From State & A to Riviera Ridge, Musician Matt Kustura Makes His Mark on Santa Barbara

“The sky could be water that I’m driving through,” musician Matt Kustura sings on his Americana-infused opening track “Valerio” from his debut album. With its recent release on June 12, the song was the perfect soundscape to kick off summer break as I cruised down the 101 toward Ventura on a sunny day, the blue ocean and cloudless sky melding into one. Little did I know every song would hit with a familiarity only someone who went to college here and made a full life for themselves post-grad could deliver.

 “These songs are rooted in S.B. and the S.B. experience,” Kustura said. “It’s really a story of me living my life here in Santa Barbara. I moved here when I was 20 and I’m now 44, and I’ve been playing music the whole time.”

And not just playing music; as a graduate of UCSB with a degree in English Literature, Kusutra’s creative fervor sparks toward the written word as well. The penning of lyrics, deemed by some as an afterthought, is a well-honed skill and cathartic practice for Kustura. “Writing is an important part of what I do. During that time in college, I was living and swimming in words,” Kustura said.

It was also at UCSB where he got his start playing music with friends, soaking up that classic and carefree Jack Johnson sound. The oldest song on the album (and one of my personal favorites), “Wrecking Crane,” goes all the way back to Isla Vista in the early 2000s. The groovy acoustic guitar feels reminiscent of Donovan Frankenreiter and brings me back to my own freewheeling UCSB days, the smell of ocean air as prevalent as the house parties. Kustura has a gift for capturing the feel of specific places and translating them into musical memories.

After college, he moved to Valerio Street and began gigging as part of the house band at State and A (now Benchmark Eatery). Playing around 50 shows a year there for upward of four years, Kustura honed his musical chops at the corner restaurant and venue. It’s also where he was influenced by many collaborators, including Jeffa Vegas, who hailed from Hawai’i, and was part of the popular S.B. reggae group One Two Tree.

“Reggae music came from Jeffa. He influenced me in reggae rhythms and reggae vocals. That’s why reggae shows up on the album,” Kustura said. “Weapons” is one of those songs; the heavy topic strikes an inviting and intriguing balance (reminiscent of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff”) with a bouncy reggae beat.

State and A holds a special place in Kustura’s heart and had to be included as a track on the record. “‘State and Anapamu’ is a love song to my wife,” Kustura said. “Our first kiss was at State and A.” The beautiful harmonies between Kustura and musician Miriam Dance sweetly tell this local love story, noting the corner venue and restaurant as the place where, “We became me and you.”

During this time in 2007, Kustura was also hired as a teacher at what was then Marymount and is now the Riviera Ridge School, where his wife, Jenny, also teaches. Kustura’s passion for putting his focus on the public’s good and propensity to think about our role in the world at large is clear on “Healthy American.” The song was influenced by Kustura’s memories protesting against the Afghanistan War, and the social issues he ponders. “Maybe not everyone has access to the democracy that we expound,” Kustura explains of questions the track brings up, such as the lyric, “Do I have enough money to even raise my hand?”

It’s clear Kustura is raising his hand and making a difference both in music and in teaching, often both at once. In addition to his role as a Learning Support Specialist, Kustura teaches the School of Rock elective, which gathers together a group of students all playing various instruments, and they learn, practice, and ultimately perform for the school. They’ve even played at the Avocado Festival in Carpinteria.

“I can make a big difference through education,” Kustura said, and music has always paired along with that passion. When State and A closed, Kustura started playing live throughout town as Green Flag Summer with bassist and friend Andrew Fedders. The duo consistently plays at venues like Draughtsman, Velvet Jones, and at SOhO’s Ugly Sweater Party to benefit Unity Shoppe. “Andrew is a phenomenal bassist, and he plays on every song on the album,” Kustura said.

Kustura brings in a variety of friends to help round out the album. “I recorded with Omar Velasco in Buellton on a ranch, so it really had that aesthetic of country and openness.” The live nature of the recording also adds to that authentic sound with Velasco lending his Wurlitzer notes to a few tracks, Dustin Einman adding conga percussion, and Austin Beede of the Grateful Shred drumming on the whole album.

“When art happens, it feels like a solitary act,” Kustura said. “When you’re first creating it, it’s very personal, but I’m realizing that making this album is a very collaborative act. To hear these songs with harmony, drums, and solos really brings a whole new energy and palate to them that playing as a duo, I hadn’t gotten to experience,” Kustura said.

As a teenager grown in the garden of the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead, it’s a joy to get to hear Kustura’s full band sound in full bloom on the intricate arrangements mixed and mastered by Velasco in Ventura.

“The album is multi-genre,” Kustura said. “Most of it is in that Americana genre. You’ll hear country; you’ll hear bluegrass; you’ll hear rock; you’ll hear folk.”

One of my favorite tracks is the soaring country-infused sing-along “Montana.” It begins with the line, “Well you can say that I’m not from around here.” However, after listening to this rollicking feel-good, big-sky kind of number, Kustura singing about “Wide-open wheat fields and rivers that pour out from the hills,” you would guess he’s a Midwestern boy.

When explaining his album’s genre-defying collection of tracks, Kustura said, “The only concept is that it’s local and that it reflects the music that matters to me.” As with teaching, if you believe in the lesson and deliver it with heart, students are likely to tune in, no matter the subject. Kustura’s fantastic new album is a master class in conveying that passion; a flame lit in the soul of S.B. and one that’s sure to ignite a fire in every listener.

Matt Kustura is available now on all streaming services. The vinyl can also be pre-ordered. Kustura’s album release party is at Topa Topa on August 23 from 3-6 p.m. See mattkustura.com.