Listen up, MTV! I have a new idea for a TV show. It’s called Everybody Loves Matt Ward. The concept? It’s simple. We take M. Ward, acclaimed singer-songwriter and highly esteemed producer, hook him up with some of the indie and mainstream well-to-do (oh, maybe Zooey Deschanel, Lucinda Williams, and ex-Grandaddy Jason Lytle, just off the top of my head), and have him record a new album on Merge Records called Hold Time. It’ll be... oh, I don’t know exactly... some sort of bluesy-country-folk and ’50s and ’60s AM radio-inspired affair or something. Something for the Starbucks crowd, get me? We’ll have top writers and producers working on the material, don’t worry. Okay, got the back story? Good.
Then, we proceed to film the drama, the comedy, the hope, the slapstick, and the raw humanity night after night, as Ward goes around playing a cruelly (hey, this is show business!) scant amount of tourdates. Then, once we pack-in these legions of rabid coffee-shop fans of his into shows that are too few and too small and hook them with Ward’s credentials and musical credibility, we take the series to another level by extending (that’s right, EXTENDING, baby!) that tour! And now, after an initial disappointment, many more fans will find that they have a chance to catch Ward as he performs tracks from his new this “critically acclaimed album” that we’ve cooked up for him, and BAM! The crowds pack on in, and we’ve got the most popular series on cable on our hands. Sold-out gigs, emotionally and caffeine-charged fans screaming for more. Just think of those ratings.
What do you think? Still need to think about it? Okay, fine, I see you’re playing hardball here. Tell you what: I’ll even call up CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman to get him a slot on there TONIGHT, so you can see this kid for yourself. That’s how serious I am! This thing has potential, MTV; Ward’s gonna be big! Hey, I was right about that Ashlee Simpson Show, wasn’t I?
Episode Air Dates:
02.18.09 - Boston, MA - Somerville Theater
02.19.09 - New York, NY - The Apollo Theatre
02.20.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero Theatre
02.24.09 - London, UK - Bush Hall
02.25.09 - London, UK - Borderline
02.26.09 - Paris, FR - Café de la Danse
02.27.09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
03.04.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Music Box at Fonda
03.05.09 - San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts
03.06.09 - Seattle, WA - Showbox At The Market
03.07.09 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
03.08.09 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
03.09.09 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
04.17.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella
04.18.09 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
04.19.09 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
04.20.09 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
04.22.09 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom
04.23.09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
04.24.09 - Milwaukee, WIK - Pabst Theater
04.25.09 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
04.26.09 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
05.15.09 - Visalia, CA - Fox Theatre
05.16.09 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
05.17.09 - Davis, CA - Freeborn Hall
05.18.09 - Chico, CA - Senator Theatre
05.22.09 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre
05.23.09 - George, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival