Major Matt Mason USA is the recording project of Matt Roth, an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

active in the

anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, a ...

and

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

music scene of New York's East Village.(May 28, 2004). "Matt at front of 'anti-folk'", ''

Coventry Evening Telegraph The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a local English tabloid newspaper. It was founded as ''The Midland Daily Telegraph'' in 1891 by William Isaac Iliffe, and was Coventry's first daily newspaper. Sold for half a penny, it was a four-page broadsheet ne ...

'', pp. 40–41.

Life and career

A native of

Shawnee, Kansas Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311. History Territory of Kansas Before ...

, Roth moved to New York in the early 1990s, where Antifolk founder Lach gave him his new name, based on the

action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

Major Matt Mason Major Matt Mason was an action figure created by Mattel. He was an astronaut who lived and worked on the Moon. When introduced in 1966, the figures were initially based on design information found in ''Life Magazine, Air Force Magazine, Jane's,'' ...

. He established Olive Juice Music, a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, and online

record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record sho ...

based in his apartment in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. Roth has collaborated with

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...

The Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song " Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...

Toby Goodshank Toby Goodshank is a musician and visual artist based out of New York City. In addition to his solo work, he performs regularly with New York City-based bands Double Deuce, the Tri-Lambs, and the Christian Pirate Puppets. Biography Toby Goodshank ...

Kimya Dawson Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song "Anyone El ...

LD Beghtol LD Beghtol (1964 – 2020), also known as "Uncle LD", was an American musician, art director and writer. He was best known for participating in The Magnetic Fields' ''69 Love Songs'' and writing the illustrated companion book '' 69 Love Songs, A ...

Rachel Trachtenburg Rachel Sage Piña-Trachtenburg (born December 10, 1993), professionally known as Rachel Trachtenburg, is an American musician and singer. She is most notable for her key role as drummer and backup vocalist of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow P ...

, Adam Green, The Baby Skins, Prewar Yardsale, The Leader, Dan Fishback, Dave End,

Elastic No-No Band Elastic No-No Band was a musical group based in New York City's anti-folk scene. Started in the mid-2000s, the band's name was initially just a pseudonym for its leader and main songwriter, Justin Remer. After 2005, Elastic No-No Band's line-up al ...

, and Peter Dizozza. In addition to his work as a solo performer, he is also a member of the bands Schwervon! and Kansas State Flower. Roth has toured extensively throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with Schwervon! and as a solo performer, often supporting members of the anti-folk movement, such as

. He has been the headline act for anti-folk tours throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In 2017, Roth formed a side project, Broken Heart Syndrome, featuring Pat Tomek of The Rainmakers on drums. In 2019, as well as continuing to perform as a solo acoustic artist, Major Matt Mason USA has more recently appeared as a trio featuring electric guitar, bass, and drums. In 2012, Roth relocated to

Discography

As solo performer

* ''The Lobster Song/Mr. Mrs. Something'' (

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

, 1994. HC Records) (as Major Matt Mason) * '' Me Me Me'' (1998) * '' Rivington '94 and the Tower Days'' (2001) * '' Honey Are You Ready for the Ballet?'' (2002)(November 14, 2002). "A Major success", ''

Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

'', p. 37. "In the wake of his acclaimed album, Honey Are You Ready For The Ballet? on Shoeshine records, he's already been likened in some quarters to Cobain, Stipe and Beck." * '' Bad People Rule the World'' (2004) * '' Senile Pie Strive Pip Melancholy'' (2007)

Compilation appearances

* ''Call It What You Want: This Is Antifolk'' (2002) - "Animal Shelter" * ''Antifolk, Vol. 1'' (2002) - "Rockstar" * ''I Killed the Monster: 21 Artists Performing the Songs of

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

'' (2006) - "Mind Contorted" * ''

Anticomp Folkilation ''Anticomp Folkilation'' is a 2-CD compilation album featuring a variety of artists from New York's anti-folk scene. Sounds and Themes This album itself has been described as incongruous yet in line with traditional Folk and Punk sensibilities. ...

'' (2007) - "Tripping Yourself" * ''Rachel Trachtenburg's Homemade World'' (2009) - "The Dog Song"

References

External links

Major Matt Mason USA's Website Olive Juice Music Major Matt Mason USA's Bandcamp pageSchwervon!'s WebsiteMatthew Roth's Poetry Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Matt Songwriters from Kansas Record producers from Kansas Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Singers from Kansas 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers People from Shawnee, Kansas American male songwriters