I heard that someone was interested in knowing about a singer-songwriter I played as my 4th song last night around 8:15 PM.
The singer and composer was Matt (hew) Keiter. He gave me a demo disc after I met him at a Veterans event on campus in early 2009. (We’re both Veterans.) Matt told me had served two (maybe it was three but it was multiple for sure) tours in Iraq while in the Air Force. He was back in school attending Penn State and close to having earned his baccalaureate degree too. Matt reminds me an awful lot of George Strait with his singing style but it’s his writing that reminds me of what folk music is about. He tells stories that affect the people in a way of up lifting or exposing things that are holding people back or are not right.
In the case of the song I played it was called “Big Oil.” I found it ironic that here’s a regular guy that served a couple of tours in the desert oil fields to preserve oil profits (Let’s call a spade a spade ok?) and back when gas was hitting over $4 bucks per gallon, the very guy that was sent over to protect big oil corporate interests couldn’t afford to fill up his truck with gas yet gas was going up sometimes 25 cents per day.
So to answer the question the singer in question was Matthew Keiter, and I think he told me he was from up near Wellsboro, Orsonia, or Galeton.
Paul Rutter
Volunteer Folk DJ
Ex USN (Submarines)
