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Last night in the Russell House Ballroom singer/songwriters Matt Wertz and Dave Barnes serenaded students at a free show put on by Carolina Productions. The two friends played off one another, alternating individual songs and collaborations as the USC show kicked off their Two Birds/One Stone tour. Their antics are not only limited to their stage banter, they're quite comical in other aspects of life as well. Catching up with the guys before the show, everything from U2 to SEC football was discussed.
The Daily Gamecock: How'd you get started?
Matt Wertz: "Until my senior year in college at The University of Illinois, I didn't really aspire to have a career in music. At that point I was just writing a little bit here and there, and then got the idea to play at Young Life camps as the 'Camp Music Guy.' It really propelled from there and got me from summer to summer."
Dave Barnes: "Well, I played drums for a band in high school which was kind of embarrassing. Then in college at Middle Tennessee State University, I majored in percussion which allowed me to start writing songs & playing shows. Funny, because I shouldn't have thought, 'Hey I'm new at this, I should play in front of a lot of people.'"
TDG: What kind of influences so far in your careers have record labels had on you and your musical sound?
DB: "I just signed with an independent label called Razor & Tie, and it's really awesome because they let me do my own thing."
MW: "Right now I've got a great management company that pretty much acts as a record label without the signing of the papers. They let me have the freedom I want, but at the same time keep me in line, but I think I'm ready for the next step up pretty soon."
TDG: Tell us about your tour; how did you guys meet?
DB: "I'm really excited about it, this is our first stop for this new tour. We met two or three years ago when Matt let me tag along to one of the Young Life camps and other shows."
MW: "One of the first times we played together somewhere was in Lubbock, Texas, at Texas Tech. We were there all week promoting for our show. We actually went into sorority houses and at their chapter meetings we serenaded them to get girls to come to the show…it worked.
TDG: Who are some of your biggest influences in the music world?
DB & MW: "John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Scott Bernard, U2…"
MW: "I just like singers who are believable, like the Counting Crows' first album, but I've always loved Pearl Jam."
TDG: What's playing on your iPod right now?
MW: "I've been seriously wearing our the new Kanye West CD…my iPhone, my iPod, my car, everywhere."
DB: "Babyface's new CD that has a lot of covers of other people's work, it's really awesome!"
TDG: "What do you like best about South Carolina?"
DB: "Well, growing up I loved going to Hilton Head, and I'm really excited to see the Gamecocks doing well and a changing of the guard for the SEC top teams."
MW: "Seriously, South Carolina's state flag is right up there with California, strong reps."
TDG: If you could be a superhero, who would you be?
MW: "Superman."
DB: "Can I make one up? 'EquiKnox' who has the power to disappear in shaded areas and I would definitely have a horse. Definitely. Notice the "Knox" is a reference to Knoxville where I grew up. Clever."
TDG: Matt, tell us about your toothpick aerobics you display in some of your online videos off of your Web site?
MW: "Growing up my dad always had a toothpick in his mouth no matter where or when it was. When he used to kiss us goodnight, he had to do some sort of trick real fast to turn it around in his mouth. I was always afraid he would poke himself! Now I always love to get them from restaurants and mess around with it. You should try tea tree oil toothpicks!"
TDG: Dave, now let's hear about your YouTube videos and your many impersonations.
DB: "There was a girl at our management office that did that voice as a joke, then one day I was doing that voice and she pulled out a video camera and we started recording it as a joke…and a million hits later…"
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