Hail the Melbourne Messenger
Matt Joe Gow appears tired, but cheerful. Our mid morning meeting comes after several days on the press circuit, including a few non-musician friendly early stints on breakfast television. But, sipping on a brightly coloured orange smoothie he remains enthusiastic to talk about his album and the music he clearly loves.
Matt says he has to be careful when describing his ‘sound’ to people.
“I could say ‘alternative country’, but then people who don’t know what that is would go, ‘What, do you sound like Kenny Rodgers?’.”
He believes there is still a stigma attached to country music here in NZ, but that it is changing as people realise the genre encompasses artists like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams.
“I’d call us a country rock n’ roll band. It’s all pretty cool country instrumentation, but there’s a rock n’ roll vibe, they’re really high energy, they blazed up, all of us singing away.”
Born in Auckland, Matt became a nomad from a young age, his early years spent travelling around the globe with his parents. The family settled in Dunedin when he was 12 and there Matt grew up listening to Flying Nun.
“The late ’80s bands made it easier to play music in Dunedin, everyone was in a band. That’s when I got really into playing music.”
Around the same time the alternative country music scene was gaining momentum.
“I’d listened to country a lot as a kid. My parents listened to a lot of blues, a lot of country Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Steve Young, Neil Young and all that stuff.”
“I like that stuff a lot, but it wasn’t until the ’90s and Alt Country when I started to see that I could do it for myself.”
He thinks the country and blues he was exposed to as a child has subconsciously come through in his music.
“There’s always that nostalgia when I listen to it. I think it’s the depth and honesty. This music has a lot of meaning to it. Great lyricists reside in the country and alternative country realm.”
Itching to again see the world, Matt left Dunedin and spent time travelling, but music was his main driving force.
“I always play guitar, I always travel. I always use music to get me by. I play to keep going. Some places I was playing like four times a week just to make enough money to pay the rent.”
He feels at home with country music, singing about the land, family and love and loss.
“It’s easy to express myself in this form music I found it’s really easy to relate to this sort of stuff.”
While travelling through England and Canada he started to take his music seriously and saw it as something he could make a living at. He now calls Melbourne home, though with an outstanding debut album to promote he hasn’t spent much time there recently.
“I love it there. It reminds me of Dunedin in terms of the vibe the energy. People are into arts, culture and music.”
His band, the Dead Leaves, are a talented crew Matt has gathered around him since moving to Melbourne.
“I was playing shows in Melbourne solo and like-minded people would turn up and I’d meet musicians – it’s a very incestuous scene.”
The initial band line-up was himself, pedal steel guitar and drums, creating a sound he describes as “very raw, kind of strange”.
As the crowds grew the band hired a guitarist and a double bass player – and so the Dead Leaves were shaped.
“I guess metaphorically it represents something that is gone, something that has ended, but is pretty. I like to think our music kind of echoes that.”
‘The Messenger’ was recorded at Sing Sing studios in Richmond, Melbourne, produced and recorded by Nash Chambers – a talented Australian best known for his work with his multi-platinum selling sister Kasey Chambers.
Matt says he has released EPs in the past, but felt they lacked direction, and so was grateful for the extra guidance provided by working in a professional studio with a quality producer.
“[Previously] I just did it because that’s what you do. I recorded some stuff, sold them at a few shows, but I didn’t really have any clue what I was doing.”
After signing to Liberation Music in 2008 things really began to take off and he says they’ve opened up his recording options and offered great contacts and experience.
“You still work just as hard – as someone told me when you get signed that’s when the hard work starts.”
‘The Messenger’ is a collection of 10 songs written over two years, introduced with a cover of Grant Lee-Phillips’ Come To Mama, She Say. Matt’s effortless vocal delivery somehow conveys a blustering intensity. Layered with lyrical harmonica and organ, smouldering guitar and bass lines and drumming done with subtle touch it is a remarkably polished and mature collection. A video for first single Come What May is currently screening, with a second for The Light due soon.
Following some introductory showcase performances here the band played 50-odd shows across Australia before heading back home to play a bunch of shows supporting Justin Townes-Earle.
Matt is pleasantly surprised with the reception the album has received and is happy to be touring the album in NZ.
“It’s a wonderful experience to come home and have people talking about your record. My mother is really happy. I have plans for a million albums, I’m going to keep making them until they force me to stop.”
It’s highly unlikely anyone would want to stop Matt Joe Gow creating, so we can look forward to plenty more from this alt country rock n’ roll troubadour.
- NZ Musician October/November 2009 (Vol:15, No:3)
Matt says he has to be careful when describing his ‘sound’ to people.
“I could say ‘alternative country’, but then people who don’t know what that is would go, ‘What, do you sound like Kenny Rodgers?’.”
He believes there is still a stigma attached to country music here in NZ, but that it is changing as people realise the genre encompasses artists like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams.
“I’d call us a country rock n’ roll band. It’s all pretty cool country instrumentation, but there’s a rock n’ roll vibe, they’re really high energy, they blazed up, all of us singing away.”
Born in Auckland, Matt became a nomad from a young age, his early years spent travelling around the globe with his parents. The family settled in Dunedin when he was 12 and there Matt grew up listening to Flying Nun.
“The late ’80s bands made it easier to play music in Dunedin, everyone was in a band. That’s when I got really into playing music.”
Around the same time the alternative country music scene was gaining momentum.
“I’d listened to country a lot as a kid. My parents listened to a lot of blues, a lot of country Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Steve Young, Neil Young and all that stuff.”
“I like that stuff a lot, but it wasn’t until the ’90s and Alt Country when I started to see that I could do it for myself.”
He thinks the country and blues he was exposed to as a child has subconsciously come through in his music.
“There’s always that nostalgia when I listen to it. I think it’s the depth and honesty. This music has a lot of meaning to it. Great lyricists reside in the country and alternative country realm.”
Itching to again see the world, Matt left Dunedin and spent time travelling, but music was his main driving force.
“I always play guitar, I always travel. I always use music to get me by. I play to keep going. Some places I was playing like four times a week just to make enough money to pay the rent.”
He feels at home with country music, singing about the land, family and love and loss.
“It’s easy to express myself in this form music I found it’s really easy to relate to this sort of stuff.”
While travelling through England and Canada he started to take his music seriously and saw it as something he could make a living at. He now calls Melbourne home, though with an outstanding debut album to promote he hasn’t spent much time there recently.
“I love it there. It reminds me of Dunedin in terms of the vibe the energy. People are into arts, culture and music.”
His band, the Dead Leaves, are a talented crew Matt has gathered around him since moving to Melbourne.
“I was playing shows in Melbourne solo and like-minded people would turn up and I’d meet musicians – it’s a very incestuous scene.”
The initial band line-up was himself, pedal steel guitar and drums, creating a sound he describes as “very raw, kind of strange”.
As the crowds grew the band hired a guitarist and a double bass player – and so the Dead Leaves were shaped.
“I guess metaphorically it represents something that is gone, something that has ended, but is pretty. I like to think our music kind of echoes that.”
‘The Messenger’ was recorded at Sing Sing studios in Richmond, Melbourne, produced and recorded by Nash Chambers – a talented Australian best known for his work with his multi-platinum selling sister Kasey Chambers.
Matt says he has released EPs in the past, but felt they lacked direction, and so was grateful for the extra guidance provided by working in a professional studio with a quality producer.
“[Previously] I just did it because that’s what you do. I recorded some stuff, sold them at a few shows, but I didn’t really have any clue what I was doing.”
After signing to Liberation Music in 2008 things really began to take off and he says they’ve opened up his recording options and offered great contacts and experience.
“You still work just as hard – as someone told me when you get signed that’s when the hard work starts.”
‘The Messenger’ is a collection of 10 songs written over two years, introduced with a cover of Grant Lee-Phillips’ Come To Mama, She Say. Matt’s effortless vocal delivery somehow conveys a blustering intensity. Layered with lyrical harmonica and organ, smouldering guitar and bass lines and drumming done with subtle touch it is a remarkably polished and mature collection. A video for first single Come What May is currently screening, with a second for The Light due soon.
Following some introductory showcase performances here the band played 50-odd shows across Australia before heading back home to play a bunch of shows supporting Justin Townes-Earle.
Matt is pleasantly surprised with the reception the album has received and is happy to be touring the album in NZ.
“It’s a wonderful experience to come home and have people talking about your record. My mother is really happy. I have plans for a million albums, I’m going to keep making them until they force me to stop.”
It’s highly unlikely anyone would want to stop Matt Joe Gow creating, so we can look forward to plenty more from this alt country rock n’ roll troubadour.
- NZ Musician October/November 2009 (Vol:15, No:3)