Bio

A funky, soulful singer/songwriter classifying his music as "Soul Folk"!

Picking up guitar on a whim, at the ripe age of twenty, Mataolin 'Panda' Coffey immediately took to the art of song writing and within two and a half years was performing before live audiences. In his formative years, he toured following the American jam band, The Grateful Dead during their Shakedown Street and Mega-Dead periods. It was during this time that Panda was exposed and influenced by a unique blend of different styles of music. Somewhere along the way, he picked up a soulful bag of vocal supplies along with some funky growls and a wailing, blues gristle in place of the standard S.N.A.G. (Sensitive New Age Guy) balladeer persona, in addition to his sometimes wordless African-style vocals with an unmistakable, funky, finger-picking guitar style.

Panda's music is truly rare in its compilation of folk, blues, soul & jazz. His lyrics & music bring an intoxicating appeal to the stage with a wide array of songs about a variety of subjects spanning life's exciting challenges and myriad of inspirations.

He has been touring extensively around western North America, Central & South America, Australia, New Zealand & the European Union for the previous twenty years. During this time, Panda has had the fortunate opportunity to play on the same stage with acts such as; Taj Mahal, CCR, The Wailers, Tuck & Patti, Michael Hedges, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, David Grisman Quintet along with countless other accomplished performers.

Presently, Panda is residing in New Zealand and regularly performs near his home and the World. He has had numerous singles in the Top 10 of Amplifier NZ's ranking in the Adult Contemporary, Soul/Folk, Pop, Alt/Indie, Soul and Blues charts, in addition to the ReverbNation New Zealand Top Five overall folk musician's national chart, holding number one in Wellington for 10 months.

He is heading into the studio to record A new CD that is due to be released in late-2010, after successfully completing his 5th annual road tour of New Zealand.

Band Members:
Mataolin 'Panda' Coffey (guitar, vocals)

Links

• Artist Website
• Facebook Page
• Twitter Page
• Youtube Page