Chris Matthews
Rebel Gypsy Syncopator
Born 1982 into the sign of Taurus on the cusp of Gemini
Singer / Songwriter / Gutarist / Performer / Traveller / Ranger / Inspiration.....

I met Chris while we were working at El Questro resort and working station in 2008. The first question I asked Chris was, “tell me about your childhood, where you lived. He proceeded to list off a number of towns around Western Australia. At 6 he was living in Margaret River, he had moved at least 10 times. Chris was no stranger to the road and this surely had an influence on his life, his music and his songwriting. His short life so far being that of 25 years, has been jam packed with his passions namely, music  performance and taking his show on the road across this beautiful wild and vast continent....

(The questions are not necessarily based on the interviewers belief’s or personal choices in life)

Q: How old were you when you picked up a guitar?....

I was 13 and one week

Q: What influence did your Mum and your Dad have on your passion for music, if any?

My dad never listened to music at all, but my mum always had the radio on she would listen to all the old 60’s songs, I suppose that is where I got my love of the older styles of music from. I remember she said to me Elton John and Billy Joel are great singers because they write their own music, she just said this off the cuff one day, and it stayed with me.

Q: So how did the guitar make its way into your life?

My sisters boyfriend at the time was in a metal band from Perth called “Detritus”, he came and stayed for the weekend and he showed me the Omo add song, other wise known as Peter Gunn and I thought that was pretty cool. About a year after that meeting I went and brought a guitar.

Q: How often did you practice?

Six hours a day for five years, till I was 18. I did this every day.

Q: When was your first gig in public?

I was 15 it was at the school social. I was in a heavy metal band called “Gimp”, we played Metalica covers, it was great.

Q: When did you start to write your own songs?

Pretty much as soon as I picked up the guitar, I can’t remember the first song I wrote but I can tell you it was crap.

Q: Who were your main influences around the time you started writing your own music?

All the heavy metal bands, like Metalica they were my first influence,  back in the days when I was starting to write.

Q: Which one of these bands remains as an influence to this day?

Probably none of them now, I got into Jimi Hendrix when I was 16 and he is still a major influence on my guitar playing, as in the arrangements I make on the guitar.

Q: Is there a genre/name for your style of guitar performance?

Guitar wank! nah! I do a lot of finger picking and slide guitar. I would say my style is a mix taken from the blues, folk styles and roots all rolled into an acoustic presentation.

Q: So who are your influences in those music genres?

John Butler was a big influence first off, when I lived in Pinjarra which is where he grew up. I saw him walking along the street one day with his guitar over his shoulder and I got to know him from that, and he showed me some moves on the slide guitar , finger picking and other things on the acoustic guitar..from him I also met Jeff Lang he is my biggest influence so far and remains so to this day.

Q: Have you ever studied music/ guitar at an academy?

No, I am completely self taught. I would recommend it to anyone who loves the idea of it.

Q: When did you start touring and performing your music?

My first real gigs where in Perth at open mic nights at he Leederville Hotel, these were run by the Australian Song Writers Association they were called Wax Lyrical. I went along to one at the age of 17 along with my cousin, I wasn’t old enough to be in the pub, but no one ever asked me for ID. I was an instrumental guitarist at that time, I was not singing. I went to as many as I could, some weeks there were up to 10 Wax Lyricals. I ended up running a couple for the ASA. From there I developed and began to sing in public which was quite scary.

Q: Tell us about the first time you sang in public?

My cousin was over from England on holidays and she heard me practicing my singing and she said if I had a gig while she was here, then I had to sing. There was a gig at the Leederville Hotel on one saturday night while she was here. There were 47 people in the audience when i started and 5 when I finished,  shows you how good I was back then!...

Q: So you got up again?

Yeah for sure!, I enjoyed it but I had to work at it.

Q: It become a passion?

Yes, absolutely, you wouldn't do it if your didn’t have the passion, the Australian audiences would destroy you otherwise..

Q: Tell us about your touring and the different places and the audiences along the road?

I first started touring in 2002 with the Australian Song Writers Association, we took Wax Lyrical on the road, we left in July and headed up the west coat to Darwin then onto Tennet Creek and over to Cairns on the east coast. I jumped off the tour in Townsville. The bus kept moving around Australia.

Q: How was this Wax Lyrical tour funded?

It was completely self funded. We used some funds from the ASA to start out, but we funded it as we moved along the road, it cost around $80,000 for that 6 month tour. What we would do is get the 3 open mic’s on stage and then film it from 4 different angles, a completely live vision switch. We record all the audio and take photos too, so about 5 minutes after you walked off stage you got a full DVD, CD and photos of your performance and we would sell that for $150 to a solo artist, and more for a band, going up $50 per band member. This was a great promo package for the artist. We were basically a film crew on the road and we would play gigs, so one night we did Wax Lyrical and the next we played a gig, I was the front man for the band it didn’t have a name!, the ASA band!! So everyone that was filming was also a band member, we had a drummer, a bass player a couple of guitarists and we would swap instruments now and then.

Q: How long were you in Townsville?

I was there for 10 months doing a residency in a pub, and then I pulled the pin on that one and went back to Perth and went on another Wax Lyrical tour, it was 2003 we went back to Darwin down to Alice Springs and then on to Adelaide and eventually back over to Perth.

Q: With all the cities and towns you have played in have you a favorite or most memorable gig?

El Questro actually!, as strange as that may sound. Its the oldest part of the world and its an easy gig, only two hours and the audience changes most nights, and they all get into it.

Q: Has there been a moment or time in your career  that unfolded and synchronism came into play? something that changed your direction for the best musically speaking?

When I finished the second ASA tour I had a big argument with my old man on Christmas Day and he kicked me out of home, I was staying there at that time. Anyway my mate was leaving for Melbourne so I called him up and asked if I could come along, I had not been to Melbourne before didn't know anyone there. I ended up finding out an old mate from Townsville was living there, so I moved in with him, I was there for 2 years and that bloke become my manager and I have a feeling  some money may have disappeared along the way,  seems this is what managers tend to do!..So I fired him and that made me get off my arse and take a more proactive approach to my business, booking gigs and tours all over Australia, marketing and promotion. This occurred in 2006 and it changed a lot of things for me. June that year I started a big tour of Australia.

Q: What was the largest audience you have played to in your career?

15’000 at Brookvale Oval Manly, it was half time at the Manly Sea Eagles Rugby game, I sang about 5 songs.

Q: What about the smallest audience?

About 2 bar staff at Alice Springs, they had a great time and I was paid $800 for the night...

Q: What makes a good gig and a not so good one?

A good gig is about audience response and if Im playing well, and everything is coming together for me musically, a bad gig is when its not coming together, not playing or singing well, as a musician we set high standards for ourselves so when I personally do not get there its not a great gig, I am my own worse critic. Its a bad gig when you are abused by audience members to sing cold chisel songs all night, when you told them you are not going too! You know you can play 4 hours to a big crowd and no one listens, and then you play to five people and they are totally receptive, thats a great gig.

Q: What influences you as a  song writer?

Having been on the road for a couple of years now, my mates and me have a saying that you get the red dust of Australia in you, and you can hear that in the music, you can’t put a name to it but you can tell a band that has done time on the road, compared to one that has not, they seem to have more nouse about them, more authority, used to dealing with lots of different people and situations, from small regional towns to large rowdy city pubs, I don’t really know what it is but its an obvious difference. Traveling you gain different perspectives, you see the dichotomy between regional and rural, you see new places and people all the time. Also the characters you meet, with their sayings that you have never heard before. I guess most of my music these days is about people, places and spaces.

Q: Do you have a vision to take your music overseas?

Yes I would like to go to Ireland, Canada, Iceland and Alaska...these places Im told would be responsive to my kind of music and stories.

Q: What would be your favorite song?

Gosh there are so many of them,  I guess its would be “1952 Vincent Black lightening”, by Richard Thompson, its an amazing story an amazing song he is one of those writers that can put into one line what most can’t put into a whole song. Also 1983 “A Merman I Should Turn To Be), by Jimi Hendrix its an amazing song such a great soundscape.

Q: Do you think being a musician on the road, you provide a service to people?, and what is that service?

Absolutely yeah!, in some small towns you bring excitement to them, something to look forward to, in some cases you provide a release for them from their working week, where they can have a few beers jump about like idiots to the music and forget about what ever shit happened that day, some places don’t hear live music for months at a time. people are so appreciative.

Q: What part of Australia do you love the most?

The Kimberley, its  so old, the oldest part of the world and you can feel it, it has a note to it, I m not to sure what it is but at a guess, I reckon it could be c sharp! The Aboriginals reckon its the key to the earth!.

Q: Do you believe words have the power to bring about change, and how do your words do that?

I may choose to bring up a social or political point, even just an make an observation on some topic. You can make the way people think change with your words and open up their minds to  see a different perspective on issues in the world. I guess this is what I do at times in my song writing, open up perspectives.

Q: Are you of the belief that it is a musicians job to make sure their message going out is a positive one?

Yes and no, it depends on what kind of musician you are or if you want to do that. Music definitely has a power to make people see things differently. People like John Lennon and bands like Midnight Oil, they brought up some pretty interesting moments with their music, and then some musicians seem to write songs that appear to be about nothing at all, and make no sense at all but then people try to read things into it don’t they!.

Q: What drives you Chris, both personally and musically?

Myself and my high expectations!

Q: What does love mean to you?

Good times and friendship.......

This interview was conducted at El Questro Resort situated in the East Kimberley Region of Western Australia........For now Chris works as a ranger at the resort and during season he also plays his music for the crowds.....his music styles are varied and change depending on the place, the space and the faces listening to him at the time....if you would like to hear a demo or book Chris for a gig please contact him on cjmatthewsmusic@yahoo.com.au or contact www.fantastic.com.au.