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His band, Coyote Bones, will perform April 11 at Duffy's Tavern, 1412 O St., to play songs from its upcoming debut release, "Gentleman on the Rocks." But it's worth noting that the CD wouldn't have been possible without some pairing up between the two cities.
Omaha and Athens are each known for having healthy independent music scenes. Much of what comprises these scenes as a whole is a collective of musicians who aren't afraid to collaborate.
Athens gave birth to the Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands that experimented with different instrumentation and included bands such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal and Elf Power. The bands - some of which are still around - had a tendency to share band members rather than try to create anything exclusive.
In Omaha there is no collective by name, but such notable bands as Bright Eyes, the Good Life, Little Brazil and Mal Madrigal also follow the same concept of musical orgy, swapping bassists for drummers or vocalists for guitarists.
Matysiak made his way to Omaha after attending college in Athens with a friend, Mason Brown. The two have collaborated in bands in the past and wanted to continue making music together, despite the physical distance between them
"It worked out pretty well," Brown said. "We probably couldn't have done it if we didn't have a history together, but we had different jobs with each song so it wasn't a difficult process."
Because of the distance, Matysiak had to look for help from friends, old and new, to flesh out the sound he wanted on the album. "Gentleman on the Rocks" was recorded in various locations in both Athens and Omaha - the first track, "Expire in Style," was recorded in one take in an Omaha bathroom while a dog was barking.
A slew of notable musicians make appearances on the album, including most of Tilly and the Wall, Greg Edds of Little Brazil, Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink of Azure Ray, Ryan Fox of The Good Life and Jacob Thiele of The Faint.
"This band started out not being a band, which is great because it gets rid of most of the ego," Matysiak said. "Since we started it as an experiment everyone is trying to respect that."
Brown said he's only actually performed with Coyote Bones for the band's inaugural show and has primarily worked with the band in the studio otherwise.
"I just happened to be in town for that show," he said. "It'd be pretty hard for me to perform with the band on a regular basis, so I guess I see myself as more of one the band's songwriters."
Matysiak added that the mindset present in Omaha and Athens is the only way a project like Coyote Bones could be seen through to completion.
"Both towns have a collective mindset and musicians will just say to each other, 'Hey, if you need help with something, just let me know,'" he said. "Everyone is indebted to each other."
After the Lincoln date Coyote Bones will perform a show in Omaha with Eagle*Seagull on April 12 before heading east until mid-May.
Matysiak said it helped having some experience in touring when booking dates for a brand new band, but added that he still expects to earn his stripes on the road with Coyote Bones.
"I'm all about people appreciating good music when they see it," he said. "I'm not out to play the 'who's cool' game."
