound the song is inviting instead of sticking to making sound in one way. Sometimes that means whispering to a river and sometimes it means calling across the Grand Canyon. If I’m really going to hide nothing, then I have to let you hear everything in between.

You live in LA, but used to live in San Francisco, where you wrote and recorded your album overlooking The Castro with your co-writer and co-producer, Jeff Crerie. How did you meet?

I first met Jeff when I was looking for a web-designer. When I walked into his quirky San Francisco bachelor pad way up on the hill above Noe Valley and saw that he’d subjugated his bedroom to mounds of recording gear, I asked him to play me some of his music. He’d been working with several self-taught singers and had a knack for evoking incredible sounds from them. When we were done with the website he invited me to set up a writing session, and we started in.

What was a typical recording session like? You mentioned Jeff’s great pancakes in your bio. Did you mean euphemism pancakes, or pancakes pancakes? And, in either case, were they your fuel or reward for a good recording session?

First off, Jeff’s pancakes are undeniably the best I’ve had. And after 7 hours of adjusting volumes and reverb, they taste like magic. Jeff approaches songwriting with absolutely no preconceptions. Meter, form and tonality are always negotiable. We wrote a song in 13/8 and didn’t know it until we went and counted the notes. On our first song, “Nonchalant,” he tried a technique I’d never heard of. I would sing random syllables over the instrumental music we’d created, just to give the melody some form. Then he would listen back to my nonsense and extract a word here and there… “It sounds like you’re saying, ‘brush of a hand,’” he’d say. And we wrote the song around those anchors. Jeff is in tune with the world in a way I’ve not encountered in anyone else. I’m a lucky guy to know him.

When not performing solo or as Matt Alber & His Gentlemen Callers, you perform with a cover band, albeit a super-classy one. What are some of your favorite songs in the repertoire? Any particularly high-profile gigs you wanna mention?

I moved to LA ’cause I knew there were great singing jobs to get me going until my record starts selling. I’ve been lucky enough to join a company called West Coast Music in a band called Impulse. We’re a 12- piece band with brass that gets hired to play 4-hour sets at private parties on the weekends. Singing with these professional studio and touring players is a freaking blast. When you’re singing Stevie Wonder and a real horn section kicks in just a few feet behind you, it’s pretty intense. We’ve actually played alongside Stevie Wonder and Harry Connick Jr. at private parties for people like Charlie Sheen, Jim Carey and Billy Crystal. It’s kinda cool going to work at Robin William’s house.

Who’s rockin’ your iPod?

Someone stole my iPhone in San Francisco. And then I got a call a few days later from the guy who found it–a SF cop. It really restored my faith in humanity. This band called Copeland has me closing my eyes and singing along, making up harmonies all over the place. My brother’s music is always in my ear. You’ll want to check him out: Bryce Alber. We’re starting to write together. We might be in each other’s bands soon.

“Hide Nothing” basically has “boyfriend material” written all over it. You cook? Keep a good house? Know how to look sexy lying under the kitchen sink?

I can make Eggo waffles and quesadillas. That’s about the extent of my culinary prowess. As far as plumbing goes, I’m an idiot. But I did recently install an airlift compressor system by hand on my Bronco II. Not sure if that qualifies as something boyfriend’s look for.

Dude, you look good, man. You work out?

Jeez, thanks. I taught 6th grade after-school music and dance all last year at JB Middle School. It was me and twenty-two 11 year-olds for 3 hours a day straight without a break. Who needs a trainer?

Last and obvious question. (Answer it carefully, ‘cause you could potentially break some hearts): Ya single or taken?

I’ve been single for a year and half. I’ve been lucky in love before. Definitely up for meeting the right guy, but it takes quite a bit of energy and time just doing what I’m doing.

In his blog Matt Alber comes across as a very down to earth and friendly guy. We’re loving that scruffy cubbish face of his. Matt lives in Los Angeles and starts touring next month. Look for him performing live with his band as Matt Alber & His Gentlemen Callers.

Visit his web site and on MySpace to learn more.

The fine print for the giveaway: Winners will be selected by random drawing. You must supply a valid email address in the comment form. If you don’t answer the Giveaway Winner email we send you within 5 days, we reserve the right to pick another winner. You may only only enter once. Please don’t comment more than one time.

Five lucky winners will be selected at random on February 10th. To enter just leave a comment below. Results will be posted on Bearotic. Good luck all you romantic bears!

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