San Diego Reader

Terry Matsuoka: Bass guitar, Drums, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals

Genre: Acoustic, Alternative, Blues & Soul

Sound description: Indie acoustic soul.

RIYL: Ben Harper, the Jayhawks, Crowded House, Elliott Smith, Beck, Jack Johnson, Aimee Mann, Ray LaMontagne, Wilco, Sublime, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jon Mayer, the Decemberists, Cat Power, Lee Dorsey, Jonathan Richman, Money Mark, Willie West, Bill Withers, Squeeze

Upcoming Local Shows

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Related Links

• Terry Matsuoka website

• MySpace page

Synoposis

Influences: Beck, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Cash, Howlin' Wolf, Tom Waits, Jon Brion, Butch Vig, Rick Rubin, the Neptunes, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Doug E. Fresh, De La Soul, Jonathan Richman

Background:

Terry Matsuoka hits high, soulful notes on seduction songs, and his lyrics are crunchy-beautiful. From "There Goes My Baby," Matsuoka croons the lines, "She's got my thoughts in knots / my heart in combat gear / She's got automatic machine gun talk / She's got a pair of angry ears."

On his 2007 album Totally Rad, Matsuoka's lyrics give a nod to buses from UTC and surfing at the beaches, and a gritty ballad to the city of El Cajon growls with heavy-fuzz electric guitar. Musically, there's beatbox and rapping along with surf chords and beach-rhythm bongos -- every flavor of Southern California.

Totally Rad features Matsuoka playing all instruments (except for percussion by Aaron Irwin on “El Cajon” and percussion by Irwin and human beatbox by Joe Naval on “Sour Cream and Chives”). Those instruments include acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, pianica, and Rhodes keyboard. The album includes a song called "Black Mountain Road."

Discography