How MAB came to be
Matt’s other half, Cheryl, spends a lot of time during the year putting together some charity events that are near-and-dear to her heart and helping to organize other charity events. While organizing an event in 2021, she noticed that paying a live band took funds away from the final donation to the charity. Matt had been in a band in the past so she approached him with the idea of putting together a new band with the intent of having that band available to donate their time to the causes she was working for. Matt loves to perform and loves helping those in need so he jumped at the chance to help. He called up some friends he’s jammed with before and they were more than willing to join him on this journey! Some of the venues that Matt had played at with his previous band wanted to give the new band a shot and the following started to grow. (We have over 600 Facebook Followers so far!) Since then, we’ve played many venues, small and large, from Wipeout’s to the Jax Beach Pavilion! We love to play and we love our fans and we do our best to bring the fun and energy to any event we play! Check out our schedule and come see us sometime!!
Meet the Band
Matt Altman – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Matt has always loved to sing. Never got involved in choir or any organized vocal group and never had any formal vocal training. Just sang along to whatever happened to be on the radio. Way back when karaoke started to become popular, Matt would jump up on stage to belt out a few songs. He bought some sound equipment and started going to small clubs doing karaoke shows or just singing for a few hours with tracks. Fast forward a few years, Matt was at his American Legion Post and asked the band if he could sing a few songs with them. This started Matt’s run with Double Down! This is where Matt met Joe and Paul. After a few years with DD, Matt took a break from performing with a band regularly to focus on more important life events. When Matt’s wife, Cheryl asked him to put a band together in 2021 for her charity events, he was happy to oblige! He reached out to Joe, Paul and Kenny and the MAB was born!
Joe Fitzgerald – Backup Vocals, Bass
Joe “The Tree” knew he wanted to be a Musician since he played Air Guitar in a Beatles tribute band in 6th grade. Eventually, his parents bought him a real guitar where he played in several garage bands in the neighborhood. He soon moved to Bass because somebody had to do it and he was the worst guitar player in the group. But, alas, rock-stardom would have to wait while he pursued his true love as an Electrical Supply Salesman. For 35 years, Joe became the ultimate weekend warrior playing throughout Northeast Florida (when his wife would let him.) In the years that followed, he honed his musical skills. His ability to stand motionless and expressionless on stage earned him the nickname “The Tree”. Joe says “come on out and party with us, as long as we’re done by 11:00 because I have to go to bed. Peace and Love!!”
Paul Laraque – Drums
Paul has been playing drums off and on since age 15. His passion for drumming started earlier than that, but it wasn’t until his Mom bought him his first drum set at 15 years old that he truly started to learn and play. A Navy Veteran, Paul played in numerous bands throughout his 24 year military career in a multitude of genres, including doing a 2 year engagement at Germaine’s Luau in Hawaii! “That was an awesome experience for me because you always had to be ready to switch styles at a moments notice… Mamba, Reggae, Rock, Hawaiian Favorites, etc.” Over the years, Paul has played with and recorded with many bandsboth nationally and internationally. He was a long time staple drummer in a Classic Rock band named Riptide that originated in Guam. Eventually, the entire band moved to Greater Seattle to continue playing in various forms for a total of about 12 years in all. Paul’s passion for music lies not only in playing the drums, but he enjoys the creative process and loves engineering, producing and recording on projects. Paul has a “real deal” home studio in St. Augustine so he can continue his passion and is looking forward to meeting and working with area musicians on upcoming projects!
Christian Smithson – Lead Guitar
Christian joined the MAB at the tail-end of 2023 and has become an integral part of our family.
We’ll have a more detailed biography for him posted here soon… and a better picture!
Kenny Mango – Lead Guitar (Retired)
Kenny was the original Lead Guitarist for The Matt Altman Band so I felt it was appropriate to include him on this page. He has since retired to pursue his own personal interests. He’s been known to sit in with us occasionally since his retirement and it’s always a treat when he does!
Mango is well-known around the Jacksonville area as he has been playing live music here since the mid ’70s! He has jammed with damn near every musician in town! He has recorded 4 albums of original music and loves playing live and improvising.