We’ve been known to interview a band or two, and one question we constantly find ourselves coming back to is, “How does your band handle touring?” It seems to tell a lot about a person, and it does even more so for the bassist and visual director of the Southern-California band Cold War Kids, Matt Maust, a musician who uses his downtime during touring applying his creative side to a different process.
Maust, a mixed-media artist who finds himself on the road more than not, does not have the space to bring his art supplies with him every time he packs up and hits the road to go on tour with his band. Instead, he picks up whatever pieces he may need as he travels state to state, maturing Maust with the keen artistic capability of finding uses with anything he can get his creative hands on. It’s a characteristic that has allowed him to become an incredibly diverse artist.
Magazine cut outs, postcards, recycled art and thick swathes of paint are applied to each of Maust’s pieces, creating layers and textures that transform his artwork into something entirely unique. It is with Maust’s adaptability to find use out of anything and everything that he has the ability to produce pieces ranging from neon installation to collages.
Check out Maust’s wide variety of art at his solo show, “1 Of These Days I’m Gonna Do It,” at the Paul Loya Gallery.
