Matthew George Grimson (March 9, 1968 – June 19, 2018) was a Canadian musician from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

.Brad Wheeler
"Joel Plaskett and Sloan singer-bassist Chris Murphy bring songs of late Halifax musician Matthew Grimson back to life"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', August 5, 2020. Although he released only one solo album and never became widely known outside of Halifax in his lifetime, he came to wider attention in 2020 with the release of the posthumous album ''Prize for Writing''.Cam Lindsay
"Joel Plaskett and Sloan Honour Late Halifax Songwriter Matthew Grimson with New Release"
'' Exclaim!'', July 13, 2020.

Background

Grimson attended Dalhousie University in the 1980s, befriending

Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States H ...

who would later become a prominent musician with the band Sloan.Stephen Cooke
"Music played for keeps: Grimson’s songs preserved by fans Murphy, Plaskett"
''

The Chronicle Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax. The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management con ...

'', July 10, 2020. The two later decided to form a band called Dust Party, although the project never actually went any further than discussions about how they would dress on stage. A few years later, he met

Joel Plaskett William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genre ...

in a class on sound recording. He was the nephew of Canadian politician Michael Forrestall.

Career

He recorded ''Prize for Writing'' in 1995, in two recording sessions backed by Murphy, Sloan drummer Andrew Scott, Matt Murphy of

The Super Friendz The Super Friendz are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were initially active between 1994 and 1997, before reforming in 2003. Contemporaries of Sloan, their early work was on Sloan's Murderecords label. Career The Su ...

and guitarist Clive MacNutt, although the album was not released at that time. Cassette bootlegs of the sessions were widely circulated among his fans, but the original master tape was kept in Grimson's own personal archive of home recordings. His album ''A Life Played for Keeps'' was released in 2002 on the independent label Lord Sir Skronk. In 2010, he released the two-song single "Matthew Doesn't Live Here Anymore" b/w "For a Song" on Plaskett's New Scotland Records. Grimson also collaborated with Craig Leonard in the industrial music project Guilt, which independently released a self-titled album in 2012. Matthew played in many bands in the early 2000's to around 2015 in the Halifax area, on top of the 3 piece Grimson Inc. Alewives, Deluxe and Delangro's, Gillian Austin and the Brambles, Skinned Roadie, Loaded Slogan's, Guilt and The Establishment are a few of these bands. Albums can be found by many of these bands. Grimson described his own music as "psychological metal, verbose pop, queasy balladry, and odd trips", and his music has been commonly compared to artists such as

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

, John Cale, Roky Erickson and Randy Newman. Plaskett has described him as an artist who was "destined to ride in the fringes", with a strange musical style and a singing voice that could not always carry off the complexity of his melodic ideas, but ultimately highlighted his lifelong battle with mental health as the main reason he was never able to build a sustained career even though many musicians with styles as quirky or unusual as Grimson's have found success as cult artists. Grimson died by suicide in 2018.

Legacy

Following Grimson's death, Plaskett and Erin Costelo organized a tribute show at Gus' Pub in Halifax, featuring performances by both musicians and poets.Kitty Forrestall
"Remembering Matthew Grimson"
'' The Coast'', August 2, 2018. When sorting through his possessions, Grimson's sister Kristin subsequently found the ''Prize for Writing'' tapes; Plaskett and Chris Murphy completed production work on the recordings before releasing them in 2020 as a joint release of both New Scotland Records and Sloan's

Murderecords Murderecords is an independent record label that releases the music of the Canadian rock band Sloan. Originally formed in 1992 to produce just the records of that band, it later released work of other bands including Eric's Trip, The Hardship ...

. Murphy has indicated that the labels may also reissue ''A Life Played for Keeps'' in the future; Grimson's archive of home recordings also reportedly includes at least one other full unreleased album. Sloan covered his song "Stood Up" on their 1996 album '' Recorded Live at a Sloan Party''. Plaskett covered "Drifters Raus" on his 2009 album ''

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

'', and recorded the original tribute song "Matthew Grimson Songs", which blended some lyrics from Grimson's songs, on his 2020 album '' 44''.

Discography

;Albums *''A Life Played For Keeps'' (2002) *''Prize For Writing'' (2020, posthumous release) ;Singles and EPs *"Matthew Doesn't Live Here Anymore / For A Song" (2010) *''Something To Cheer For'' (2020, posthumous release)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimson, Matthew 1968 births 2018 suicides 2018 deaths 20th-century Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian alternative rock musicians Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Suicides in Nova Scotia Murderecords artists 21st-century Canadian male singers