Gloss caught up with Matt Costa while he was in New Zealand to promote his new album ‘Unfamiliar Faces’…

What inspired the name of album, 'Unfamiliar Faces'?
I collect old postcards and there was a series I got from a family member (1904-1950) and they were postcards from a girl who was sending them home to her boyfriend. Her last postcard to him said, “I have now been in Chicago for a year and it’s been hard dealing with all the unfamiliar faces, but I am not coming back.” So that’s where that came from.

That’s an interesting place to get inspiration.
Yeah, I just stumbled across it. I collect a lot of things so I always stumble across things.

What else do you collect?
I collect songs. (Laughs) I collect pennies, but they don’t tell as much of a story. I collect old records, and instruments. I collect dust!

You were on your way to becoming a pro skater until an accident put you in a cast for a while, can you still skate now?
Well I can, but not as well - my leg is messed up so my body doesn’t do what my brain tells it to do. I was skating down this ten-stair ledge, which I used to do all the time, but for some reason that time I didn’t land right, and my leg bone came through the skin and shattered and my ankle broke off. That was 18 months in rehab.

So that’s when you started writing songs?
Yeah well that’s when I started writing songs, but I have been interested in music my whole life. I played piano, trumpet and guitar, but didn’t realise how much I was surrounded by music. I went to a Catholic school so a couple of times a week I would go to church and be made to sing. My mum would make me sing louder than her ‘cos she couldn’t sing and wanted me to drown her out. When I was 19 I started putting it all together and started realising what it was that I connected to and kept trying to recreate music that gives people that connection that I was feeling with music. 

And I hear you were in a punk band at 13?
Yeah I was but we didn’t last long. We practiced for a couple of months, then we played a house party and the cops came and broke it up and so did we.

So what led you to the more melodic genre of music?
I think it was that I kept listening to music that moved me. When I heard songs on classic rock stations I found the music and melodies were taking me on different journeys and I tried to recreate that feeling with my own music. I got really into folk music and traditional melodies and that got me into wanting to sing more melodic stuff.

How do you describe your music?
I try not to describe it, and just sing it. I would say it’s hmmm… tall, short and everything in-between. Tall tales, short songs and yeah, try to get lost somewhere in the middle of that.

You’ve been supporting Jack Johnson in many countries around the world… what has been a highlight of your tours?
My favourite places are always the next places we are going. I love discovering things. This is my first time in New Zealand and one of the most important things about touring is that we have a huge crew and no matter where we go, when you start traveling with new people you learn more about each other – the crew you keep around you is more important than the places. Choose the people you travel with wisely. It’s nice to be here after Canada – it was really cold there.

When you’re not touring what do you want to do?
I like reading at home a lot, and there’s nothing better than starting the day with several cups of coffee. Coffee is a good thing - I swear you get a couple of cups in you and you feel like you could take on the world… I sound like a coffee salesman! Like I said, I love discovering things. Like when you think about the first song you ever really loved, it makes you want to discover new music that you love, and when you fall in love it is so good you want to do it again.

Do you remember the first song you ever fell in love with?
Hmmm, this is gonna sound hopelessly romantic, but I remember being about seven years old and hearing, “When the night has come, and the land is dark…” and at that time I imagined that every time I was with a person I loved that song would be playing inside my head. I remember that feeling. From there it was all downhill, meaning it was easy to discover new things.

You talk about discovery a lot, what have you discovered about yourself since you began this journey as a musician?
Oh I think it’s more about discovering things that are around you. It’s more important finding out more about the people around you and the things you feel lucky to have been around – like really talented people. It’s interesting finding out what their take is on life and what they encounter. When you tour you get to meet other people who have something to say and that’s the best thing.

What is your favourite song of 2007… yours or otherwise?
Hmmm, I am really bad with pop songs and things… There’s a Shins song called GirlSailor and I like that song a lot. I played a show with James (the singer) and it was an acoustic show, and that made a lasting impression on me. When it came out on record, I was like, “Yeah! Now I can have it!”

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