biography
Texan Matthew McConaughey was raised to "never lie" and to always "see the rose in the vase and not the dust on the table." The third and youngest son of a school teacher and an oil pipe salesman, Matthew never forgets the lessons of his youth no matter where his paths lead across the globe. McConaughey says in his family you never questioned that you were loved. "Tough love. You were given responsibilities early. We had very simple rules: don't lie and don't say, 'I can't.' The only way we got a disciplined hand off our father was if we lied. His other big thing was respect for women. Very early on, he was always talking about the respect for a woman. When you hear that from your father, you listen. It's something that's just been ingrained, and I'm fortunate to have had that. He would always say 'Don't lie. You're going to screw up, but don't lie!' He taught us that you should be able to arrive at any room, and not have to look over your shoulder about unfinished business. 'No' was also just as important as 'Yes'. Disagreeing was much harder than agreeing." After graduating from Longview High, Matthew spent time as an exchange student in Australia before returning home to attend the University of Texas... with an Aussie accent, fooling even his new friends until his mom and dad outed him as a Texas native on Parents Day. Amazing, considering that Matthew hadn't even considered acting at the time...he was on track to become a lawyer! A member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, Matthew studied law before being inspired by reading "The Greatest Salesman in the World" by Og Mandino. The book had a profound effect on Matthew (who still buys copies to give out every time he visits a bookstore), and he re-evaluated his path and goals. "It found me, that book," he insists. "It's about bringing out the best in yourself. There are certain times when you're receptive to an intervention like that, and it was the time for me. The next day I had to go sign up for my law courses and I'm going, 'I don't know if that's what I want to do.' That book was six-deep underneath Sports Illustrated and Playboy - and I'd sure as hell go look at sports and women before I pick up a book - but for some reason I kept digging and I found it. The next day I changed my course to film." A chance meeting with Don Phillips led to being cast as Wooderson in "Dazed and Confused," a role that to this day proves to be the most quotable and a fan favorite. Portraying an athlete ("Angels in the Outfield"), a police officer ("Lone Star," "Judgment," and "Boys on the Side") and all-around psycho ("Return of the Chainsaw Massacre"), Matthew finally got to become a lawyer...on film, anyway. His being cast as Jake Brigance, the attorney representing a black man accused of murdering two white men in the Deep South in "A Time to Kill," put him in the center of a media frenzy that created a lot of focus and pressure on Matthew. "For eight months, I was sort of on autopilot. I didn't really appreciate it to the fullest. It's like setting a record in sports--it's always easier to put it in perspective in hindsight," he said. The blockbuster film opened doors for Matthew to work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Spielberg cast him as an attorney in "Amistad," and for Zemekis Matthew played a spiritual leader in "Contact." The small-town Texas boy graced covers alongside Hollywood favorites like Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Samuel Jackson and Sandra Bullock, all of whom were impressed with Matthew's work ethic and dedication to making better any project he undertook. "I was tickled pink. I started singing that song, '...on the cover of a magazine...' I was at the checkout counter at the supermarket, and I remember telling the lady, "Check this out, it's a pretty good-looking guy on there, isn't it?" he said. "When you get a little bit of fame, you find out who your true friends are. You've got a lot of people who were just kind of acquaintances and, all of a sudden, really want to be your good friends. But that first moment of fame was fun. It was, 'Man, let's party!' Then it settles down, and you go, 'Okay, this is part of my life. And I can't just keep running around being really impressed with myself.'" The attention and interest had two major benefits: One being that Matthew was able to bring his experience of being in the media's obsessive eye to his role in EDtv; another being the connections made to get himself and his company, j.k. livin productions, attached to a number of projects. Matthew's versatility is reflected in the various types of films he's chosen. From romantic leading man ("The Wedding Planner" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days") to action-adventure ("U-571" and "Sahara") to hard drama ("Frailty," "Tiptoes," "13 Conversations About One Thing," and "Two for the Money"), Matthew enjoys the opportunities to show his ability to tell many different kinds of stories. Establishing his own production company allowed Matthew to tell stories his own way, "to make a living with my life, and have a life with how I make a living." Growing the company with Gus Gustawes and Mark Gustawes, fraternity brothers who have worked with him for well over a decade, Matthew believes in surrounding yourself with people you can trust. "I was told a lot that you can't do business with your friends, but I never really believed that, and no one every really had a good answer why you couldn't... it's not always easy, but if you've got good friendships, you've got a trust factor," he said. "We've all shown each other the best in each other so, you know, all of our ideas and when we talk about things, it's always with that in mind." j.k. livin is more than the name of a company (taken from one of his lines in "Dazed and Confused": "You just gotta keep livin', man. L-I-V-I-N."), it's his mantra and a state of mind. In addition to creating things you love with the people you love, Matthew firmly believes in helping others, and in being a good neighbor. And for a nomad like Matthew who loves to travel, that makes for a very big neighborhood. Although he doesn't like to grandstand about his charitable efforts, his Katrina relief efforts and work with Oprah's Angel Network have been widely publicized. Matthew has also established the j.k. livin foundation, a non-profit organization that will allow Matthew, his friends and his fans to help those in need. In 2005, and this came as no surprise to his former Longview High classmates who voted him "Most Handsome," Matthew won the highly-coveted cover of People's Sexiest Man Alive issue. Amid much teasing from both his friends and from strangers, Matthew weathered another media storm with humor and grace. The magazine played up his down-home charm, but there's no question Matthew is a man of the world. In addition to frequent cross-country road trips in his Airstream (check out the "Sahara-stream" promotional tour chronicled in "E! Uncut: Matthew McConaughey"), Matthew also likes to lose himself in the jungles and plains of other continents. "My favorite things have always been getting on the road, taking road trips or getting a backpack and heading off to Mali, Africa, Peru, float the Amazon - go find the common denominator in mankind," he said. "I've always liked putting on a backpack, getting my necessities and taking a trip to nowhere in particular and getting off the plane without a return flight for a month, saying, 'Let's see what happens.' I don't like planned trips." It's Matthew's ability to wander high and low yet still maintain a close grip on his roots that has won him much admiration from fans the world over. He's a man's man AND a ladies' man, who can break it down to two rules when faced with uncertainty or the unknown: "Okay, One: Be a gentleman. Two: Don't lie." The inspiration he's provided for so many individuals is evident in his fan mail and fan site posts. "He's touched more lives than he'll ever know, simply by being someone who doesn't forget who he is and what he wants to stand for," said Rana Royale. "He shares his thoughts and learned lessons [via online blogs], not from any kind of conceit, but from a place in his heart that wants to help teach. Fans love that he brings back to them a piece of the exotic, the flavor of travels they themselves might never get to experience first-hand. He's genuine, which is becoming rarer these days. But with Matthew you never get a feeling he's in something just for himself... you might have to work your way through his rather colorful way of saying things, but you realize he's good man who wants to do good things for as many people as he can." For a man who greatly prefers commas to periods in order to keep life fluid, he's done a great job of punctuating other lives with a simple, yet profound signature... "just keep livin..."

interview
The following was written by friend and associate S.R. Bindler. Robb used these words to introduce Matthew to the podium for induction into the TX film Hall of Fame. Greetings, Matthew is a great lover and teller of stories. He's shared many over the years, some included him and some did not. But all of them carried the theme of affirmation, all were life-inspiring, life-celebrating, some brought knee-slapping laughter, some brought tears. It is tough to choose just one to share tonight but this week a great man in Africa died and it reminded me of a story Matthew told me a few months after he returned from a trip up the River Niger in Africa. Being from Texas, Matthew grew up with music. And having spent some time in Austin, blues got under his skin. So when traveling around the great continent he took it upon himself to go North up the Niger towards Timbuktu (literally Timbuktu) to a small town called Niufunku where the legendary African blues-man Ali Farka Toure lived. And Matthew found him. "What do you mean you found him," I asked. "Where was he?" "He was sitting on the floor in his den at his house. We had lunch." Matthew said this as if that was the obvious place to find a very famous man in the middle of the Sahara . I asked what they talked about and he said they spoke of "wet sh** and dried sh**."I was hooked. Matthew asked Ali, "with all your awards and fame and all that comes with that, why not live in the West somewhere... why not New York or Paris?" Ali looked at Matthew and said, "here, in Niufunku, I am Wet Sh**." Aha! A complicated metaphor. Here was a man speaking Matthew's own language. "Like wet sh**," Ali said, "I stick to people, I stay with them. When you step in the wet stuff you carry it around with you, you smell it, it affects you, it's potent." There in Mali, Faka Toure mattered, the great Niger fed him and he knew he wouldn't be the man and artist he was without it. So, he stuck close to its shores. If he left, if he turned his back on where he had come from, turned his back on what nurtured him, he would be Dried Sh**, the kind that when you step in it just falls away, dead and impotent, without leaving a trace. Ali knew he was where he came from and this resonated with Matthew and Matthew knew as a Texan it would resonate with me and it did and it's never left me. Matthew's Africa is Texas. He grew up beside Lake Cherokee and Lake of the Pines. He grew up with the Llano river... with the Frio, and maybe most important with the Guadelupe. He's always held their lessons and spirits close to his heart, never taking for granted their many gifts. To be a Texan, to have who you are be so linked to where you come from is a value without measure. If you ever have doubts about your self, you can always go home and take a big hit of air. "It's the best free thing there is," Matthew would say. It's my pleasure to introduce an inspiring and beautiful piece of Wet Sh**... Matthew McConaughey. SRB March, 2006

j.k. livin productions was created by Matthew in 1996. He designed an atmosphere where he practices making a living with his life and supports those under this roof to do the same. He brought on long time partner Gus Gustawes in the same year, and the two set up shop at Warner Bros for two solid years. Shortly thereafter, Mark Gustawes was brought on, and the three have been dedicated to the company slash life mantra for over a decade. Independent for the 8 years, j.k. livin signed an overhead deal with New Line Cinema in September 2006. Surfer, Dude is the next project for the company. It's slated for a summer 2008 release.

Filmography:

Hands On A Hardbody - The Documentary
The Mancha Blanca - The Documentary
Overlooked - Behind the scenes of TIPTOES
Sahara - Executive Producers
Day 73 with Sarah - Short Film

Coming Soon

Surfer, Dude (in production) Independent
The Grackle (filming in 2008) New Line Cinema

The Slate

Curtis Myluv (development) Independent
The River Road (development) Independent
Arrested Development (development) New Line Cinema
Dear Delilah (development) Paramount
Dirty Little Secret (development) Paramount
The Bone Game (development) Independent

Contact info: jklrecords@jklivin.netMishka photo by Roxanne Haynes.Plum TV in Aspen interviews Mishka on ABOVE THE BONES and writing songs for SURFER, DUDE. Click here for the video.I am pleased to announce that j.k. livin recording artist Mishka is going on tour.Tickets are now on sale to the general public for his North American Tour supporting Xavier Rudd in January and February of 2008.Use http://www.xavierrudd.com/shows_northam.php to buy tickets for all shows!You can also buy tickets to the shows through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com/artist/882091Look forward to seeing you all at the shows, j.k. livin, mcconaugheyDATE CITY VENUE 01/08/08 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst 01/09/08 San Francisco, CA Fillmore 01/10/08 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues 01/11/08 San Diego, CA House of Blues 01/12/08 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theatre 01/15/08 Aspen, CO Belly Up 01/16/08 Aspen, CO Belly Up 01/17/08 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theatre 01/18/08 Boulder, CO Boulder Theatre 01/19/08 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre 01/21/08 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue 01/22/08 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre 01/23/08 Nashville, TN Exit / In 01/25/08 Orlando, FL The Social 01/26/08 Saint Petersburg, FL State Theatre 01/29/08 New York, NY Nokia Theatre Times Square 01/30/08 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club 01/31/08 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall Theatre 02/04/08 London, ON Centennial Hall 02/05/08 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre 02/07/08 Quebec City, QC Theatre Capitole 02/08/08 Montreal, PQ Metropolis 02/09/08 Montreal, PQ Metropolis 02/12/08 Thunder Bay, ON Thunder Bay Community Auditorium 02/13/08 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre 02/14/08 Saskatoon, SK Lakeview Auditorium 02/15/08 Edmonton, AB Winspear Centre 02/17/08 Banff, AB The Banff Centre - Eric Harvie Theatre 02/19/08 Calgary, AB Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium 02/20/08 Kelowna, BC Kelowna Community Theatre 02/22/08 Vancouver, BC Queen Elizabeth Theatrewww.mishka.comwww.myspace.com/4mishkawww.xavierrudd.comwww.myspace.com/xavierruddIt was in Jamaica (1999 - 2000) when Matthew was introduced to the music of Mishka by long time friend Cole Hauser. It wasn't until 2006 that Matthew signed singer/songwriter Mishka, hired Cadillac, and started the j.k. livin record label. It is Mishka's laid back soulful music you hear playing over the site.

Lovers of all types of music - j.k. livin records' goal is to bring the hidden treasures of the music industry to you. Often artists are overlooked for their perceived lack of commercial value. We are not concerned with artists' marketability or mass public acceptance. Our only concern is quality.

Mishka is currently working on his new record, and writing songs for the j.k. livin production of Surfer, Dude. To be informed of upcoming release and tour dates - you can also visit http://mishka.com.
Myspace.com
Also available on iTunes.EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!In a recent interview McConaughey and Mishka sat down and talked about how they met, working together, and the album. McConaughey, when did you first hear Mishka's music?McConaughey: I got turned on to your music by Cole Hauser new years 2000. I hadn't slept for 3 nights and I could hear an album playing downstairs and I was tossing and turning trying to sleep. And then this album came on and I slept like a baby for 5 straight hours. When I got up and asked who was on this morning, it was like a lullaby, Hauser said "I think that was Mishkaî. We listened to it, I said "that's it”! Got turned on to your music right there. For me I heard a truth you were speaking. It was a very personal album. What I heard was more so about your personal life and things going on in your life at that time. There was a grace in that you talked about pain and half way thru the song, most artists go and talk about it, saying "damn you for doing it. How dare you! You're all f*#cked up! But you never make those judgments in that first album. You have an opinion but you never condemned. After that we were all saying "We gotta find this cat”. I wonder where he is. Documentary started there, "where's Mishka?!" I wanted to meet you and say "you're that singer and song writer!" Way to sing beautiful, true music that can make sense to everybody. The grace with which you talk about pain and that spot before you get into anger. How you observed life, as it was, hard and easy, easy and hard. I could dance to it. And I could sleep to it. It was the first album I loved to get up and jam to and play when I'd want to go to sleep...It's the only album I could sleep too like a baby. You weren't easy to find, bro. I came back, made phone calls, the closest I got was in 2002, and somebody in some company that I called said, "I know Mishka! I saw him in Portugal 8 months ago."Mishka: Which is funny 'cause I haven't been to Portugal! McConaughey: Anyone heard of Mishka???!!!! Let's find him!I'm out of the country and I get a call from my friend Mark Gustawes. He says "this guy named Mishka is playing at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip." I said, "see if it's him and get me a number where I can talk to him." At that point, I never even thought we'd be working together. I just loved your music. I just knew that this cat makes sense, this cat is on it. This is great music. I want to find that person. I thought, "There won't be anything I need to know. I already know it. He made it known in that first album.I called your manager and then I called you. I called you every few weeks. We basically talked about your music. You didn't know anything about me. But I felt like I knew you very well. I lived with your album, where you spoke from your heart, for 4 years. My favorite album is your first album. Greatest Salesman in the World is my favorite book, yours is my favorite album. It's a good combination, Greatest Salesmen and your album. You and I became acquaintances over the phone, I knew your music and then as I got to know you, I felt like we got each other's respect, as humans, over the phone. You invited me to stay with your family. I was looking for an adventure. I put on a backpack and was down at your place 2 days later. We had a ball, we talked music, we'd go to the waterfall, climb a tree, walk a plane or just do anything or nothing at all. Sit around and talk, philosophize, laugh a lot. We became friends over that trip. There was respect that turned into friendship. I came back and I just wanted your music to be heard by more people. I don't know if we can work together but I'm a friend of yours, in music for life. Whether we work together or I give you comments. Any time, if you want me to listen to anything. More ears should be pleased by your music. And down the line from there, we talked, you kept writing, your management parted ways. I just formed a record company, and said, let's get the paper work out of the way and do this.Mishka, when did you first hear about and meet McConaughey:Mishka: I first heard about you in 2000 a few months after you couldn't sleep. Somebody asked you what your favorite music was and what you'd play at your wedding and you said "Mishka". So that's when I first heard about you and heard you were into my music. But then it was like 4 years later that I was playing here in L.A. and Mark Gustawes came down to the show and got in touch with my previous management. I think you got my number, I got your number and you called me up and we just started talking. Just about the time when we made "One Tree” for the 2nd album. You came down to visit me and my parents and Tara and the kids in Nevis. We had a blast. Jamming some tunes, Bob, Steve, Irene, good times, you know?McConaughey: YeahMishka: It was bout then that I realized, oh, he's a movie star, he's in a bunch of movies. Maybe I should watch his movies. Watched a couple and I was like wow, he's been in a lot of movies."One Tree" came out, that spring, I was touring around for a year or so. Things fell apart with the other manager. You called me up you're like, "you still into making some music?” I said "yeah”. I had an album half made, we did a few more tunes on it and almost another year, getting an album together, came the first j.k. livin record.McCoanghey, how has the album recording process gone for you?McConaughey: This is it, "Above the Bones”. And here we are in the mixing sessions and we had a week of recording and we came out with 15 tunes. Now we're in our mixing phase. Six days into the mixing section, 11 tunes mixed. This album is less about one other person. This is ABOVE THE BONES; A love song to humanity, to yourself, to your lover, wife, your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your past, to people in the past you knew, people in the future you've never met, mother earth, time, in general. There are environmental love songs, songs to humanity, songs about being the best we can be to ourselves and to each other. Where does the inspiration for the songs come from and how do you choose what to put on the album?Mishka: A lot of has to do with having kids. A lot of prayerful thoughts and inspiration come from them. A lot of the songs are older songs that have never been recorded. The oldest one is "Mountains Meet The Sea”. I consider it a hopeful album that is reflective but hopefully gives people a positive outlook, perspective on things.McConaughey: Very hopefulMishka: A long road, reflection on reincarnation, many levels and phases of life and existence. Many realities that culminate into one; one here and now. McConaughey: You don't put up a wall or a boundary anywhere. Not on those who may have done you wrong. You don't condemn or put up a boundary, you don't give yourself a gate or bars to get out of or someone to get into in your area. Mishka: Walls are an illusion. Walls you put up in yourself, they'll all fall eventually. How was the process of making this album?Mishka: I've seen it grow from something really small into something bigger. We got the full band, all together at once, a good studio, where everything works. This experience in L.A. has been great. It was a like a musical highlight of my life, aside from live stuff. We were really seeing a vision come to reality. I can't believe my ears. I have to go back. I'm just giving thanks. Tell us more about Coastline Journey the song you wrote for SURFER, DUDE?McConaughey: I sent u the script, and I think all I said was, "have a read, see what you think”.Mishka: I thought it was really funny and it reminded me of my life in many ways. Especially when I was recording my first album, hanging out on the beach in Nevis, windsurfing and then straight into London, studios, tour busses, management, record companies. I could draw a parallel to Surfer, Dude and the reality house. I related to it instantly. The script came with a note from you: " thinking we want some songs”.There was line in the script, "I wonder why mother nature behaves like it does?” It inspired me to write that song. "Your guess is as good as mine. Oceans currents and breeze: beyond the predictions of human beings”. McConaughey, what are your thoughts on this album and producing?McConaughey: My favorite things about Mishka's music are that it's a love song to the kids, to the elders to those who have moved on, and to those who are yet to come. And here we are now mixing and we got an album that I'm really honored to be a part of. I'm honored with this album. We have it. The first time I went in the music studio was in Atlanta. I was nervous and anxious about how the playing field was. I didn't know the tools, the vernacular. And then I got going and it's not really a science, however you get it across, you are talking to musicians who know how to feel words. We don't even have to speak English to the get the point across. Rumor has it, McConaughey had some interesting dance moves during the recording process, true?Mishka: You were excited and into it. As you did your "ballet" you gave the band a visual to work off. I heard that a lot because you really danced the dance. On one song he brought it up to a peak and brought it down slowly, slowly, practically ending in a child's pose. McConaughey: It was fun. It was really fun. There is an instant gratification. You hit it. You may think you hit it, but when you hit. Daryl [producer/guitar player] said he paraphrases with you as a singer. He answers you. He puts you up on a pedestal, he just accents it. Sometimes it just a rose petal. You don't even have to look at each other to pull it off. Y'all do a beautiful dance together. I know the essence of what I love about every song and its also cool to get in there and someone will get hot, like on a certain segment, great to kick back and go, "He's tracking it the whole it way”. Or sometimes I'll feel something; I already know exactly where it will go. It's neat when it makes sense that way. They know what they are and where they want to go. I'm having a ball.Mishka: Me Too.

Mission Statement: The just keep livin foundation is dedicated to helping boys and girls transform into men and women through programs that teach the importance of decision making, health, education, and active living.

Gus Gustawes
Gus Gustawes
Mark Gustawes, champion
Mark Gustawes, champion
Gus and Matthew -- incidentally, one of Rana's favorite pictures!
Gus and Matthew -- incidentally, one of Rana's favorite pictures!
Mark Norby, stuntman
Mark Norby, stuntman
Mark, Gus and John on the set of SAHARA
Mark, Gus and John on the set of SAHARA
Matthew, Gus and Mark on a journey
Matthew, Gus and Mark on a journey
Kevin Morris (attorney) and Gus
Kevin Morris (attorney) and Gus
Gus and John
Gus and John
Gus, Mark, John, Matthew and Kevin Morris on the set of AMISTAD
Gus, Mark, John, Matthew and Kevin Morris on the set of AMISTAD
Matthew and John
Matthew and John
Gus at work on location for SAHARA.
Gus at work on location for SAHARA.
MDM
MDM
Miss Katie and John
Miss Katie and John
Chad and Matthew
Chad and Matthew
Rana
Rana
Mark, Gus and Cush
Mark, Gus and Cush
Chad and Mark
Chad and Mark
Leslie (left) and Diana (right)
Leslie (left) and Diana (right)
Duke -- T.C.O.B'ing -- takin' care of business
Duke -- T.C.O.B'ing -- takin' care of business
Chad-O
Chad-O
John Chaney & Bernadette Mazur (Matthew's hair & make-up artist)
John Chaney & Bernadette Mazur (Matthew's hair & make-up artist)
John Chaney & Ian Zweig (Matthew's on-set chef)
John Chaney & Ian Zweig (Matthew's on-set chef)