MUSIC

The Bugle Boy presents Matt The Electrician & Southpaw Jones.

Mussed hair and work clothes be damned, Matt Sever's aka Matt The Electrician (pictured) has been known to schlep directly to gigs disheveled from his real-life day-job: keeping people wired and lit. Yet the moniker is more than just a humorous takeoff on life's realities...

After years of a steadily built, devoted fan base, some would say that Sever's unassuming baby-faced slacker image and "nice guy" blue-collar charm belie a very complex and intoxicating energy that is equal parts gritty neo-folk, frenetic boyish pulse, and tangled life experience - all held cohesive by his deft guitar skills and liquid vocals reminiscent of a young Paul Simon wrapped around a Tom Waits heart.

Some wouldn't be able to say that. Some would rather type it. Others might yodel.Southpaw Jones treads lightly on the thin ice of irreverent honesty. Being left-handed, he naturally turns his guitar upside-down to play more comfortably. Being a creative little brother, he naturally turns the world upside-down to make his audience squirm with delight.

Southpaw (pictured below) has resided in Houston, Nashville, and Los Angeles, and he now calls Austin home. He performs solo, if not with Matt the Electrician, reaching out to find those open-minded folks who thirst for singable melodies and one-of-a-kind lyrics. Southpaw sells CDs and MP3s at reasonable prices, and he updates southpawjones.com to the delight of dozens.

Critics say he has “that most amazing ability to be hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time,” and his songs are “at once political, personal, serious, hilarious, lucid, and muddled.” Author Spike Gillespie calls him “the left-handed Elvis Costello and the best songwriter in the land.” Southpaw calls himself “Slim” and sleeps in the fetal position.