Matthew Ol

I am a graduate of West Virginia University where I received a degree in English Literature

I have over 20 years of playing and performing experience. I was a classical piano student from the age of 7 to 16. My teacher was Mrs. Angotti of Clarksburg, WV. The summer before my freshman year in High School, I began guitar lessons with John Vaughn (Clarksburg, WV). For the most part however, I am "self-taught". This term can be misleading because if you listen to music, appreciate music, play with other musicians, especially music which is specific to your discipline (i.e. guitar, piano, etc.) you are, in a sense, being taught. So, in a way being "self-taught" is a misnomer if you've ever learned by listening and playing with others. Even outside of a formal lesson environment or teacher-student dynamic, one is still being taught by simply listening or playing music to and with other musicians. Invariably, their style and skill will, in a sense, "rub off" on you. I'm too humble to fully employ the label "self-taught", at least in strictly defined way. I was a frequent guest guitarist in the John Henry Blues Society of West Virginia while I attended College. I learned a lot from this experience about session etiquette, soloing, etc. When I moved to New York I began to do more and more recording sessions which also taught me a lot about truly "listening" to other musicians and the song as a living entity in its own right. I have also been involved in countless recording and writing sessions as well as being a hired guitarist on several occasions, for gigs and studio work.

I was involved with performing publicly since my first piano recital at an early age. Throughout my career as a classical piano student, I performed several of these public recitals (about 4 a year).I started playing "out" at music venues and clubs at the tender age of 15 with my first band, The Bones. We were a blues/rock cover band with a few originals. After High School, I attended WVU for college and soon formed a band with fellow students. We played all the venues that we could in Morgantown, WV and surrounding areas. Upon graduation I moved to NYC to pursue my music career in New York, I fell into a "scene" of musicians including The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Boss Hogg, etc. This was a burgeoning scene primarily focused on deconstruction of the Blues and was supported by Matador Records. I began playing with NYC blues/rock legends, The WorkDogs for a stint which included recording guitar tracks for one of their albums. Later I was recruited by White Hassle, a modern day skiffle Blues band, featuring Marce Hall (formerly of Matador Records' RailRoad Jerk. I performed with White Hassle over several U.S. and European tours. I recorded 3 albums with them (two 7" EPs (one on Grunnenrocks, one on Matador Records), & our last album (which received rave reviews from music columnists) on Orange Recordings (U.S.), Mazri Records (Japan), and Fargo Records (France) entitled The Death of Song. My role in the band as a lead guitarist was extended to comping bass lines and playing slide--at the same time) stayed true to the skiffle concept but also fortified my reputation in the NYC Lower East Side music scene. After leaving White Hassle in 2005, I founded The Killer Elite, named after the Sam Peckinpaugh movie, by the same title, which released one EP and one LP (both receiving good reviews from College Radio format). In 2007 I formed instrumental band All Night Army. However, after the passing of my father in 2008, I moved my family to the NC Triangle (chapel hill/carrboro/durham/raleigh) in an attempt to give my daughter the benefit of the great school systems, as well as being close to her cousins (my brother lives in Durham with his 3 children). Since moving here, I have formed a two piece blues/rock band Powder Horn. We rely heavily on a more dynamic approach to the deconstruction of Blues music and we are often compared to bands such as The Black Keys and Wolf Mother. We, Powder Horn, are heavily involved in several open-mic-nights in the Triangle area, as well as performing more formal, booked gigs, in venues between the cities of Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham, to name a few.

I have taught guitar to several people over the years, namely my nephew as well as several other musicians throughout the years. Although most of the time these lessons were very informal, they were certainly informative for those who learned from me. For instance, one student—and now friend—Dejan Smilganik was a recent immigrant to the United States in 1994, and not only was I able to overcome a language barrier, I was able to give him a solid theoretical and technical foundation for playing the guitar. He went on to be a more than competent guitarist and eventually became a member of several New Jersey and NYC bands, namely bands named Soma and Hot Saki, which ended up being a popular NYC bands among some circles. I was teaching guitar part-time in Brooklyn, NY before I moved to NC. Recently I have started to teach in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Durham but I have but a few students. So, being involved with your teacher placement, I will be able to establish a larger base of repeat students. In an unrelated field, that of fly-fishing, I have been a guide and fly tying instructor for years through my father’s business, Evergreen Fly-Fishing, located in Clarksburg West Virginia. I have taught several people, male and female, all at different skill levels, how to successfully navigate and fish the waters of Western Montana, Wyoming, West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. I feel that this experience gave me a lot of insight into the world of personal, one-on-one and group instruction. I currently use this model in my guitar teaching. In addition, I am a father and I am beginning to teach my daughter how to play the piano. Being a Dad has also given me further insight into teaching and requires a good degree of patience…something that I am known for, by people that I teach and that I have taught.