About the Artist
Matthias Lamparter is a Nashville singer-songwriter releasing his debut album, 15 Seconds of Fame, on June 10, 2026. The record was a decade in the making and entirely self-funded, tracked with Grammy-winning engineers and players he paid for by touring, working private events, and fixing up broken guitars to flip. A former electrician who came up through punk and blues before learning to work a country crowd, he leads with the singles "If I'm Able" and "Concrete Cowboy."
Matthias Lamparter
About the Episode (Episode 134)
Matthias Lamparter: Why Not Me?
Matthias Lamparter spent years as an electrician working 80-hour weeks, playing four-hour cover sets for gas money, and fixing up broken guitars to flip for lunch money. He sits down with host Jason English to talk about building a music career the slow way while everyone around him chased the viral shortcut, and the question that finally pushed him to bet on himself.
Key Conversation Points
The honest way: Ten years, no investors, no crowdfunding. He paid for 15 Seconds of Fame one gig at a time so he could record it with the players he wanted. "It takes a little bit longer, I think, when you're doing it the honest way."
Sustainable over viral: He built a fan base in rooms, not feeds, learning to win a crowd before slipping his own songs into the set. "How do you just sit and wait for the internet to decide you're famous?"
Making something from nothing: Getting jammed up and broke taught him to flip a $35 guitar into $85 five times a week. "Figuring out how to make something out of nothing will teach you to make anything out of everything."
He has played Jimi Hendrix's guitar, botched his first big road gig, and come out the other side of some hard years still believing. What he built instead of fame is the part worth hearing.