INTERVIEW - Scott Matthews
- Posted on July 9, 2007 4:13 PM
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Interview by Katie Spain
When I picked up the phone to chat to Scott Matthews I wasn’t sure what to expect. Some musicians with an impressive history behind them can be a little (or a hell of a lot) hard to talk to. Scott may have an Ivor Novello award in his back pocket and support slots for Foo Fighters to boast about but I’m relieved to discover that the man is friendly (and modest to boot). There’s no ‘too cool for conversation’ verbal drought here and it’s no wonder… Matthews has plenty to chat about. He is confirmed as 'Special Guest' on Rufus Wainwright's October tour and has an album re-release to look forward to. We take a moment to talk about his recent gig at Glastonbury, his first ever guitar and Dave Grohl...
First of all… how was Glastonbury? Still muddy?
Yeah… well, not quite ‘cos I had me wellies on! It was a real eye-opener – it was crazy. It wasn’t even mud, it was something else. I felt that performance wise it was okay. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever done in my life but as a spectacle and an event it was a great place to be.
You’re from Wolverhampton – what’s the music scene like down there (or is it up there)?!
Depends where you’re coming from! It’s definitely a place that’s picking up and there are definitely a lot of good young bands coming out of there at the moment. I think the Midlands in general are really picking up the pace. There are some cool bands you know. I think the problem is, a lot of people don’t get down check any of them out in places besides London. As The Arctic Monkeys have shown (and various other acts over the years), it’s definitely picking up. It’s kind of sporadic… you get phases where nothing really happens and then suddenly things start kicking off and you find that there’s a good four or five bands that hot up the competition.
I’d encourage more people to head down this way and check out the bands because there are some really good venues as well.
You’re playing Rip Curl Unleashed on 11th August in Newquay, Cornwall. Paolo Nutini and the Guillemots are playing too. Are you going to squeeze a spot of surfing in there too?
You never know… I could try surfing on my acoustic. That’d be interesting.
Surfing with Mr Nutini is bound to be a memorable experience…
Yeah mate, it’s gonna be a good one. We played a festival in Cornwall last year and there’s a great vibe down that way. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that one like all the others – should be great. Surfing might be something I’ll hold back on perhaps.
Will you get a chance to head to any festivals as a punter this year?
Unfortunately not. I don’t get much of a chance these days to go to a festival off my own back - I tend to go to Reading Festival a bit but we’re not going to be there this year. The good thing is that when we play the festivals we get the chance to see the bands anyway – for instance, at Latitude Festival, Arcade Fire is on the following night. They’ll be kind of cool to check out.
You recently won an Ivor Novello award for Elusive…beating the likes of Arctic Monkeys in the ‘Best Song Musically and Lyrically’ category must have been a massive buzz. Do you get the feeling that things are really beginning to kick off?
Not really actually… it’s still kind of like it was – I think because the Ivor Novello is such a prestigious award. It’s a great thing to have – it’s not in the spotlight really, it’s more for the people that know about it. To be voted for by the songwriters themselves is a big thing because it makes what you do so much more worthwhile and instils the belief in what you’re doing. It’s a great achievement and I look at the thing every day man – I still can’t believe that I actually won one. It’s a great feeling.
Tell me about how you got into music… I know you got your first guitar at seven years of age. Do you still have it?
I do indeed… he’s still there. I might even write a song on it one day, you never know. It’s your first contact with something you’ve made a career out of… I’ve still got the tapes from when I couldn’t even tune the guitar and I just kind of strummed it. My left hand wasn’t doing anything; it was just kind of hanging there – probably picking my nose or something! The right hand was just strumming away and everything – it was mental.
It’s funny to listen back to the tapes because it’s a guitar I’ve still got and it’s still in tune – that was the start of things... until I got my electric guitar when I was eleven. Unfortunately I don’t have that any more… it’d be nice to try to locate it some day, on Ebay maybe.
Did it have any distinctive features?
No, it was just shit.
Does musicianship run in the family?
Me dad used to be a drummer in a pub kind of a band and many weekends, the drum kit was back at home after the previous night’s gig. We’d set the drums up on Saturday in the living room and have a bit of a blast. I’ve always had music in my house… my brother and I used to play as kids – he’s a piano player/keyboard player. I was always playing weird stuff – mainly instrumental but then you discover people like Hendrix and Zeppelin and your whole world turns upside down and goes to another place completely.
Do you have a lot of family jam sessions these days?
No, we haven’t actually done that for quite a bit but it’d be really good to do it at some point. Definitely… it would be interesting to see how my dad plays the drums nowadays because I haven’t really heard him for years. It’d be a good thing to look in to – maybe get a rehearsal in soon. I’d love my dad to play the drums on my next record actually. Maybe get my dad on one track and my brother on keys – yeah, definitely.
You’ve been likened to Jeff Buckley and I’m reminded of John Butler Trio when I hear Dream Song… who’s the artist (dead or alive) that you’d love to sit and jam the afternoon away with?
That’s a good question – possibly erm… I don’t know! I’d feel a bit funny if I was sitting next to Nick Drake or something because he was so talented. I’d feel a bit like… “I’m not worthy man!”
I think I’d like to have an afternoon with Elliot Smith and just kind of sit there and discuss things and come up with some really obscure little song man where we’re working on the melody. I managed to locate the same type of guitar he used to play and got one quite cheap. It’d be nice to both get out our guitars and talk about the condition of each other’s guitar or something daft – in a geeky style!
Speaking of inspirational people… you’re supporting Rufus Wainwright in his upcoming tour – you must be bloody excited. Have you hung out with him previously?
I’ve never met the guy or anything but Rufus Wainwright is another massive influence. We got the confirmation through our booking agent and we were completely stoked about it. I’m looking forward to it more so than the Foo Fighters last year… which was fantastic but this will all be symphony halls, theatres and stuff like that so acoustically it’s going to be a great sound man. It’ll be great to meet him – he’s a talented guy.
How are you going to travel – is there tour bus action happening?
We’ll be doing our own little Space Cruiser thing man. We’ll be doing hotels and stuff. It’ll be interesting to get the feedback from his fans - I’ll be nervous too but will hopefully get a good reception from them.
Were you nervous supporting the Foo Fighters or did you take it all in your stride?
It was about two months into the release of my own record and obviously to get the support from the Foo Fighters is something you just don’t even dream of. It’s was an amazing thing to meet the whole band and have a chat with Dave Grohl and stuff – he was just a genuinely cool guy. You can’t say anything else… he just feels like some guy down the pub you know (with an American accent).
Further down the line there may be young, upcoming musicians who are going to be pretty star struck when they meet you.
Bloody hell man, that’d be great. I can’t see that happening but it would be cool. I’ve had people come up to me from the gigs and stuff who’ve just been really pleased to have a photo or something and it’s really strange man. I haven’t done anything at all to have that kind of status – the main goal for me is to just keep producing better records. If that’s the main goal, hopefully I’ll keep winning more fans in the process.
Your debut album 'Passing Stranger' involved the skills of some pretty impressive people – tell me about that?
It was through the contacts I’d amassed over the last few years – like flute players, accordion players, a string quartet and the most special guy that came in was Sukvinder Singh Namdhari – he was a phenomenal talent… still is. You feel in awe of his presence – he’s just such a different class of musician and he spurs you on to be a better musician.
There’s all kinds of sounds on the record and again, it was just an idea I’d got into my head at the time and I think I wanted to make a record that wasn’t really something you could pigeonhole.
What is the most memorable gig you’ve ever been to?
I don’t know actually… one of the top five ones was seeing Morrisey at the Reading Festival. He kicked in with ‘How Soon Is Now’. First song in… everyone was wondering whether he was going to do it because he hadn’t been around for a bit… this was about 2003/04. It was great to see Mozza doing a Smith’s tune. It was a good feeling.
The whole thing has been a highlight to be honest since the release of the record. The way things have gone… we’ve built up a steady fan base and it’s really encouraging for me to do this thing and for people to warm to it.
The future looks pretty damn bright for Scott Matthews… a gig in the iTunes Festival at ICA, a Rufus Wainwright support slot and re-releases his debut album “Passing Stranger” as a special deluxe edition on 9th July ’07. This includes an additional disc of performances with a string quartet recorded at Olympic Studios in London and produced by John Leckie (Stone Roses, The Verve, Radiohead, Muse). My in-built musical radar tells me your CD collection needs this. Mr Matthews was great to chat to and even better to watch live. See
him at one of his many upcoming gigs... you may just come out an addict. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
For more information on gig dates, check out Scott Matthew's official site or MySpace
In the meantime, take a squiz at his 'Elusive' video.
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