Musician Matthew Avedon in his Brooklyn Quarantine
Photograph © Milton Arellano
Matthew Avedon and Charlie, Brooklyn Quarantine
Photograph © Milton Arellano
Matthew Avedon and Charlie, Brooklyn Quarantine
Photograph © Milton Arellano
Matthew Avedon, Brooklyn Quarantine
Photograph © Milton Arellano
“Socially Distant Portraits” #24
Q + A With Matthew Avedon, Brooklyn
Photographer
Milton Arellano is documenting fellow creatives and artists
of NYC during these unfortunate days of the Covid-19 quarantine. #24 in this series is gypsy jazz guitarist and Ford model,
Matthew Avedon.
"In the glory days, we'd sometimes go ride
skateboards with friends. I heard that
Matthew might have modeled a couple of
times, but the true passion for
@matthewavedon is his technically
beautiful guitar playing and composition. Oh, and he loves to karate
chop people or do something called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu while wearing a
purple belt. I'm hoping our Q + A brings some connection to us all! Thanks Matt!!" Check out all of
Milton Arellano's Socially Distant Artist series on Instagram @miltonarellanophoto.
Matthew Avedon, Brooklyn Quarantine
Photograph © Milton Arellano
Milton Arellano: What have you been working on?
Matthew Avedon: I've just been working on my music like always. Practice, practice, practice and more practice. Trying to keep learning, writing etc. I've been freelance my entire adult life so I'm actually very used to setting my own schedule and remaining productive without a set structure. Setting daily small but achievable goals has been the way for me to keep focused and not get overwhelmed.
Arellano: What (or who) are you finding comfort in?
Avedon: I've been finding comfort in eating. A lot. I've gotten no comfort from my dog Charlie. He's a grouchy ass old man and is not pleased that I'm home so much in his space. We argue a lot.
Arellano: Describe your hopes for the coming months?
Avedon: Besides the obvious health stuff, I'm really hoping that New York and the world bounces back from this much quicker and stronger than is being predicted. I want to get back to work and I want all my friends to get back to work, and I'm really hoping that the service industry (which I consider musician's to be part of) is able to get up and running again quickly. Not just for the work but for the personality and spirit of the city.
Arellano: Your worries or fears?
Avedon: I'm really worried that won't happen. I'm worried this will drag on through the summer and I'm worried that the country isn't going to find a smarter way to manage this than simply shutting everything down. I'm worried that we may in fact be living in a simulation with a major glitch and that our Galactic Lizard Overlords will shut us down and reboot the entire system rendering all my practicing obsolete.
Arellano: Any thoughts, advice or intentions for others?
Avedon: I remain optimistic that Klaatu will see fit to find mercy on our undeserving species and that Space Keanu will give us another chance.
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Milton Arellano is a Brooklyn based photographer, working in the fashion industry for over 15 years, starting out as an assistant to many top fashion photographers in NYC, such as Pamela Hanson, Yelena Yemchuk, Carter Smith, Arthur Elgort, Alexi Lubomirski, and more.
The son of Bolivian immigrants, he’s spent years traveling to his motherland, shooting commercial and personal work, along with pursuing social development projects through skateboarding, which culminated in a huge skatepark build, sponsored by Levi’s and international NGOs.
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Matthew Avedon is a musician who devotes his life to his work. Until the recent quarantine you would find Matt playing his regular Saturday residency at the Club Room at the Soho Grand Hotel, Friday nights at St. Mazie Bar + Supper Club in Williamsburg, an impromptu solo guitar set in his regular Tuesday night Bar Velo gig, Jazz brunch at the Roxy Hotel on Sunday's and somewhere in NYC every other hour.
Matthew recently teamed up with Ford Models Men's division. Born in the Year of the Dog, never let it be said said Matthew passed up even one can dog on the street without petting it.
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