Paul Matthew Lauck
An Acoustic Original: Paul Matthew Lauck
When he performed at the Songwriters series at the Elbowroom in Indianapolis, Greenfield resident Paul Matthew Lauck was hailed as "one of the great finds of the downtown music scene" by local music guru Tim Brickley. "Paul writes genuine from the heart acoustic pop songs...achingly beautiful songs about love lost and found sung in a starkly emotional way."
Although he has only recently turned his music into a career and offered it once again to the public, Lauck has been creating art for years.
In the tradition of artists who are gifted at more than one discipline, Lauck, worked as a visual artist for over 15 years, displaying large pieces of his tapestry art in places as prestigious and diverse as private shows to Bloomingdale's model rooms. Although he has lived with a dusty box of CDs for the past several years, Lauck just turned acoustic pop songwriter/singer/musician full-time. In fact, just this summer his music became downloadable on Itunes. "Of course," I have been singing and composing all along, "explains Lauck, who picked up his first guitar when he was 18 years old. He was a quick study and had lots to stay. He played his first coffeehouse only a few months later. He's come a long way. In October of 2006, he played at Uncommon Ground in Chicago, one of the most famous coffeehouses in the country.
Originally from Providence R.I., Lauck now makes Greenfield, Indiana his home. "I was lost when I found Greenfield," recounts Lauck, laughing at the irony of that statement. Charmed and impressed by the town on his way to Indianapolis from a Cincinnati commute, Lauck and his family moved there two weeks from the day he discovered it.
When asked to describe his writing process, Lauck explains, “I think my writing is more organic in origin. I'm not so much a writer as a conduit. My songs are generally just short emotional snapshots or tableaus that can be eloquent or stark depending on where I am emotionally at that given time. I
think that most of us walking the earth, for better or worse have a common thread with life's trials and tribulations. I have never sat down to write a song. I inevitably will just be noodling around with the guitar and it starts to come. The words fall out faster than I can write them down. Most of
the songs on the disc were real close to one shot deals with 90% of the song done in a few minutes." By disc, Lauck is referring to his debut CD, "Nonfiction.""I don't like to tell too much about a tune, "Lauck continues. "Most people weave there own reality from there prospective which is fine by me. 'Nonfiction' is my reality. It’s not all about me, but it is all real life as I've seen it."
Lauck explained that one of his greatest joys as a performer is when strangers come up to him and tell him that it felt like he was singing about their personal experiences. "The shocking and wonderful thing is when a complete strange can hear your words and knowingly nod along." commented the singer/songwriter.
Because of his lyrics' ability to exist on different levels and mean different things depending on who's listening, Lauck is hesitant to explain too many of his songs. In fact, when he performs, he's not about storytelling; he's all about the music. But he did share his inspiration in the second song on his CD, "Bits and pieces." "I had not written in a long time. Seemed to have some writers block. The 'Baby' in the song's first two verses is me pleading to my muse to send me something, anything.
Hey baby, come back to play
I don't know what you want me to tell you
I have nothing left I can sell you
but bits and pieces
Hey darling didn't I do what you
want
and you promised that you could free
me ....
It seems that all you did was leave me
in bits and pieces
If his CD and live performances are any evidence, Lauck has found his Muse again. For listeners who like an idea of what they are going to hear, "You'll hear Lindsey Buckingham influences in Paul's own unique fingerpicking guitar style. Paul's songwriting melody-style is similar to comfortable old favorites like Cat Stevens and Neil Young with lyrical content comparable to Ryan Adams and Steve Earle," according to Indianapolis musician and arts supporter Tim Brickley. Lauck admits he writes in the "confessional introspection and observational mode that has been done for decades by other architects of the craft like James Taylor or Cat Stevens and the like." But the analogies stop there. Lauck rarely performs their songs, instead offering a constant new repertoire of original and ongoing material. "All I can offer is my perspective and hope there is a common thread with the listener," Most listeners would agree that he has achieved that.