Second Cup Café: Matt White

Even though Matt White's first album won't be out until Sept. 18, he's already receiving plenty of buzz.

Rolling Stone gave "Best Days" 3 stars and Elle magazine called it an "infectious record of blue-eyed piano-and-guitar soul that's expertly arranged without being overproduced."

He visits Second Cup Café to play songs from the new album.

White was born in Englewood, N.J. and raised in New York City.

White started playing piano at the age of 3, and continued his studies all through school. After high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin where he picked up the guitar because, he says, he couldn't fit a piano in his tiny dorm room.

He returned to New York after graduation, landing in Manhattan's bohemian Greenwich Village neighborhood.

Like generations of struggling musicians before him, Matt played guitar and sang on street corners, in Washington Square Park, and in the many local clubs that dot the neighborhood's narrow streets.

White developed a following that grew rapidly when he began to promote his music on the Web. It didn't take long before he had more than 50,000 friends on MySpace.

Geffen Records came calling in 2006, and White released an EP for the label, "Bleecker Street Stories."

White's songs have been heard on the television shows "One Tree Hill," "Laguna Beach," "What About Brian," "The Hills," "Men In Trees," and "She's The Man."