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Matt Reeves is an impressive young man. It is rare today to find someone who, at the age of 17, knows precisely what he wants to do. His ambition is to become a professional musician.

"There is no better job in the world," Reeves said bluntly. "I get to do what I love and get paid to do it."

Reeves made his first appearance at the Long Street Casino three years ago.

Pretty daunting to most 14-year-olds to give a recital, let alone perform in front of an audience that is paying for the privilege.

Of course, he had been opening for his father Jack for a year beforehand -- this apple didn't fall far from the tree. His first paid engagement lasted for five months at "Our Bar" in Amargosa Valley.

Make no mistake about it: This is a serious young man. "I currently produce, arrange, record and promote my own work," Reeves said. "I am working on a Web site, but for now I have a "Myspace" account that lists all of my upcoming engagements. I have five of my current songs loaded in the site. As you view my page, they automatically load and begin playing."

His father is fully behind his son's aspirations. He has even begun drawing up plans to create a 40-by-40-foot recording studio for Matt.

With a multitude of family members in the music industry, he is better prepared than most.

"Right now, myself and my family control my music," the younger Reeves said. "We make the decisions that affect it, meaning I own the rights to my music, not a corporation. I fully intend to keep all of my publishing credits."

The one place that you will not see Matt Reeves playing in is a bar. There are plenty of venues for him to explore, but not bars. "I was performing at a bar," he recalled. "My family and I had invited members of my church to come to the show. An altercation broke out... A chair sailed past one of the members of my church, missing her by just inches."

No more bar performances.

Now it's all about fine-tuning his craft. He has a pretty strong set of influences to draw upon: "Of course my father, Jack Reeves; Clarence White, guitar player for the Byrds; Ray Willis, a country and western songwriter from Bakersfield, Calif; Gram Parsons from the Flying Burrito Brothers; and I really like Vern Godsin's singing."

Matt Reeves and his band will next be seen here in Pahrump at the Bob Ruud Community Center Saturday June 2.

"I have a great band," Reeves said, "My guitar player is Al Bruno, who has won the title 'guitar player of the year' award 12 times from the Academy of Country Music. Joe Willet is my drummer. He played for Hank Williams Jr. for over five years. Last but not least is my bass player Burt Douglas."

The World Wide Interfaith Fellowship is sponsoring a charity concert for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A $10 donation is requested, with a free raffle worth $40 in gas (with a ticket). Tickets can be purchased prior to the concert by calling (775)-727-1300.

Matt Reeves "myspace" can be viewed at: www.myspace.com/mattreevesshow.