Area musician has hands in many pies

What started as an interest in rap music 11 years ago has turned into a passion for all things musical for local artist Matthew D. Corey.

The 24-year-old bass player and founding member of Watertown-based indie rock band Greene Reveal is kept busy composing original scores and recording area bands of all genres.

"I wanted to make rap beats so I got my first bass guitar when I was 13," he said. "Then I just started playing in bands with other people."

Greene Reveal released a six-song EP two years ago and is finishing a full-length album this fall. According to Mr. Corey, a SUNY Potsdam graduate with dual degrees in business and psychology who also works in cultural resources management at Fort Drum, the four members of the band work together to produce their original songs.

"It's entirely collaborative," he said. "There's no one that writes songs and then brings them to us — we flesh them out together."

Mr. Corey is not only a songwriter and bassist, however: Five years ago, he opened a recording studio called Matt Corey Productions out of his family home on Mustard Road in order to help other artists realize their musical dreams. Since 2004, he has helped more than a dozen bands, including local groups such as The Score and Still Rings True, record tracks at affordable prices.

When musicians contact Mr. Corey, they gain access to the studio's audio equipment and Pro Tools system as well as its owner's experience, which stems from an internship the musician did with MADSTOP Records in Potsdam. Because his studio is the only one of its caliber in the area, Mr. Corey records bands from as far afield as Potsdam, Utica and Poughkeepsie.

"A lot of them are surprised about the quality considering the area," he said. "Around here, the next best place would definitely be Syracuse."

In addition to working with Greene Reveal and recording other artists' work, Mr. Corey is also busy composing his own music.

"I've been trying to get more into doing scores for films," he said. "I can see videos and it'll just start flowing out of me and I'll know what to do. I just like the creative side of that, and I like to be involved in all realms of music."

The first film for which Mr. Corey provided an original score was "Las Mil Mascaras," a documentary about a mission trip to Mexico undertaken by members of the community. Since then, he has also written music for "Cote Vertu," a short movie in French and English by Watertown film student Colin Riendeau.

He also has provided music for an Upstate Shows commercial and the Watertown High School cheerleading mix. Last year, he received a write-up in Official Xbox Magazine for composing the score to Jonny Crush, an Xbox 360 first-person shooter game involving the extermination of giant bugs.

Today, Mr. Corey's projects include original scores for two more Xbox games that are still in the early stages of development. He and Greene Reveal also are planning to participate in a national tour for A Million High Fives, a charity that works to empower volunteers across the country.

In the future, Mr. Corey hopes to become more involved in making music for area businesses' television and radio commercials and said he is willing to work with various budgets to do so.

"I really want to help out the local area in terms of doing original music," he said. "I think a lot of them aren't aware of something like this in Watertown."

To contact Mr. Corey, e-mail him at mattreveal@gmail.com or go to his Web site at www.

mattcoreyproductions.com.