Biography
Matthew Mark Malley is an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe nominated songwriter who is best known for being a founding member and longtime bassist for the rock band Counting Crows. He was born in Oakland, California to Patrick Malley, a World War II veteran and Berkeley fireman and Sara Malley, a homemaker. He grew up in Oakland alongside an older brother, James who is severely autistic. Matt is of Irish descent on his father's side and Irish, English and Scottish heritage on his mother's side.
From an early age, Malley nurtured a passion for both music and aviation, even soloing a Cessna 150 airplane at the age of 16 out of Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, CA. He briefly attended Lambuth College in Jackson, Tennessee as a piano major but left to pursue music full-time. In the late 1980s, Malley toured North America as the bassist in a bluegrass band, honing his craft on stages across the U.S. and Canada. Around that time, he co-founded a rock band called Mr. Dog in the San Francisco Bay Area which was managed by legendary rock promoter Bill Graham and opened for popular bands like Crowded House and The Fixx.
In 1991, Malley co-founded the rock band Counting Crows in Berkeley CA, serving as the group's bassist and contributing as a songwriter. The band rocketed to fame with its multi-platinum 1993 debut album, "August and Everything After" and the hit single "Mr. Jones," and went on to become one of the defining rock acts of the decade. Malley recorded and co-wrote songs on all of the Counting Crows early albums, which collectively sold over 20 million records worldwide in the 1990s. At the height of the band's success, Malley made numerous live TV appearances including The Late Show with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. He and his bandmates appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (Issue 685, June 30, 1994), and Malley was also featured in publications like Musician and Bass Player magazines. Malley and the band toured stadiums opening for The Rolling Stones in 1995 and The Who in 2001. He remained with Counting Crows through 2004 and co-wrote the band's song "Accidentally in Love" for the film Shrek 2 (2004), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
In 2004 and after more than 14 years in Counting Crows, Malley left the band to focus on his growing family. Relocating to Southern California, he established a home recording studio and continued to work in music. In subsequent years, Malley has collaborated with an array of notable artists from various genres. Among them are Yes alumni Jon Anderson and Patrick Moraz, folk-rock veterans Richard Thompson, Jerry Donahue, Dave Mattacks and Judy Dyble, Grammy winning Indian slide guitarists Debashish Bhattacharya and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt as well as Emitt Rhodes, Albert Lee, Rob Fetters, and Beverley Martyn. Beverly's record, "The Phoenix and the Turtle" released in 2014 with Matt playing bass guitar was awarded a 4 star review in Mojo Magazine. Today, in addition to his musical endeavors, he is a proud member of Local 399 Hollywood Teamsters, working part time in transportation for major film and television productions. Malley lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife Sesh and their three sons, Tansen, Kabir and Kahlil.
