Aidan Amini of What Matters Most – The NAMM Show 2026 Interviews

Aidan Amini of What Matters Most – The NAMM Show 2026 Interviews

On the final day of NAMM Show 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center, I caught up with Aidan Amini, the powerhouse vocalist and frontman of What Matters Most. Even with the whirlwind energy of closing day — the crowds thinning, the last-minute gear demos buzzing, and artists squeezing in their final rounds of inspiration — Aidan showed up with the same passion and honesty that define his music.

We talked about everything from unexpected cover songs to deeply personal songwriting, the band’s rapid-fire release plans for 2026, and the message behind their most socially charged track, “Woke Generation.” What unfolded was a candid, thoughtful conversation with an artist who’s not afraid to dig deep, challenge perspectives, and celebrate the community that keeps music alive.

We’re here with Aidan from What Matters Most at The NAMM Show 2026. What’s been the highlight for you so far?
Honestly, every year I’m blown away by the Ultimate Ears booth. I don’t know how they manage to pack that much technology into those tiny earbuds, but it gets me every time. They didn’t even release anything new this year, but just sitting down and listening through their monitors feels so good. That’s always a highlight for me.

This year, the Fender booth also stood out. Their new interfaces are super cool. It’s like they “gentrified” the interface world—in a good way. They made something rack‑mounted that’s actually user‑friendly, which is rare. That was one of my favorite things to check out. Beyond that, I honestly haven’t seen much else yet, so I’m excited to explore more.

How did your collaboration with Salem Darling on “Die Together” come about?
It was kind of hilarious. In September, I asked Jacob—our guitar player—what we were releasing in October. He goes, “Let’s write a Halloween song.” And I’m thinking, Dude, it’s mid‑September. We don’t have time to write and track a Halloween song. But he insisted we already had the parts.

We had this old song we’d written almost a year earlier but never finished. We rearranged everything, and it sounded cool, but something felt off with just my vocal. We spent a week trying to make it work, but it wasn’t serving the song. It felt repetitive and not super interesting.

Around that time, I was doing a photo shoot with Salem—we play in a cover band together—and I asked her what she thought of the track. She loved it and said, “You should get someone else to sing the second part.” So I asked if she wanted to do it, and she said yes.

She came over, and dude… she wrote her entire part in an hour while they sent me on a snack run. When I got back, she was already recording. She’s just phenomenal—an incredible singer and writer. Once her part was in, everything clicked. We listened back and knew we had to release it. We even did the photo shoot that same week. It was definitely our most last‑minute release ever, but we were super proud of it.

It was also the first song we released that we produced entirely ourselves without a production team, which was scary but exciting. And because the song is just so fun, it felt easy to throw it out into the world.

What inspired the lyrics for “Die Together”?
Shane—our drummer—is a massive horror fan. When we decided to make a Halloween song, he immediately said it needed to be horror‑themed. The lyrics were originally the same, but when I sang them alone, they came off… weird. Like, really weird. The concept was about a stalker, and with just my vocal, it felt too creepy.

Once we brought Salem in, it made way more sense. Suddenly there was a perspective—the person being stalked—and the story clicked. Shane really drove the lyrical direction. He’s super into bands like Ice Nine Kills, so he and I sat down and figured out how to make it horror‑themed without crossing into “too creepy to release.” Finding that balance was the challenge.

You covered “Eminence Front” by The Who — a notoriously difficult song. What made you choose that one?
It’s funny because we didn’t really choose it. I had never even heard the song before we covered it, which is wild to admit because now the original is one of my all‑time favorites.

About three years ago, our friend Amir Derakh — guitarist for Julien‑K and formerly Orgy — was telling us how Orgy decided to cover “Blue Monday.” He said he wanted us to find a song that could be our version of that moment. We originally tried a different track, something connected to a Chester Bennington project, but Amir stopped us and said, “This isn’t the one.”

Then one day he calls me and goes, “Listen to ‘Eminence Front’ and send me a recording of you singing it.” So I did. He texted back immediately: “You guys are covering that song from now on.”

From there, we started rearranging it — figuring out which parts of The Who’s version we wanted to keep and which parts we wanted to make our own. Surprisingly, it came together really naturally. The songwriting in the original is so strong that it gave us a clear roadmap. It was the first time I could really hear, section by section, how to transform a classic into something that sounded like us. It ended up being one of the coolest creative experiences we’ve had, and after playing it live for so long, releasing it just felt right.

Has anyone from The Who — or their fans — reached out about your version?
I wish. No one from The Who yet, and no hardcore fans have contacted us directly. But every once in a while at cover shows, someone will come up and say, “I’ve never heard anyone play that song live — that was awesome.” That always makes me happy, especially because I didn’t even know the song before we started working on it. Finding people who love the original and also enjoy our take on it is really rewarding.

Tell me about “Off the Deep End.” What inspired that song?
“Off the Deep End” is a heavy one. It was the first song we worked on with Trev Lukather — he’s a close friend, an insane guitar player, and a producer who somehow writes exactly what your ear wants to hear. It’s wild.

Something Trev and I share is that when we were young, we both struggled with substance issues. For me, it got to a point where I completely lost myself — who I was, who I wanted to be. I was so young that I almost lost the chance to decide who I was going to become. I felt like I needed what I was using just to put on a face and function. Even now, I don’t always feel fully out of that mindset. It’s a tough thing to shake.

That shared experience was the first thing Trev and I really connected on. We both knew what it felt like to fight those demons and try to climb out of that hole. Thankfully, we’re both in a much better place now. But “Off the Deep End” became our letter to anyone still in that struggle — like, you’re going to lose yourself, you’re going to look in the mirror and hate what you see, but the real you is still in there. And the version of you that exists without all the substances and noise is the one worth showing the world.

The music video reflects that too. We had an amazing team, and the story in it wasn’t fictional — that stuff actually happened to me. There were shows where I literally couldn’t perform because I was so lost. We wanted “Off the Deep End” to live in that world of struggle so the rest of our songs could show how we eventually climbed out of it. That’s where the heart of the song really comes from.

I wanted to talk about “Woke Generation.” Tell me about that one.
This one’s my favorite. It’s also the hardest to explain. There’s a lot happening in our country right now — a lot of division, a lot of problems — and I’ve always believed that the issues we created are issues we can only solve together. We’re not the “One‑Side States.” We’re the United States.

With “Woke Generation,” we wanted to play with expectations. The title makes people assume it’s aimed at one specific side, but if you actually read the lyrics, it’s not about a side at all. It’s about how both sides need to drop the differences, because honestly, there aren’t as many as people think.

Right now, we’re living in a world where federal agents — not local police — are in the streets. Half the country has been fighting against that for as long as I can remember, and now the other half is fighting against it too. The contradictions don’t make sense. And it’s not just one side doing it — it’s everyone.

That’s what we wanted to address. The word “woke” points people in one direction, but the song is about all of us. It’s about society as a whole. There’s no reason citizens should be fighting each other. The people who run the country aren’t like us — they didn’t grow up like us, they don’t live like us, and they’re not fighting for us. We keep treating them like family or saviors, and that’s not reality.

The only people who can fight for us… are us. But we can’t do it divided. “Woke Generation” is about realizing that we only get what we want as a people when we decide to stand up together.

What are you looking forward to about your upcoming show with Taryn Haze?
Taryn is genuinely one of the sweetest people on the planet. We’ve been hanging out a lot recently and have become really good friends. When she asked us to play the show, it was an immediate yes.

I think the thing I’m most excited about is finally seeing her solo band live. I’ve seen her perform in different bands over the years, but never her solo project. I’ve heard all the songs — they’re great — so I’m excited to see them on stage.

We’re also doing a song together during her set, which is going to be a blast. And it’s our first original show back after a couple months of only doing cover gigs, so that makes it even more exciting. Honestly, I’m just looking forward to hanging out with friends, playing music, and having people there to share it with. It’s going to be a really good time.

And yeah — we literally just missed her. I was on the phone with her on my way over here.

What do you hope the rest of 2026 brings for you and for What Matters Most?
2026 is going to be a huge year for us. We’ve got six releases planned — just single after single after single. We spent the last couple years building the band, finding the right people who wanted to write, wanted to be here, and wanted to be part of this. And now we have that team.

This past year we’ve been writing nonstop, and now we’re finally ready to release everything. We’re proud of what we made. We’re excited. And I really hope people love what we’re putting out, because we loved making it. That’s the best part for me.

IN CONCUSION

As the final echoes of NAMM Show 2026 faded through the Anaheim Convention Center, it was clear that Aidan Amini and What Matters Most are stepping into a defining chapter. Whether he was breaking down the emotional weight behind “Off the Deep End,” unpacking the unity‑driven message of “Woke Generation,” or laughing about how he accidentally fell in love with a Who classic, Aidan spoke with a rare mix of vulnerability and conviction.

If this conversation is any indication, 2026 won’t just be a busy year for the band — it’ll be a transformative one. With new music on the horizon, renewed creative fire, and a lineup finally locked into place, What Matters Most is gearing up to deliver their most honest and ambitious work yet. And judging by the passion Aidan brings to every word, they’re not just ready for what’s next. They’re hungry for it.

And that next chapter is already beginning: What Matters Most will be playing with Taryn Haze at DiPiazzis in Long Beach on February 20th, a fitting kickoff to a year that’s shaping up to be their most meaningful yet.

(Interview by Ken Morton – Photos by Karyn Burleigh of Rock Edge Photography)

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