Local DJ mixes it up at bars

A blond man enters the Garage Door Saloon on a cold and dreary Tuesday night, carrying a… A blond man enters the Garage Door Saloon on a cold and dreary Tuesday night, carrying a computer monitor in his long, slim arms and disappears into the back room.

He reemerges several times, going back outside and coming back in with a new piece of electrical equipment.

Patrons at the bar barely take notice as they sip on their drafts and mixed drinks in the early hours of the night.

At 9:04 p.m., a shrill squeal booms from the back room as the blond man turns on his speakers that he just carried in from outside.

Those sitting at the bar turn their heads. Some notice the fliers that litter the walls of the small bar that promote Tuesday night’s karaoke festivities.

Moments later, a voice echoes throughout the bar.

“I’d like to start off tonight,” the voice said. “With the words of my friends, Judas Priest.”

The sound of an electric guitar rips through the air, quickly followed by the booming bass of drums. And then the voice returns in falsetto screams.

The people at the bar share smirks with their friends.

But still, he sings.

His name is Matthew Martin, better known by the Tuesday night regulars of the Garage Door as DJ Matt, a 36-year-old man who still lives in pursuit of the dream he’s been holding on to since the days just after graduating high school almost two decades ago – to rock.

“That’s my dream, man,” he said as a girl sings “White Rabbit” on stage behind him, “to always be involved with music in some way.”

In person, without the powerful boom of a subwoofer and multiple speakers, Matt’s voice is soft and subtle, not unlike a 17-year-old high school student.

His gentle and quiet disposition contrasts that of his on-stage persona where he sings Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Journey – ’80s rock that reminds him of his adolescence in Johnstown, Pa.

As he talks about his former singing gigs for bands with names like Lost Circus and Masquerade, a man from the bar wanders over to him.

“Excuse me,” the apparently inebriated man said as his speech slurs and he sways like a tree in the wind. “Do you have 50 cents? I need a dollar for another beer, and I’d really appreciate it.”

Without hesitation, Matt digs into the pockets of his faded and torn jeans.

Matt shovels out a handful of loose change and pours it into the man’s hand.

“Here you go, man,” Matt said as he hands the man his coins. “That’s all I got. I just gave the bartender a tip.”

The man shuffles back to the bar and Matt immediately goes back to saying how his love for music didn’t start until the months after he graduated from high school.

“Right after high school, my one friend talked me into singing for his band,” he explains as he combs his long blond locks out of his face with his index finger. “So I tried out for them, and it worked out.”

After that, Matt played for several bands in Johnstown, occasionally playing gigs in Pittsburgh.

Then, seven years ago, he decided to finally move to the city.

He moved into a small apartment on Juliet Street in South Oakland and took up a job painting apartment buildings and doing maintenance work.

Matt jumps back onto the stage and introduces the next singer – a young kid who, according to Matt, is a regular. The beginning bass riffs of “Because I Got High” begin to play as Matt sits back down.

“When I moved out here, I didn’t know anyone,” Matt said as he speaks into the table in front of him. “So, I started going to karaoke bars and just hung out there and started singing.”

Soon Matt was saving money from his painting job and started buying karaoke equipment one by one.

He eventually gathered all that he needed and created his own karaoke/DJ company called Rockstar Productions Inc.

“A lot of DJs work for companies and basically do it just for the money. Me, I just have fun doing it.”

During the day, Matt makes extra money by helping to remodel houses. At night, when he’s not working at a gig, he likes to go to dance clubs, or he goes to other karaoke nights and sings.

“I try not to sound too good when I’m singing at my own gig because that kind of turns people away,” he says. “I’ll sound crappy on purpose so some of the people who are kind of afraid to go up there [and sing] might not be so intimidated.”

And when people start singing and having a good time, that’s when Matt feels the enjoyment of what he does.

“Some people get up there, and they can’t sing at all, but they give it their best shot, they try,” he said with smile. “And it makes them feel good. It’s their chance to shine.”

But even though he loves doing what he does, he does have higher dreams.

Right now, he is saving his money to move to Las Vegas, where he hopes to do some karaoke work and eventually form a band.

“If I could form a band here, I’d stay in Pittsburgh,” he said. “But it’s hard to find members that I want, that are into the same things I am into.”

He pauses for a moment as AC/DC plays through the speakers behind him.

“This reminds me of a funny story,” he said as he gazes off into the wall.

About a year ago, Matt was working a gig in South Side when Butch Patrick, the man who played Eddie Munster on “The Munsters,” came up on stage and started singing “Highway to Hell.”

“He was awesome,” Matt said as he thought back on the moment. “He was really down to earth.”

As he talks about his love for music and the joy he gets from singing and watching other people sing, there is no question that he is genuine: as he occasionally cracks a smile when talking about groups of girls that get up on stage and sing as loud as they can, or when some shy and reserved person goes up and sings for the first time.

“That’s my slogan, man, for Rockstar Productions: ‘Where you are the star.'”

He gets up from the table again and pulls the microphone off the stand and becomes DJ Matt.

He no longer speaks softly or stares down at the ground when he talks. He now looks out on the dozen or so people in the bar and says that he’s not getting enough people on stage.

“Come on now, Oakland,” he said in a voice similar to the way Axl Rose or David Lee Roth would host a karaoke night. “Let’s get rockin’.”

He hits a key behind his monitor and a piano plays.

“Just a small town girl,” his voice calls out. “Livin’ in a lonely world.”

He’s off key. And against Steve Perry, DJ Matt has little to contribute.

People at the bar again laugh to themselves as they joke with their friends about the “wacky karaoke guy.”

But still, he sings.