Matt Saincome (born 1991) is an American businessperson, journalist, and satirist.
Matt Saincome | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1991 (age 32–33) Danville, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State University |
| Occupation(s) | Businessperson, Journalist, and Satirist |
| Notable work | The Hard Times: The First 40 Years |
Education edit
Matt Saincome was born in Danville, California in 1991. Following high school he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism.[1][2]
Music edit
In 2009 he and his brother Ed cofounded the straight edge hardcore band Zero Progress, for which Saincome was the frontman using the stage name of “The Champ” – a satirical character based on typical hardcore frontmen’s macho attitudes. The band folded in 2014, following which Saincome founded the straight edge band PURE. He has also served as a booker for hardcore and punk shows in the San Francisco area.[2]
Writing edit
Saincome published a zine called Punks! Punks! Punks! between 2009 and 2012, releasing a total of six issues. Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, Lars Frederiksen, and several other punk scene figures were interviewed in the zine, which had a print run of about 50 copies an issue. Following his degree in journalism, he worked as a freelancer for Vice[2] and served as the music editor at SF Weekly until 2016.[1] As a freelancer he produced several articles that went viral, including his Weekly piece “Meet the Man Who Had Sex with a Dolphin (and Wrote a Book About It)”. During this time he came up with the idea of creating a career out of what he called “punk comedy journalism”.[3]
The Hard Times edit
In November 2014[2] Saincome, his brother Ed Saincome, and Bill Conway used an $800 budget to cofound the satirical website The Hard Times.[4] Since its founding, the site has added live events and a podcast network to its repertoire. The podcast is entitled The Hard Times Podcast, and features Saincome and Conway in discussion and doing interviews.[5] Its work has been described as a “combination of satirical stories that get into the nitty-gritty of punk politics, and spoofs of news stories”.[1][3] By 2019 the site was receiving about five million views per month. In 2019 the company cofounded a sister site about videogaming called The Hard Drive.[6]
In 2019 Saincome co-authored the book, The Hard Times: The First 40 Years, following which he proceeded with a national book tour.[1] He also cofounded OutVoice, an automated freelancer payment tool. In 2020 The Hard Times was acquired by Project M in a deal that valued the company over $2 million and allowed Saincome to retain ownership of Hard Drive. He also stayed on board at Hard Times in a position focusing on brand vision.[7]
Personal life edit
Matt Saincome adheres to a straight edge lifestyle.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Rae Alexandra (November 12, 2019). "With New Book, 'The Hard Times' Expands Its Punk Satire Empire". KQED. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Sam Lefebvre (January 28, 2015). "The Hard Times Is Matt Saincome's Latest Comedic Provocation to Punk - With his popular, satirical news site, the musician and writer punks punk". East Bay Express. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Colin Stutz (February 22, 2018). "Spotlight: 'The Hard Times' Founder Matt Saincome on Turning Punk Into Comedy & Developing a New TV Show". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ August Brown (January 13, 2017). "In strange times for Internet satire, the Hard Times grows beyond its punk niche". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ Richard Guzman (March 19, 2019). "The satirical punk website The Hard Times is ready to make some noise as a podcast". Daily News. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ Siran Babayan (October 29, 2019). "THE HARD TIMES GETS SERIOUS (NOT!) WITH NEW PUNK BOOK". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ Anthony Ha (July 2, 2020). "Project M acquires punk rock satire site The Hard Times". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ^ Joe Warminsky (October 25, 2019). "The Hard Times sells out in the most strategic way possible". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2020.