Wednesday, December 8, 2010

"Die Probleem met Picasso" Album Now in Digital and Physical Print - THANK YOU LETTER!




Dear Friends

Since the music side of things with regards to "Die Probleem met Picasso" have now successfully been completed, I am urged to thank all who played a part and continue to play a part in this poignant tale about a brave little boy called Picasso. "Die Probleem met Picasso" is now available in digital format as well as physical print.



Thanks for all the nice emails and well wishes from my supporters. I am very happy that you guys are enjoying "Die Probleem met Picasso" digital and physical print editions. Thanks also to every one who played on the record and those involved in the short film. I love you guys! Thanks to Tania + Danie van den Berg for being my mom and dad away from home! You guys took me in when I was homeless and fed and clothed me when I was in need. You motivated me to finish what I started and reignited a sense of pride in my self and our culture. I feel protected, inspired, loved and part of the van den Berg family when ever I'm with you guys. Which is kinda 24 / 7. Sonder julle is ek niks. Dankie Tania en Danie. Ek is baie lief en dankbaar vir julle! Thanks Ymki, Tandie and Iewan van den Berg for being my sisters and baby brother away from home and for gracing the album with your amazing flute and concept art work. I love you guys tons! Iewan, you did a great job playing my lead in the film. Thanks for inspiring me so much with you never ending affirmation of life, art, philosophy, science and your innate moral character most striking for a 12 year old. You rock little bro!



Thank you Mrs. Marty Berry for all the help and support and for taking such good care of me in Austin and Bryson. You and the family continue to amaze me with your kindness great humor. Thank you Melssa, Sarah, Amber and Grandma. I love you girls dearly and can not wait to meet up with you all again! Take Care!



Thanks Uncle John April and the family for all the help and support in Waco. One of the best experiences of my life. I learned so much from you Uncle John! Thanks for looking after me and for having shown me the ropes. I still remember the day I arrived from Hollywood. All beat up and ready to give up. You breathed and joked and preach life back into me. I love you very much. Thank you Uncle John...I love you! Jy is regtig 'n oom duisend! Antie Yvette, Jaylen and Johnathan I miss and love you guys. We need to get together soon! Thanks for everything!



Thanks Jaco and Jen Conradie and the 3 little ones for taking me in when I came to Austin with no money or plans and very little sanity intact. Jaco, you are indeed a great friend to me and love you very much. Sorry that I cried so much that first day in Austin at the bus stop...I'm much more stable now. Thanks much you guys!



Thanks Jason Magnuson and DJ Pennington for working with me and my crazy ideas. You guys produced an amazing disc which I'm very proud of. Jason thanks for being my friend and for going far beyond the call of duty. Dude, I love you and I'm indebted to you forever. DJ you as well. If we ever get to heaven and there is only space left for one more person, I'll give up my spot in a heart beat. Not that I'll make it there (it = complicated). Your amazing moral character and talent amaze me every day. Nikye, you married the right guy. Thanks for kicking my arse when need be and for supporting me so much. You're a pal and partner in crime if ever there was. I love you dearly and um, the pup as well! Thanks for the great work you did on "Die Geheim" video. Genius!



Thanks to my favorite composer Mr. Olivier Deriviere! You have inspired me so much with you music and poise. Thanks for the well wishes and for taking the time to listen to me! Thanks George van der Spuy and the guys of Taxi Violence; South Africas best rock band ever. That "Letter to Tom Cruise" beat still rocks! Thanks to Sharlto Copley, my favorite South African born actor for inspire me and for listening to me. District 9 is one of favorite films ever. Thanks for paving the way Sharlto! Thanks Harry Knowles for taking the time to chat with me and for the well wishes. Also to Mr. Tim Leaugue for being most kind to me and allowing me access to some crazy behind the scenes parties at Fantastic Fest 2011. Also for all the support and advice. You are truly a great man!



Thanks Mr. Ben Blank for a great mastering job and for all the advice and words of wisdom. Thanks to everyone over at Media Tech / Arlan Studios for being so gracious with me and the crazy sessions the gang and I pulled (tried to pull) off (including the Catholic choir stint...would have been a nightmare most grand). Mr. Rob Fedson, you are amazing, thanks for everything! Domingo Gomez, thanks for engineering. I owe you at least 2 arms and 3 legs. Keep well and hope to be able to work with you in future once more. Mark Williams, thanks for writing and recording some of the most haunting and stirring cello parts I've heard to date on a contemporary album. Looking forward to working with again in the near future. And um, "Die Gehiem" kicks arse...quiet, still, cathartic.



JDub, Derreck Colman, Jay Martinez, Clayton, Henry Hilliard; thank you guys for additional vocal work on the record. I think we've sent out a strong message to that "Dodgy Priest" in question. He is not a man of God indeed and now he knows it! Thanks Henry for being my friend and for all the help, support, lessons! Thanks Shane Kiel for being such a great friend to me. I've had some of the best times of my life with you. Thanks for showing me the ropes and for having kept me alive! Wow, you are man and I love you very much! Thanks Joe Brently for the awesome drum track you banged out on "Strategies of Retribution..." Love you dude!



Mrs. Julia and Mr.Robert, thanks so much for being most kind to me. For all of the motivation and hospitality and for allowing DJ and myself to continue some of our recording over at your place. Thanks Mrs. Julia for recording flute with us very late at night, all the hugs and for your continued support. I'll be sure to trade a spot in heaven with you guys as well. Thanks to Randy Frank for all the support, cookies, Japanese Horror Films and for being such a good person to me! You are a great friend and I love you dearly. Thanks tons!



Thanks Paul Seeds for being one of my greatest friends ever. You've helped me so much with everything I do here. Music, Videos, Short Film... the most amazing breakfasts and so much more. I love you very much and the heaven thing goes for you as well! YOU ROCK DUDE!



Thanks Tyler Hayes, Ron Weisberg, Christina Childress, Dimitrius Pulido, Iewan van den Berg for the great work you guys did of the Picasso short film. I owe you guys so much and I apologise again for all of the delays pertaining to the final release of the short. You guys are amazing artists and I am sure that the film will kick some arse once released early 2011. Thanks for the long hours, the crazy script changes and for putting up with my general and clinical madness. I wish you guys all the best with your careers and um, first one to win an Oscar; could I at least take a pic with it? Love you guys and thanks again! Congrats Christina with your role = "The Good Guys!"



Thanks to all involved in the music videos created for Picasso project. I am most proud of our quirky little flicks... shaky camera, 15 minute wardrobe creations and all. What can I say but for; that's how we throw down! Nikye Pennington, Paul Seeds, Monica Figueroa, Stamatina Prekas, Dereck Coleman, Nick, Jason Magnuson, Erin Reynolds, Todd Wallace, Joey Mata, Jillian Schantz Patrick, Keller, Riley, Cara, DJ Pennington, Danie van den Berg, Tania van den Berg, Iewan and Tandie van den Berg, Rachel Holeman, Cindy and Kris Thompson, Katie and Jessica, Andrea and Taylor Landos, Beckie and Ashley Kristen Crawford (great actress) and all of Tandie's friends who help so much on the videos. Thanks so much! The guys over at Mexic Arte Museum. Thanks also to the folk over at the Hideout Theater and Coffee shop for allowing us to audition and film in your space. Thanks so much for all the hard work that went into telling our little story as best we could. I love you guys so much and will NEVER forget the time spent with you all making art!



Thanks also to my mom and dad, Magaret and Hubert Matthews for doing such a great job at raising my brothers, sisters and myself to be above all good people. Thanks for paying for all those piano lessons...through good and bad times. Thanks also for whipping my arse on days I did not want to continue those (sometimes) torturous lessons. Thanks Mamma for showing me that strength is not about physical ability but about internal resolve and conviction. Thanks for everything you have done for me in my life, you are the dearest being I know of and I'm most grateful for being an effect of your volition. Thanks for crying with me and laughing with me and fighting with me and nursing me and encouraging me and for taking me to the doctor when my acne got really bad! Yikes, things really got sticky there for a while! Mostly, thanks for being my mother...this reality makes me the most proud little man I know. EK IS LIEF VIR JOU! DANKIE VIR ALLES!



Thanks Pappa and Oupa for showing me and sharing with me the beauty of the human voice. My dad, late grandfather and the rest of the family have got amazing singing voices. I am humbled by having been given the opportunity to share my small gift with folk from across the world. I promise to one day make you proud of me Pappa! Thanks Uncle Lionel for supporting me so much and for all the pep talks and for having helped me make one giant step towards my dreams possible. I love and respect you as much as stars are a plenty as well as Antie Joe and Chrystal.



Avory, Jessica, Larry and Cammi; I love you guys so much! Thanks for believing in me and for crying with me when my life and future got a bit dark. For sharing in my joys and small victories on the path I've chosen to tread. It is hard, you guys make it so much easier! Thanks Wendy, Rowan, Bullah and all my nephews and nieces for hanging in there with me. I love you guys very much!



Thanks to my Beloved Antie Claire. You are one amazing lady! Thanks so much for all the support and great food and a place to rest my head when times got particularly hard. Die Kombers wat jy my gegee het hou my nou nog warm. Dankie! Sherman, Jonsie and Uncle Reggie. Thanks so much for all the support throughout my career and life. Sherman, I love you very much and I'm especially fond of you...you have the gift! Take the plunge?



I have this very special friend; Nasreen Hassan Dippenaar. Wow, what can I say...you've been amazing to me. You're the most courageous person I know. You inspire me so much in all I do. Our times at University were some of the best in my life. The fights, the self discovery, the make up lunch and make up nap times. The jokes, the tears, the lessons, the wedding, the other man...whom I love dearly. Niel, please take care of this girl. I warn you! Naz, this has been such a hard 2 years for you. I do not understand the why(s). I do know that you are a phoenix if ever a phoenix was. I've learned from you to no matter what happens; YOU PICK YOURSELF UP AND YOU TRY AGAIN! You're kind of my Mr. Miyagi! I LOVE YOU ALWAYS!



Thanks also to my family at large and all the friends I've made in America and across the globe. Without your selfless support and interest in my career and person hood, none of this would be possible. Thank you and I love you. And yes, the book is on it's way! Those who I forgot to mention, I sincerely apologise and thank you guys from the bottom of my soles (yep, the feet ones). Here's to art and our insatiable apatite as human to tell stories through the use of our hands, voices, minds and hearts!



I should also take a moment to thank Siddhartha Gautama. I am in awe of you. Thanks for setting such a great example.



Love and Repect;

Gerschweyn Matthews

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Bon Appetit!

I've always felt compelled to write lyrics with a certain moral character. The new record, "The Starving Artist and The Enchanted Vending Machine" as produced by Javier Martinez and Jason Martins is a total 360 though. Think; party whore, buttered pecan pop corn laced with Vodka infused whip cream served with a drizzle of Japanese techno fudge. If you are really clever, try to work out the hidden meanings behind the new collection of lyrics. Set for release early 2011 and um, Bon Appetit!