Matt Sharp (co-founder and former member of Weezer) is the main thread that runs through the history of The Rentals. It is his leadership and vision that provides the focus through which the collective voices of The Rentals can be heard. The band’s debut album Return of the Rentals (1995) brilliantly incorporated Moog synthesizers, boy/girl harmonies and soaring violins all rolled into sweet and simple pop songs. Their single “Friends Of P” (number 6 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Chart) broke through The Billboard Hot 100 and into MTV’s Buzz Bin reviving elements of new wave and bringing the analog synthesizer back to the forefront of pop music. The band supported Return of the Rentals by going on the road with such well know acts as Garbage, Blur, Alanis Morrisette and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The band’s sophomore effort Seven More Minutes was an open love letter to Barcelona and the European music scene. The critically heralded follow up featured a whirlwind of collaborators including members of Blur, Elastica, Lush, Weezer and Ash.

In 1999, at the height of his creative output, Sharp mysteriously left the music world. Five years later, he emerged in the small country town of Leipers Fork, TN—it was here where Sharp retreated to work in the kind of studio isolation unheard of in popular music. During the course of the recording, Sharp met Canadian folk-rock duo Tegan and Sara and lent his Moog mastery to their hit album So Jealous. In 2004, Vancouver independent label Boompa Records released Sharp’s self-titled solo debut—a lo-fi, languid album set deep in the terrain of bleached out Americana.

2006 sees Sharp readying his return to the new wave pop/rock spotlight with new lineup of The Rentals in tow: original founding member Rachel Haden (that dog!), new members Sara Radle (vocals/multi-instrumentalist), Ben Pringle (synth master), Lauren Chipman (viola/vocals) and Dan Joeright (drums).

Their first show in over a decade, the return of The Rentals recently kicked off with an incredible sold-out, double-encore performance at Los Angeles’ Henry Fonda Theatre, quickly followed by two nights at the Yokohama Arena in Japan before they hit Vancouver. The band hopes to hit the studio later this year to record a new full-length album for release in 2007.

July 25: Vancouver, BC - Richard’s On Richards w. The Salteens, and Ozma

Read: mtv.com article
Visit: therentals.com
Listen: myspace.com/therentals

In an interview with the Independent, Arquette says that her new documentary, All We Are Saying, is a series of interviews with figures from the music world, including Joni Mitchell, Radiohead, Elvis Costello, her close friend Chrissie Hynde, Sting, Patti Smith, Mary J. Blige, Iggy Pop, Wilie Nelson and Outkast.

“I just interviewed people that I dug,” she says. “It’s where they’re going, what it means to be an artist today, the state of the art of music, and inspiration and muse. It’s going to be at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.”

The film had its world premiere at this years SXSW Festival.

We’re so proud of our boy.

Matt’s UK label, Split Records, is giving away 35 tickets on a first come first served basis. For a free ticket please e-mail your ticket request directly to info@splitrecords.co.uk.

Also, European dates have been added for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Come down and hear him perform songs from his upcoming album Matt Sharp, in stores Oct. 26th.

“Sometimes you just need to check yourself a little bit, and music is the best thing for that,” he says on the phone from the road in Nebraska. “I do that quite a bit through music - just figure out how to treat people better and sort of… I don’t know, you know?”

Uh, I dunno either. What was so terrible about him before?

“A whole lot,” he says. “I’ve watched a lot of footage from the past, and sometimes I just wanna give that person ‘one up the bracket,’ as they say in England.”

To read the rest of the interview head over to the Now online edition!

MATT SHARP - Ten years after the landmark release of Weezer’s debut “Blue Album”, this charismatic ex-Weezer bassist and The Rentals frontman delivers Boompa Records, a bold and sensuous collection of beautifully understated songs that create an almost spiritual feeling for the listener. Backed by sparse musical accompaniment, Matt creates an atmosphere of extreme intimacy and honesty punctuated with potent silences, eerie aural textures and deeply personal lyrics. -www.mattsharp.net

“Matt Sharp throws himself wholeheartedly into the terrain of bleached-out Americana. His self-titled full-length debut is a haunted set of lazy alt-country tunes recorded in the lonely wilds of Tennessee. Fragile, intimate and heartfelt. 4/5” - Now

IN STORES OCTOBER 26, 2004 THROUGH BOOMPA RECORDS

with very special guests:
GOLDEN BOY - Retro-poetic, quirky and haunting, this garage pop trio hails from the micro infamous Diamond Bar of Southern California. Goldenboy travels in a lush melancholy world that promises a return to innocence, even if lost again.Their new album “Blue Swan Orchestra” includes a guest appearance by the late Elliott Smith and features drummer/keyboardist Bryan Bos (previously of Moonwash) and bassist/ keyboardist David McConnell (mix engineer/producer - Elliott Smith, Wilco, Folk Implosion). - www.goldenboy.ws

The Rentals and weezer it ain’t but what it is, is a beautiful collection of deeply personal songs, backed only by sparse musical accompaniment - inviting an extreme intimacy and a real sense of honesty. his is Sunday Morning Music.

Sharp’s new found inspiration comes by way of Leipers Fork, Tennessee, a small country town seemingly untouched and lost in time. It is here, where Sharp retreated to work in the kind of studio isolation unheard of in popular music.

The choral tranquility of Sharp’s debut allows for plenty of room for the lyrics to breathe and the words to fully echo in the mind. In the album’s opener All Those Dreams, a near motionless piano slowly gives way to a dim-lit instrumentation. In Watch The Weather Break, the album’s centerpiece, an atmospheric soundscape surrounds a stream of questions that drift through the loose melodic structure. As the album nears its close with Before You Go, with a sense of resignation, Sharp exhales “For all your sadness searching what can you show?”. Reoccurring themes of fear, regret, and a search for identity run throughout the album’s fragile beauty.

Boompa Records has come forward to stand up and champion this organic piece of music they know is heavily at odds with the commercial charts - where instant success is everything, feeling strongly that this collection of songs will be valued long after such superficial thrills are forgotten. Matt Sharp’s self-titled album will be released on October 26th, 2004.