ocr: At the tender age of15, while other lads were chasing the town s fair maidens, Matthew was courting Michael Stipe ata little rock club in Lincoln. One of only 20 people who showed up at R.E.M.'s first Nebraska gig, he bugged the band to autograph their just-released "Radio-Free Europe" single, impressing them with his gung-ho admi- ration for producer/musician Mitch Easter. This enthusiasm would help him immeasurably in Athens, where he would work with Easter and play with many Friends of R.E.M.
