BIO

Matthew grew up in Union, NJ until the age of 15 years old. During his early years of childhood he was constantly exposed to music at his church. All through his childhood music was his form of expression, and his relief from the world around him. His creativity was always being nurtured through his power of observation of the Holy Spirit and how the spirit moves. Even as a child he seemed to be tuning into the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the worship services his family often attended and later lead. As a child, this created a huge impact on him that would forever put him in awe of Gods power and beauty.

Later on in life he would draw from these experiences to create some of his own original musical abilities. Matthew and his older brother Michael led the worship services, even though Matthew was only 9 or 10 years old. Michael played piano and sang, while Matthew played the drums and sang. This went on week after week for years, while his house doubled not only as a church, but an Outreach Center for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. This extreme envirornment would eventually prove very inspiring in the years ahead.

Matt continued to seek God through these difficult years. He had to drop out of High school to support himself in a small apartment in Hillside, NJ. Matt was 15 years old. Life began spinnng out of control for this young man, as he approached his late teens. Life was hard on his own to say the least, and all contact with his family was gone. He had lost his apartement through a series of unfortunate events, and was now living on the street. He was bouncing around from one place to another with no home anywhere in sight. Music at this point was his only sanctuary and connection with God. Eventually Matt worked very hard to get himself a new start and a new place to live, in Edison, NJ. Matt was 22 years old.

Once somewhat stable, with a decent job, he began purchasing musical instruments at a quick pace. First the drums, which is his first passion, then moving on to guitar, and vocals and then bass. Never having taken a lesson, he taught himself to play them all and eventually began writing his own material. Writing was another great outlet to express his emotions which have always remained inside throughout his growing up. Once he thought he was developing at a steady pace as a musician, he explored playing music with some friends, and eventually formed his band, 'Mango'. His very close friend at the time, Steve Fernandez would often come over and the two would create music for hours on end, exploring the in's and out's of their musical chemistry. This was the early stages of writing the first cd entitled, 'The Wishing Bridge'.

Released in 2000, the cd became a favorite amoung their friends and collegues, and you could often find matt, steve, and pat playing various coffee houses/lounges and the like throughout NJ, and NYC. Building on the momentum from the cd, other band members joined this close knit group, and Matthew and the band began writing new material for their second cd release entitled 'Be The LIGHT'. This cd was released in 2002. This proved to be a pivotal point in Matthews' career, in which he decided to leave his own business that he built up and follow his heart and the voice of God. Matt believes deeply that God is alive in his life and doing many miraculous things. He believes God has called him to reach out to his brothers and sisters, and give them Gods' promise of hope. He is determined to follow Gods voice even through all the rough and sometimes dark roads.

Today Matt is working hard on his third cd release entitled 'TRUTH.RISE.UP' as his first solo effort due to band members moving on in different directions. In small but important roles, Steve fernandez-dj and percussionist and Pat catino-bass and percussionist, also appear on this fresh new cd, due out later this summer of 2006. Matthew has 10 newly inspired tracks recorded that are truly a moving experience. This new cd will really showcase his individuality and his growth as a musician, and as a person who lives to follow Gods voice in this seemingly crazy world, we call today.