Matt Cole Biography

"Matt Cole, young man, old soul," says D.B. Pacini about the Guitars Not Guns (GNG) guitar instructor who initially became associated with Emma's Love Letters as a GNG representative, but quickly became a core-group member.

"Matt Cole, on the surface, appears to be a bright and interesting young man, and of course he is," she adds. "Yet, beneath the surface is an incredible depth of human compassion and an astonishing level of creative energy. Matt knocks me out."

Matt Cole has been a guitarist/songwriter for years. Between 1995-1998 he played with the group Spillmind. Their CD is still available. In the last few years Matt has played with several musicians and groups, but has found his main interest is songwriting. "Being able to express feelings and ideas in songs really does it for me," he admits. Matt further shared, "I was greatly influenced by my musical grandmother. She put a guitar in my hands when I was seven. My hands weren't even big enough to play. In junior high school I first started to take learning how to play guitar seriously, then at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, I was in a jazz/rock band ensemble for three years, one hour each day, five days each week. My music teacher, Jay Jordan, opened my life up to a wide range of musical explorations. I'll always be grateful to Jay Jordan."

Regarding GNG, Matt learned about the program from an on-line posting requesting guitar teachers to volunteer to teach guitar to foster kids and kids at risk. Matt called and volunteered. One year later he had given guitar lessons to about twenty kids. He says, "Some of my students were a bit rough in their appearance. Their choice of clothing style was sometimes adorned with untraditional accessories, such as chains and spikes. Yet, regardless of their unusual accoutrements, I found wonderful young people sitting beside me who were interested in learning. Many were shy. Some were unsure of themselves. All were grateful to be receiving guitar lessons and excited about learning to play. Through music I was able to help give them a steady foundation to stand upon regardless of how rocky their young lives were. I was able to show them a way they could express themselves constructively and creatively. I'm deeply touched by my students and their families at graduation ceremonies. The kids are stoked to be graduating the guitar program, to be receiving their certificate of completion and to be rewarded with ownership of their guitars. I'm often approached and thanked by their parents or legal guardians and told how wonderful the GNG experience has been in their lives. These kids are motivated to learn, many are writing songs after few months. Being part of GNG has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."

Matt has a CD, released in 2003, and titled Tales of Duke Rabbit. He is also involved with GNG music benefit production projects. He enjoys jamming with musicians and is available for recording projects. After the Emma's Love Letters CD recording, Matt looks forward to future collaborative endeavors with the novel's core-group members." To order Matt's CDs visit:
http://www.mattcolemusic.com