I got my new Moog Matriarch out of the house last week! Typically, it’s the Minimoog or maybe the Sub 37 models that you’d see at a gig. The Matriarch being semi-modular is more designed for the studio. But Jesse Mower, frontman of the funk band Greenfield III (who opened my album release show last fall), doesn’t give a shit about convention! He insisted I bring it to a gig and figure it out “on the job.” And when last week’s invite coincided with his birthday, I couldn’t say no.

I have to say, the Matriarch’s use in a live setting is probably the industry’s best kept secret. This thing kicks ass live! It took me no time at all to find sounds in the moment, all of them awesome, and to get wacky when I wanted to. The gain staging in this thing is so flawless that, in some ways, it was even easier to use in a live setting than my Prophet or my Crumar Mojo.

We got the whole thing on video. Here’s one of the (9 minute!) songs we played: