Video: Andrew Goff

While heading into the office in Old Town this morning, it was impossible not to immediately notice the impassioned vocals booming through the air, spinning a rendition of “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder – adding to the already cheery atmosphere of the sunny day we’re enjoying. 

By the time I had reached the office, where I could still hear our morning crooner belting out hit after hit, adding vocal flourishes, sometimes even powerful growls to his selections, my curiosity overtook me. Who is this person singing with so much feeling, accompanied by only a karaoke machine at 10 in the morning? I had to know more, so I went out to introduce myself. 

His name is Matthew Anscher, a 40-year-old singer from Salinas, who performs with only his microphone and an amplifier, which he also uses to play the backing tracks off of his phone. Anscher said he’s in the area visiting his boyfriend (actually his fiancé, as he mentioned that they are engaged to be married. Congrats!) But there was also some bad news for Anscher: his car recently broke down, extending his trip for longer than he had planned. He belted his heart out in front of the Gazebo today to, hopefully, raise some funds to repair his car. 

“I do this all the time, but now there’s an urgency to it,” Anscher told me, as he took a break between numbers. 

Originally from North Carolina, Anscher has been passionate about music and singing for pretty much his entire life. As a child, he started out in musical theater (something he still loves, and he includes a few musical numbers in his song selection) and grew up in a college town with a “thriving music scene” that inspired him. He’s thought about going professional before, he said, but navigating the music industry can be tough. 

“The major labels – they don’t want to nurture talent anymore,” Anscher said. “They just want the next big thing.” 

Anscher started busking about two years ago and has taken his talent all over California and beyond, playing on the streets of cities including Santa Cruz and Las Vegas. He has also played in Arcata before, he said, but today is Anscher’s first time testing out his busking at the Old Town Gazebo, which he said he was really enjoying. 

“I can see why people like it here,” Anscher said, adding that he was appreciative of the clear weather we’re experiencing today. “I love days like this. That’s why I come out here.” 

In addition to busking, Anscher also plays a lot of open mics, he said, and has spent the last couple of years fine tuning his repertoire. He likes to sing a selection of generally well-known songs from different genres including pop, rock, soul, musicals, and sometimes he even throws a couple of television theme songs into the mix. Some of his vocal influences include Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick and “Judy Garland, of course,” he said. 

When talking about his song selections, Anscher laughed at one point and shared a story about a time he played an open mic back in North Carolina and had chosen to cover the song “Dance: 10, Looks: 3” from A Chorus Line. If you’re familiar with the number, then you know it includes some pretty saucy language, and Anscher said that it was not well received by the crowd. That experience taught him to “read the room” when making his song selections, he said. 

When Anscher isn’t singing, he drives for DoorDash to pay the bills. So having his car in the shop also affects his income. Luckily, Anscher has a rental car for the time being, and said he will be likely heading back and forth between the Gazebo and the Arcata Plaza today. So if you want to help Anscher get his wheels back up and running, you will likely be able to catch him at one of those two locations.  

Godspeed, Matthew!

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