Reverb and Hemmingway Inspire Matt Costa's Chateau

Matt Costa's third album Mobile Chateau shimmies with British Invasion-era reverb and ponders in minor key English folk.

It's a marked departure for the nearly pro skateboarder who found artistic inspiration for the title of his third album in a place known to stir a creative juice or two.

"My wife and I were staying in a chateau four hours outside of Paris," Costa said. "We were just walking around and she was finding things on the ground and literally made a mobile inside the chateau. Then it kind of took on A Moveable Feast idea. I also felt like all the people in the creating of this record felt like a small piece of how Hemingway might have felt in Paris at that time in having all these creative people around."

Friday, on Morning Sessions, this week from NP Recording Studios in Towson, we bring you Matt and the creative forces who make up his band. They played a decadently pshycadelic set in front of some of our frontmen and women. Hear the results at 920.

CD of the Week: Mobile Chateau

Matt Costa embraces the sound of the British Invasion on his new album Mobile Chateau. It's a natural progression for an artist who broke through on the Beatle-esque piano pop of 2008's "Mr. Pitiful." 

And, new music video notwithstanding, this isn't just a case of an artist dressing up in vintage clothes of musicians past. Costa uses the 60's sound as a launching pad to develop a new take on the psychedelic era.

Matt Costa and Everest perform at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., on November 7.

CD of the Week: On Approach

Everest's sophomore album, On Approach, invokes an era when vinyl albums were an event. The band honed their laidback California sound into a tight mixture of country, psychedelic rock and folk that caught the attention of Neil Young and earned them a spot opening for him in 2008.

Joel Graves and Jason Soda's guitars are at the forefront, alternating between gentle fingerpicking and a robust echo. Although the band gained an impressive amount of critical buzz with their debut album, Ghost Notes, lead singer Russell Pollard says that the new album takes it to another level. 

“We weren't a band for very long when we made Ghost Notes. I had songs, we recorded them in just two weeks, then immediately toured,” says Pollard. “Now it’s guys who've actually struggled together and survived some tight spaces, cramped hotel rooms, some arguments and some really, really good times. There was a lot of collaboration, and we weren’t afraid to do anything.” 

Everest and Matt Costa perform at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, November 7.

Back Door Slam, Ten Out of Tenn and Matt Costa In Studio on Friday, July 25th

Great performers appearing around town translates into a full day of in-studio performances on Friday, July 25th.

At 9 a.m. with British blues trio Back Door Slam on Morning Sessions.

Davy, Ross and Adam won over the crowd at Artscape on Saturday and you'll have a chance to hear an exclusive acoustic performance and interview with Erik in the nine o'clock hour.

At 12 p.m. Rich Levinson hosts Erin McCarley, Matthew Perryman Jones and Katie Herzig from the Ten Out of Tenn tour, a traveling showcase of singer-songwriters based in Nashville that touches down at the 8 x 10 later that evening.

And Matt Costa joins Mike Matthews at 4 p.m. for a special session of Altered Fridays. Matt will perform on the air before headlining at the Recher Theatre.

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