| Matt Thiessen | |
|---|---|
 Thiessen performing at Wonder Jam 2009, at Canada's Wonderland
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Matthew Arnold Thiessen |
| Born | August 12, 1980 |
| Origin | Canton, Ohio |
| Genres | Alternative rock Pop punk Piano rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1998-present |
| Labels | Gotee Capitol Mono Vs Stereo |
| Associated acts | Relient K, Owl City |
Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian American musician, known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released six full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that peaked in the top twenty on the Billboard 200. Outside of his work with Relient K, Thiessen maintains a low-profile side project called Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes. In 2009, he co-produced and collaborated on Owl City's chart-topping album Ocean Eyes.
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Thiessen founded Relient K in 1998, with guitarist Matt Hoopes, and bassist Brian Pittman,[1] and recorded the demo All Work & No Play the same year. The recording attracted the interest of Toby McKeehan who signed the band to his label Gotee Records. Between the years 2000 and 2003, Gotee released three full-length albums, one Christmas album, and four EPs with Relient K. In 2004, their fourth album Mmhmm was released on both Capitol Records and Gotee, and peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard 200.[2] After recording another EP in 2005, Mmhmm and Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do, their 2003 album, were certified gold, followed by their 2001 album The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek in 2006.[3] In 2007, Gotee, Capitol, and EMI released Relient K's fifth studio album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, which peaked at number six on the Billboard 200.[2] After the release of the double EP The Bird and the Bee Sides in 2008, the band signed with Gotee's Mono Vs. Stereo imprint, on which they released their sixth studio album, Forget and Not Slow Down, again reaching the top twenty of the Billboard 200.[2] Thiessen and the other members of Relient K have taken up A&R positions for the label as part of the record deal.[4]
For all of Relient K's history, Thiessen has been the lead vocalist, frontman, guitarist, primary songwriter, and sometime co-producer. Because of this position of musical leader, he maintains the most creative and artistic control of the band members.[5] He has also been credited with piano in most releases, beginning with The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek in 2001. Since the release of Mmhmm in 2004, his piano playing started becoming more prominent, and he began including a piano onstage as well.[6]
In addition to being in Relient K, Thiessen plays in his own solo piano project called Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes. He currently has five songs out, three of the most recent of which can be found on Mono Vs Stereo's My Other Band, Vol. 1, and several songs written for the project have been re-recorded on Relient K releases. Although he has expressed interest in recording a full-length solo release, he places his priority on Relient K, and relegates his solo work to his free time.[5]
Thiessen has occasionally collaborated with Jon Foreman of Switchfoot. After initial interest in recording vocals for a Switchfoot song, it instead worked out for Foreman to contribute vocals for the Relient K song "Deathbed" from Five Score and Seven Years Ago.[7] He later contributed songwriting and vocals to the Switchfoot release "Rebuild" in 2007, in conjunction for the Appetite for Construction Tour.
Thiessen has made guest appearances with several other artists, including The Fold and House of Heroes. In 2009, he contributed vocals, songwriting, and production to Owl City's major-label debut Ocean Eyes, which has sold over 180,000 copies worldwide and reached the top ten on the Billboard 200.[8] Lead single "Fireflies" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in late October.[9]
Thiessen has received piano lessons since he was seven years old, with early interests in ragtime and Scott Joplin, specifically the soundtrack from The Sting. He taught himself guitar as a teenager by learning to play songs by grunge bands like Silverchair and Nirvana. Since Relient K's early days, Thiessen's main influences have been in the pop punk genre,[6] specifically NOFX, Less Than Jake, Ghoti Hook, MxPx,[5] and Goldfinger.[10] He later introduced influences from Simon & Garfunkel, Ben Folds, and The Beach Boys,[6] who he has named as his favorite band.[5] Thiessen has claimed that after years of writing and performing pop-punk songs, he now finds writing slower music more enjoyable.[10] He has described his Matt Thiessen and the Earthquakes side project as being influenced by Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds.[6]
Thiessen was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. His parents divorced when he was six years old and living in Stevensville, Ontario. Later, his mother remarried and the family moved to Bolivar, Ohio, where he met and befriended future bandmates Matt Hoopes and Brian Pittman. The three have said that they've known each other since the first or second grade.[11] In 2008, it was announced that Thiessen proposed to Shannon Murphy, a morning radio host, and the couple planned for an August 22, 2009 wedding.[12] However, the engagement was terminated in December after Murphy found that Thiessen had cheated on her.[13][14]
| Year | Album | Song(s) | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Happy Christmas, Vol. 3 | "I Hate Christmas Parties" | Gotee Records |
| 2003 | The Revolution Will Begin in the Blink of an Eye, Vol. 1 | "Poison Ivy" | Mono Vs. Stereo |
| 2005 | The Revolution Will Begin in the Blink of an Eye, Vol. 2 | "The Calendar, The Energy (If This Is You Then Woe Is Me)" | Mono Vs. Stereo |
| 2006 | My Other Band, Vol. 1 | "The Calendar, The Energy (If This Is You Then Woe Is Me)" "The Warmth of the Sun" "Faking My Own Suicide" (Demo) |
Mono Vs. Stereo |
| Year | Collaborator(s) | Contribution[15] | Album | Song(s) | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Everyday Sunday | backing vocals | Anthems for the Imperfect | "The One" | EMI Christian Music Group |
| 2005 | The Wedding | backing vocals | The Wedding | "But a Breath" | Rambler Records Brave New World Records |
| John Reuben | vocals | The Boy Vs. the Cynic | "Nuisance" | Gotee Records | |
| 2006 | The Fold | backing vocals | This Too Shall Pass | "I Believe You" | Tooth & Nail Records |
| 2007 | Switchfoot | songwriting, vocals | "Rebuild" | lowercase people records | |
| 2008 | Family Force 5 | remixing[16] | Dance or Die with a Vengeance | "The First Time" | Transparent Media Group |
| Rookie of the Year | piano vocals |
Sweet Attention | all tracks "Danger Zone" |
One Eleven Records | |
| Ace Enders and a Million Different People | vocals | Bittersweet Symphony - Single | "Bittersweet Symphony" | Lucas Keller Entertainment | |
| The Media Says | piano | Forgive Us If We Make You Smile - EP | "Summer Lovin'" "Keep Falling Down" |
Independent | |
| Ellington | piano vocals |
More Like a Movie, Less Like Real Life | all tracks "In A Lonely Place" |
Independent | |
| 2009 | Kelly Clarkson (with Katy Perry and Glen Ballard) | songwriting | All I Ever Wanted | "Long Shot" | RCA Records |
| Owl City | songwriting, production, vocals | Ocean Eyes | "Cave In" "Fireflies" "Tidal Wave" "The Bird and The Worm" |
Universal Republic | |
| Deas Vail | vocals | Birds & Cages | "Birds" | Mono Vs. Stereo | |
| 2010 | TobyMac | vocals[17] | Tonight | "Wonderin" | Forefront Records |
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Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is the lead singer of the American rock band, Relient K.
  | Goat Boy Goes to High School - Goat Boy Goes to High School | Teens |
| | Looking Back... and Into the Future! - Jesusfreakhideout.com: Relient K Interview, 2007 |
| | Relient K Comes Clean - http://breakawaymag.com |
| | Interview with Relient K - Contend 4 The Faith: Interview with Relient K |
| | Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes - Matthew Thiessen and The Earthquakes on PureVolume.com™ |
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