Matthew Santos Interviews

The Real Chicago

The Real Chicago Magazine May Issue w/ Matthew Santos

The Real Chicago Magazine ran their interview with Matthew Santos in the May issue printed and distributed over the weekend on page six, so the story is available in bars and restaurants in and around the Chicagoland area.

Here is the article below:

The Real Chicago May 2008
Meet Matthew Santos
Touring with Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West, Santos stays grounded at Martyr's May 22
By Dan Ochwat


This month, Santos, a mohawked vocal wonder, will play two shows, May 23 and 24 at the Allstate Arena, singing with Lupe Fiasco as an opening act on Kanye West's Glow in the Dark tour, a speck on an arena-glitz-and-glamour, 50-date tour before screaming teens. Conversely, he'll play Martyr's on May 22, the center of attention for an intimate, folkie crowd.

Such is the life of Santos, playing music in two different worlds. Santos, a Wicker Park resident, at least one month out of every six when he's not touring, has been signed to Lupe Fiasco's record label. An album to come, he's sung on both of Lupe's genre-bending albums, and with Phil Collins and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas. He's received praise from Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, and you can see him at Martyr's.

Santos spoke over the phone from Los Angeles. His albums are available on iTunes, and he's ramping up his MySpace page with blogs and pics from the tour. (http://www.myspace.com/matthewsantos).


Q:
I read that you met Lupe through a mutual friend. You sure you don't have a sexier story than that?

A:
Well, we met at a burrito house. Our story isn't too glamorous. Really, it's more of a
coincidental matching. It fell into my lap. It came at the perfect time.

Q:
Was he looking for a singer?

A:
Not really. He was doing his thing, doing mix tapes and putting them on the internet, and I was working with our mutual friend, Greg Magers, who is an amazing sound engineer out of Chicago. He's also known as G Ball. He's both of our sound engineers. G Ball gave him my stuff, and he dug it.

CLICK HERE to read the full Interview

CLICK HERE to listen to an audio interview with Chicago Music Guide.