The Authority are situated a stone’s throw from Harmonix headquarters in Cambridge MA, and maintain close ties. The three Authority founders, having prepared The Slip’s “Even Rats” for Guitar Hero 1 (considered an early Guitar Hero classic) were invited to take part in the closed Beta testing for the Rock Band Network (RBN). After extensive training with Harmonix, and subsequently Authoring many songs for the initial release of RBN, The Authority were included on Harmonix’ exclusive Recommended Authors List, a group of fewer than twenty-five people worldwide.

The Authority Authors are all accomplished gamers and musicians, highly trained in the Authoring process to surpass the standards set by Harmonix. Our motto, “Made By Musicians, For Musicians” highlights our dedication to provide accurate, lifelike, and extremely enjoyable game play, focusing on the nuances of real human performance, for every level of game-play from nervous beginner to seasoned pro.





Matt Ellard

Matt Ellard has been producing, mixing and engineering music for more than 22 years. Starting at Trevor Horn’s Sarm West studio in London, he subsequently upped and moved to The United States, becoming Chief Engineer at Cherokee Studios (Los Angeles, CA), Fort Apache Studios (Boston, MA), and Q Division (Boston, Ma). Whilst also maintaining a flourishing career as an independent producer/engineer with artists from around the globe. He is a member of the Audio and Media Technology Faculty at The New England Institute of Art in Boston, MA.

He has worked with many well known artists ranging from George Michael to Queen, Seal to The Pet Shop Boys, Motorhead to Ozzy Osbourne, Natalie Merchant to Elliott Smith, Weezer to Radiohead, Converge to Between The Buried And Me, Ice Cube to Ice T, Morphine to The Slip, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones to many many more….

His depth of knowledge and experience across both analog and digital formats is extensive. He was involved with the original Guitar Hero release, preparing The Slip classic, “Even Rats”. His current favorite game other than Beatles Rock Band, is Pro Evolution Soccer on his old and creaky PS2.

When not in the studio he is either watching (real English) football or playing Rock Band with his kids, who are all way better than he is. Matthew hopes that by perfecting his gaming skills, he might one day be able to beat them.

Matt is CEO of The Authority . He manages everyday operations, whilst also attending to all things audio. His extensive mixing experience and attention to detail will ensure that all our tunes will sonically stand out from the competition.



Marc Friedman

Accomplished bassist and multi-instrumentalist, Marc Friedman has been touring and recording for 15 years. Marc’s styles range from modern classical to pre-war swing, to early country music, and beyond. His career has focused primarily on his avant-rock power trio, The Slip. The band has earned critical international acclaim, and their song "Even Rats" was featured in Guitar Hero I. Marc has toured or collaborated with Natalie Merchant, Marco Benevento, Sonya Kitchell, Dan Bern, and many more.

Marc has a very original technical approach to the electric bass that he teaches to his students. His love of classical music, his studying Indian Raga, and transcribing jazz and acoustic blues, has given him diligence and a dedication to the vast universe of notes and rests that make up a score or a song. These skills lend themselves perfectly to the Authoring process needed for Rock Band Network. Marc watches closely over the Authority's songs, paying close attention to making the game feel extremely realistic and natural to the sensation of playing a real instrument.

As the Authority's Creative Director, Marc oversees quality control. No song will leave The Authority until it has been approved for game-play by him, directly.



Clinton Vadnais

Clinton Vadnais first worked obsessively with computers in the 1980s, on the Apple II and Commodore 64. He also spent countless hours playing in video arcades and on his Intellivision console at home. He has been playing guitar since the mid-‘80s, and learned MIDI and Sequencing in the early ‘90s.

Clinton’s guitar-playing style has earned him the nickname, Cleantone. It was equally appropriate when his passions shifted toward the art of recording. In the 1990s with years of self-taught engineering skills under his belt, he went to augment them at Full Sail in Orlando, FL. He has since worked extensively in concert production, videography, television, and other media services.

Clinton is well known for his location recording talents. Credited with hundreds of recordings and tens of thousands of hours logged on Digital Audio Workstations, his technical skills are well honed.

Clinton is the Authority's Chief Author. He oversees our Authoring team, making sure our high standards are maintained. His extensive Authoring experience makes him the go-to-guy for all technical issues.