Artist description A darker shade of blue, a pre-dawn blue for lowered eyes.

Music Style cerebral americana blues without the one-four-five

Musical Influences blues, Beatles, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, bluegrass, harmonizers, David Gilmour, Red House Painters, Roger Waters

Similar Artists Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Roger Waters, CSNY, David Gilmour, Matt Cravatta, Crazy Horse, Red House Painters, Beck, Wallflowers, Dylan

Artist History Lyrics by the pile, poems by the mountain, chords by the cup...

Group Members solo

Instruments guitars, vocals, swoops

Albums Moonswinger

Press Reviews Moonswinger For ten years, Matt Cravatta has been playing guitar at the edges of the Ithaca music scene--I can remember two gigs with Neon Baptist, and one with the Mellotonins. But mostly, he's been playing at home, building up these songs layer by layer, and gathering enough confidence to record an album of his own. Dozens of songs later, he's released Moonswinger, a debut as sad as it is beautiful, as startling as it is quietly, carefully introspective. The songs, about everyday loss and fear and failure, are filled with the tiny details of ordinary life: the boiling water in "Shy," or the click of a doorlatch in "Two Men in One." They're small, simple moments--but they're all carefully chosen, hard-fought images, gathering momentum as Cravatta struggles to climb up from a place where "there ain't a rope long enough to reach me." That's his greatest strength: speaking the truest, simplest words of despair, and matching them with the open, arching precision of his lead guitar playing. Moonswinger pushes Cravatta as far as he'll go, challenging him as a singer--where he's still holding back--and as a guitarist, where he easily carries the band, cutting a series of delicately atmospheric solos, half-way between Trey Anastasio and David Gilmour. It's all very slow, very careful, very exact. It's strong stuff--but I can't imagine him doing anything else. No matter what he's doing, I expect Cravatta to put his heart and soul on the line. With Moonswinger, he's done exactly that. It would be a mistake for any of us to miss it. --Kenny Berkowitz, Arts Editor, Ithaca Times

Additional Info lowlight@bluemoon.net

Location Buffalo, New York - USA

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