Mat Sulyma Rhythm/Lead Guitar


Mat was Born in Rochester, New Hampshire. He and his family lived in Scotland for several years before finally settling down in the Rochester, New York area. As a teen, Mat enjoyed fiddling with his dad’s acoustic guitar. He received his first electric guitar for his 16th birthday and his obsession took off from there.

In high school, Mat (and fellow cat herder Scott) played together in a band called Whiskers on The Moon. He attended college in Plattsburgh where he studied music theory and audio engineering, and participated in several musical projects. Upon his return to Rochester, Whiskers on The Moon reformed (with a slight lineup change) as Hazy. In the next several years, Mat was involved in some side production work as well as playing in several other bands including Begins in the Dark, and The Steering Committee. As life happened, Mat put the guitars away for over a decade. When a business acquaintance asked Mat to join his band in 2019, He dusted off the old guitars and started playing again. It was there that he met Herding Cats lead singer, Suzanne. That project folded after just a couple months and Mat and Suzanne moved on to co-found Chasing Thunder. In late 2021, There was a lineup change and the band became Herding Cats which Mat believes is “the lineup we always should have had".

Mat’s Influences are quite varied but include Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jerry Garcia, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Tommy Emmanuel.