Matt Rendon: A conversation with Tucson's musical gem
Chad Carnahan covers a lot of ground with the musician and engineer.
(Editor’s note: Matt Rendon is a Tucson fixture. A band member, multi-instrumental musician, and owner and operator of Midtown Island Studio. He’s wildly respected for all of his talents. Our own Chad Carnahan talks to Matt, talks to others who know him, while also sharing some of his own very personal moments.)
By Chad Carnahan
One of the best days of your life when you go to prison here in Arizona is the day you get your TV set.
That is, if you’re lucky enough to have had a loved one put some money on your books, or perhaps you somehow saved a few dollars from when you got arrested. I can still remember the day this happened to me back in 2018, unfortunately, for the second time.
With my bubble sheet rigorously filled out a week prior, I waited for store day with bated breath. Finally, my library book days would be behind me, and all that tedious reading and learning stuff would be a distant memory. I was so thrilled knowing that it was only a matter of time before I’d be brainlessly vegging out to ESPN or Ancient Aliens. The day finally came, and after waiting for what seemed like days in line, I finally got my beloved TV set. I, of course, also got my jalapeño pretzels, my cheese sauce, and my terrible coffee. Excited beyond belief, I darted across the yard, got back to my run, and anxiously unwrapped this glorious gem. As I wiped away the dust, connected the cable, and turned this baby on, I could start to see the screen come alive. There it all was, right there for me to take in, emotional medical commercials that would bring me to tears, reruns of The Office, and the Phoenix local news providing me with the weather girl that I was going to fall in love with for the day.
As I flipped through the channels, I must’ve come across a public access channel from there in Florence, Arizona, or who knows where, and what I saw stopped me cold in my tracks. Talking on my TV set was Matt Rendon. I broke down. It was hard to breathe, and tears again began to flow, which is never a good look in prison, by the way. I can’t believe it, I can’t fucking believe it!
There was someone right there on my TV from my old world, someone on my prison TV that I knew and loved.
Read the full story + interview on our Substack. https://open.substack.com/pub/signalnoisephx/p/matt-rendon-a-conversation-with-tucsons?r=71y3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
