Last time the Matinee — a six piece roots/rock act from Vancouver — tried to play a show in Golden they got stuck in Revelstoke. Not an unheard of excuse for a band touring through Rogers Pass during winter, but the band felt terrible having to cancel their gig at the Rockwater only a few hours before they were set to play.
This time, though, with spring in the air and the roads a little friendlier, the band is going to make it. The Matinee will be playing at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Rockwater on Saturday, April 16th
Matt Rose, the band’s lead guitarist, said the Matinee is “all bout the live show”
“It’s what we want to be known for,” said Rose.
The band came together in 2007 as a collaboration of six friends who grew up no further than five minutes apart in Vancouver. This, according to Rose, is what makes the band tick.
“We’re such good friends, and we have so much fun,” he said. “That’s what really gets us through the times that are tougher as a band.”
This is what the Matinee is all about, in their own words:
The stomp and cheer of dancing shoes on sticky wooden floors. 3 a.m. phone calls of raw soul alcoholisms. A long drive down a dirt road into the sunrise. An empty glass. Laughter, hangover….
Music to drink to. Music to dance to. Music to sit on the porch and ponder. The roots-rock sounds of The Matinée evoke memories of family camping trips, men with guitars around the campfire belting out tunes of broken things & the open road…rising tempos bring the faithful to their feet, clapping & dancing until someone throws an aerosol can on the fire & everything explodes.
Another phrase the band uses to describe itself is
“do-it-yourself.” They have done everything—writing, recording, touring, getting their songs on the radio, cre
-ating their website, dealing with the media—without the help of a record label.
This is exactly what they talk about to high schools across the province with the funding of a BC Arts Council program. In 2010 alone, The Matinee performed for more than 25,000 college and high school students.
“It’s basically talking about approaching your band as a business, and how all success comes through our own hard work,” said Rose.
Rose is, though, looking at the band’s independent status realistically.
“I think we’ve gotten to the place where looking at a label is an option,” he said. “But we’ve done so much on our own that we wouldn’t get involved unless it really is the right deal.”
The band is now working on their new record, trying to whittle down a list of around 40 songs to a combination that represent their blue-collar roots/rock/country sound to a tee.
The Matinee will be playing at KHMR’s Sun Splash Funk Fest at 2 pm on Saturday, April 16th and at the Rockwater on the same evening.
