Matt Wilson has been a fixture in the Minneapolis music scene for roughly 30 years. Since starting out as the drummer of The Panic—a band that shared the stage with The Replacements and Hüsker Dü, and opened for U2’s first Minnesota show—Wilson has earned acclaim in the Twin Cities (and far beyond) by fronting projects like Trip Shakespeare, The Twilight Hours, and his new project Matt Wilson & His Orchestra. Along the way, Wilson played in a few bands with his Grammy-winning brother Dan, went to Harvard, and was courted by major record labels.
Recently, My First Band host Tyler Maas spoke to Wilson about all of that and much more. Over the course of the 90-plus-minute discussion, Wilson talked about formative middle school drum solos, scoring a high school play with his brother, the process of forming an orchestra after three decades of rocking out, battling (and eventually overcoming) writer’s block, and literally—well..almost—rubbing elbows with Prince while recording at Paisley Park Studios.
My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Indeed Brewing Company. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. Music used in this show comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and Matt Wilson & His Orchestra (“Petty Thief”).