Matt Merten ('01)
Matt Merten graduated from SJU in 2001. After earning a master's degree at Notre Dame in 2005, he landed his dream job as assistant band director at Notre Dame. He also works with the football marching band, brass and jazz ensembles, and hockey band.
Merten was heavily involved in the music scene at SJU. In addition to performing with the CSB+SJU Wind Ensemble, the Jazz Ensemble, and the Brass Ensemble, he was also a part of three student bands and had a solo career while on campus.
The first band he was a part of was Breaker, Breaker which was created in October 1998. Breaker, Breaker, whose name comes from a code used on CB Radios, was a Midwestern Grassroots band. They played at Battle of the Bands in 1998 and played at local arenas such as Sal’s, Brother Willie’s Pub, and O’Connell’s. In 2000, Breaker, Breaker won SJU Battle of the Bands and opened Pinestock on April 29th. Over 2,000 people attended Pinestock on Watab. Breaker, Breaker won SJU Battle of the Bands again in 2001 and opened Pinestock 2001.
Merten also briefly belonged to another band on campus, Studio 32, which had previously gone by the name PG-13. Members of the band were Ed Scherr (rhythm guitar and vocals), Graham Smith (lead guitar), James Prindiville (saxophone), Ryan Berndt (trumpet and brass), Matt Merten (bass and trombone), and Brad Neznik (drums). Merten was not an “official” member yet in 1999. They described their music as funky and jazzy and had original songs such as “Hi-Lo” and “Dragonfly.”
In March 2002, Merten created the Br. Willie Brass Band while he was on campus. It was a group of 13 brass players, along with super-senior Merten. They entered into the SJU Battle of the Bands and played Merten’s original song, “Brother Willie’s Groove,” which had rapping, scratching, and horn lines. They won the competition and were the openers for Pinestock 2002. The band competed again the next year but did not win. In 2003, they were down to twelve members, but Merten was still there.
Merten was featured on Campus Groove Recordings’ (CGR) album in 2002 as both a solo act and as a part of Breaker, Breaker. CGR officially announced the release of their 2002 album at the Mason Jennings concert they sponsored on November 30, 2001. Merten opened for Jennings’ 21+ set. Merten fused acoustic jazz with hip-hop and introspective lyrics. Merten also played “Groovin’ At the Grounds” which was a student concert at the Meeting Grounds of St. Joseph. This was also sponsored by CGR and took place in March 2002. Merten then played as a solo act at the CGR CD release concert on April 5, 2002.