Singing George Strait songs in his dad’s truck over 20 years ago hooked Brandon on country music. At the age of 14, Brandon began his musical journey when he got his first drum set. Playing gigs in his garage with friends peeked his interest in playing live shows. After playing drums in hundreds of shows over a few year span in a well-known Houston metal band, Brandon picked up playing bass and joined a trash metal band.
Brandon always thought of himself as the rebel child of his family, long hair, large gauged ears, and other piercings made him just that. After years in the metal scene, the music began to sound all the same. One day in the car, he was flipping through the radio stations and came across Houston’s 93Q Country. He didn’t change the station past that. Country music came back in his life. Brandon began to play guitar and write songs about what was important to him.
Brandon met Cortnie Van Oort in a company meeting. He approached this concert violinist after the meeting and finally convinced her to begin to play together. After many solo gigs, they finally met up with Tim Thompson, Aaron North and Fernando Villegas, which make up the Brandon Matthew Band today. With none of the members having a played country before, it has been a fun journey to discover to the joys and culture of the red dirt, Texas Country scene.