On Sunday March 18th WagonWheel Presents… is delighted to welcome Matt Andersen back to The Greystones. The man described as “Canada’s greatest guitarist” returns to promote brand new album Coal Mining Blues, some tracks from which were previewed at his post Glastonbury performance last June. One of the finest live performers around, we look forward to another great night in his company. Opening the show we have support from the equally fabulous Boss Caine. Advance tickets priced at £7 are available from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/136179 or entry on the night will be £9. Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm start.
***MATT ANDERSEN***
The best performing songwriters, the ones who sound like they really mean what they’re singing about, tend to come from areas known for hard times and hard work. Like say, Perth-Andover, a rural blue-collar village in the Canadian Maritime province of New Brunswick—the home of acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist Matt Andersen.
“Perth-Andover’s a really small, family-oriented community,” says Matt. “Everybody knows everybody. My dad’s worked as a logger pretty much his whole life. But there’s always been music around: My grandfather played fiddle, my mom plays piano in church. Most of my cousins have had bands at some point. Whenever there’s a get-together there’s always about nine or ten fiddles or guitars in the room.”
Matt’s musical household got him interested playing early on and by junior high he was in the school band, first on tuba and later on trumpet. He took up guitar at 14, and before long was playing classic rock and Top 40 covers in pub bands while he studied studio engineering. Things changed dramatically, however, when he discovered the blues.
“Through Eric Clapton I got into B.B. King, which led me to the Chicago electric stuff and eventually back to the Mississippi Delta guys,” says the 30-year-old singer. “What really hit me most about the blues was its total honesty.”
Matt began to build his name on the Canadian circuit, his imposing voice and slashing slide guitar making a monolithic impression on audiences. He debuted with 2002’s One Size Never Fits, and followed with the likewise-warmly received Solo at Session (2004) and Live at Liberty House (2005).
After playing the prestigious 2004 East Coast Music Awards, Matt continued cultivating crowds, appearing with Randy Bachman, Bo Diddley, Little Feat, America, Loverboy, April Wine, and others. He signed with Busted Flat Records for a string of exalted albums: 2007’s Second Time Around, 2008’s Something in Between, and 2009’s Piggyback (a duo set with harmonica king Mike Stevens) and Live at the Phoenix Theatre.
By 2009 Matt had become a frequent guest on Stuart McLean’s CBC radio show “The Vinyl Café” and had completed his fourth tour of the UK, where The Times called him “Canada’s greatest guitarist.” In 2010 he became the first Canadian to win Memphis’s famed International Blues Challenge, which led to festival dates in France, Italy, and the US, where he toured with Old Crow Medicine Show.
Matt’s newest album, Coal Mining Blues, was produced by Colin Linden (who co-wrote and plays on several tunes) and recorded at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York. Featuring the Band keyboardist Garth Hudson and Olabelle singer Amy Helm, it’s a rich vein of new songs, many addressing the trying lives of working people: There’s the self-explanatory “Work Hard for the Luxury,” and the moving title track, which rings true in mining communities from Cape Breton to Sheffield and West Virginia. But not all of Coal Mining Blues is about hard work, as rollicking up-tempo cuts like “Lay it on the Line” and “Fired Up” bear out.
What is it Matt hopes audiences experience when they hear him? “I’m not trying to change anyone’s lives in a big way, but I love it when [listeners] really get involved in the music,” says Matt, performs over 200 shows a year and in 2011 won the Maple Blues Awards for Entertainer of the Year and Acoustic Act of the Year and was nominated for four East Coast Music Association awards. “That’s what really makes it a great night, for everyone.”
As Matt Andersen continues to do what he was born to do—play his exhilarating music—fans can look forward to many great nights, indeed.
*Sandman Magazine* “A man who is surely going to be a friend of blues fans in South Yorkshire for a long time to come following this memorable appearance”
*The Times* “Canada’s greatest guitarist made one acoustic guitar sound like a fully staffed band. Outrageous skill and contagious joy.”
*BBC Radio 2 Paul Jones* “I like this album.”
*Maverick* “Very pleasurable album from this talented guitarist/singer/songwriter.”
*Blues Matters* “A strong release. This album comes from raw talent. I hope there’s more to follow.”
http://www.stubbyfingers.ca/
***BOSS CAINE***
Boss Caine are a folk/Americana collective from York, England. A tight knit, but evolving, line-up of local musicians centred around the songs of front man and ‘Yorkshire Cowboy’ – Daniel Lucas (aka GT Turbo), a man described as ‘having a voice that makes Louis Armstrong sound kinda girly’.
Boss Caine released their debut album: ‘The Ship That Sailed’, on independent label Little Num Num Music, in 2010. The record contains a selection of tunes written by Lucas over the last few years; a time that saw him leave his home town for London, before returning to York and putting together the line-up of local musicians that would become Boss Caine. Years of hard living, hard drinking and love turned sour inform an album that at times visits some quite dark places, but is ultimately carried along by a healthy dose of Northern positivity and stoicism.
The album was recorded in the North Yorkshire countryside at ‘The Factory of Unprofessional Sound’ and sees Boss Caine’s core team of Lucas, Andy Gaines and Sam Forrest joined by many of the musicians who have played in the band over the last few years. A follow up is expected in 2012.
“…Tom Waits singing Ryan Adams if they had both had the good fortune to grow up in Yorkshire….” – The Fly
“Boss Caine are the real deal. They will rip your heart out and toss it back to you many songs later doused in whiskey, soul and more emotions than you know how to handle!” – Northern Music
“An exceptional debut” – Backroadsmusic.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/bosscaine
Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/events/277098342352175
Last.fm event page:
http://www.last.fm/event/3168946
