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Biography
12 notes and 1,000,000 words. 6 strings and 88 keys. These are the tools with which Cleveland based songwriter Matthew James Murphy uses to craft his art. Matthew’s path to his current success has been a long a winding one that has taken him from the boards of Broadway to countless stages, bars and clubs all over the world.
 In 1998 Matthew was already finding great success with his first project, rock outfit “Rumor Has It”. A huge local buzz caught the attention of VH1 and shortly thereafter the band went on to take VH1’s “Rock Across America” contest and take the title of America’s best-unsigned band. Just when the musical stars seems to be aligning for Matt fate took an odd turn and he was offered a role in the Toni-Award-Winning Broadway-Musical RENT. At a crossroads Matthew looked at this as a chance to give him more of what a songwriter lives for... to create. Life experience. He sadly said farewell the band and took to a new kind of stage. 2 national tours and a Broadway run followed as well as countless other acting opportunities, including a reoccurring role on Late Night With Conan O’Brien as a member of the all boys signing group “DUDEZ APLENTI"
All the while Matthew continued to hone his craft and in late 2004 after an appearance at the legendary Bitter End in NYC, Matthew was offered a recording contract by Arrive At Eleven Productions. It was time for Matthew to get his own music out to the world. The critically acclaimed “LIFE” album followed as did performances all across Canada and the United States. A songwriters album, “Life” has taken on a “Life” of it’s own as time has gone by, often being sited by Matthew’s songwriting peers as an inspiration to the craft. Shortly after, Matthew decided to settle down and head back to Cleveland to take a break. That’s when his life as a recording artist took a drastic turn.
In late 2006 Matt contracted MTD (Muscle Tension Dysphonia) and basically lost the ability to control his vocal chords. At least for the near future, Matt’s singing days were over. Turning to teaching Matt found a new voice in the development of others. He became not only a teacher but also a songwriter for various students who wanted to “make it” in the business. It was around this time that Matthew started to take the idea of songwriting for others more seriously. Through the voice of his students he began to land placements in various national network TV shows and his demand as a songwriter began to climb. His old friend and Arrive At Eleven President, Chad Richardson saw this as a new opportunity for Matthew and being based in Los Angeles, Richardson believed he could help Matthew reach his new goals.
In the past year Matthew has seen his workload triple. Writing equally on both piano and guitar, he takes regular writing trips to Nashville and Los Angeles and his music can be heard in a steady flow on various TV shows and feature films. Currently he is writing with Sara Haze (Timbaland’s Mosley Records), Kelly Sweet (Razor and Tie), Doc Walker (Open Road Recordings) and others. 2009 will also see the release of the new MGM FAME remake which includes one of Matthew’s songs,Hold Your Dream!!
SONG PLACEMENTS - TV/FILM:
"Hold Your Dream" "Fame" (Lakeshore Entertainment/MGM pictures)
"That Was Then" (Guiding Light: ABC)
"Confused" (Laguna Beach MTV)
"Confused" (Paradise City E- Network)
"Closer to your Heart" (Wedding SOS TLC)FILM:
"Life/Someday/All in a movie/VTOY" (Tom Greene film "SHRED")
"LIFE" (The Hipsters)
"Old Enough" (Auto B Good)
PERFORMANCE:
Opened for Republica/John Foggerty/Kenny Loggins/Michael Stanley (with band Rumor Has It) as well as Aly & Aj/Rob Thomas/Jonas Brothers/Jewel
ACTING:
RENT (Broadway cast) 1998-2000
RENT (National tour) 2000-2002
SPRING AWAKENING (workshop 1999)
LATE NIGHT W/ CONAN O BRIEN (multiple appearances member of Conan's fake boy band Dudez a Plenti)
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