About
Matt Palka was born and raised in the small farm town of Haskins, Ohio. Ever since discovering the Beatles “Abbey Road” in high school, Matt knew he had to find the excited and creative culture that lay beyond those country roads.
After graduating from Ohio University with an acting degree, his parents pressured him to take over the family fudge store. Instead, Matt moved from Ohio to California on a used bicycle he bought from a friend for $100. He managed to cram pots and pans, canned foods and even strapped a guitar across the handlebars so he could busk for meal money when his $600 ran out. Matt’s route took him over the highest highway in America, a surprising fact he only discovered the night before his summit, which would be his first mountain summit of any kind. Then further west he rode across Route 50, “The Loneliest Road in America” where he ran out of water in the desert and went head-to-head with a bull at dawn. Moment In The Sun is his immersive audiobook with music that captures that solo cross country adventure. It was written, narrated and includes and original soundtrack by Matt. Performing Songwriter Magazine proclaimed, “The hints of philosophy are so transcendent, Moment In The Sun shines bright.”
Matt has also co-written and starred in Off Off Broadway plays and independent films. His first film began when he bought a 1970 VW Bus on eBay sight unseen to tour America. That inspirational and often hilarious rockumentary VW Bus Tour: Americana Bohemia stared Matt and his music and won Independent Motion Picture Of The Year -Hollywood F.A.M.E. Awards.
His next film Saturday Scout Club was co-written with and co-starred Mary Kate Shellhardt (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Apollo 13, Free Willy 2) and the story follows a singer songwriter who meets a Hollywood actress at his show in a Midwest town. An undeniable bond develops as their adventure leads them through rust-belt bohemia, but they only have one day. Matt also wrote the original soundtrack for the film that was based on true events.
The Nashville based artist is at work on his second audiobook and soundtrack. This one is inspired by his time as a clubhouse manager in Minor League Baseball where the raw, private world of baseball is exposed by a struggling musician who runs the clubhouse. He is collaborating with Soundwell to bring another immersive experience mastered in Dolby Atmos.