Matt Mahaffey is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, and recording engineer best known for his band Self and his composer collective Cake in Space.
Early and personal life
Mahaffey grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee and was involved with music from a young age. He started writing songs and playing the drums at age four and would often perform with his brother, Mike Mahaffey, when they were growing up. By age eleven, he was playing drums at Dollywood, Dolly Parton's theme park in Pigeon Forge. In the mid-1990s, he moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and attended MTSU. He lived and worked for 10 years in Murfreesboro and co-founded Spongebath Records. He also formed the band Self in 1994. In the early 2000s, Mahaffey relocated from Murfreesboro to Los Angeles, in order to be closer to his record label, Universal Records, and to produce.
He has a daughter with his former wife. As of January 2, 2020, he is married to singer-songwriter Leticia Wolf of Nashville-based band The Dead Deads.
Work
Music production
Mahaffey has performed with and produced for multiple artists, including Pink, Beck, Liz Phair, Lupe Fiasco, Beyoncé, Butch Walker, Hellogoodbye, Forever the Sickest Kids, Miranda Cosgrove, The White Tie Affair, Keith Urban, The Sounds, L.E.O. and Smash Mouth.
In 2005, Mahaffey began producing with Jeff Turzo (God Lives Underwater) under the moniker Wired All Wrong. Wired All Wrong's first full production, Hellogoodbye's Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! yielded the platinum single, "Here (In Your Arms)".
Mahaffey also contributed to the film score of The Boss Baby: Family Business and was the composer for Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls.
Television
Mahaffey and his brother Mike wrote and performed the infamous Expedia.com tagline. Matt Mahaffey has also written jingles and composed music for Pedigree, Jumbone, Medicare, and Lexus. His music has been featured on numerous shows including CSI: Miami, DanceLife, Entourage, MTV, E! Entertainment, Dirty Sexy Money, Weeds, and 60 Minutes. Mahaffey wrote and produced the music for Nickelodeon's Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. Mahaffey also played the Muppet character "Animal" in a drum-off with Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.