Matt Katsis has emerged into an alternative singer-songwriter & guitarist with an individual edge.
After extensively touring over the past few years featuring a live “one-human-band” approach through the use of percussive elements of acoustic guitar, kick drum, stomp box and tambourine, this has seen Matt take to audiences far and wide with the ease and merit that parallel’s his music.
Here Mark Moray interviews Matt about his beginnings and the lead up to his newly released album ‘Live at the Wheaty’.
Mark Moray – Your surname, Katsis sounds Greek, what is the origin of your background?
Matt Katsis – That’s right – Greek Cypriot of origin. My Grandparents migrated to Australia in their early 20’s, settled here, had 4 children, my dad was the youngest. My Mother is Italian and came to Australia from a small town in the south of Italy called Francofonte with her family when she was a teenager.
M.M – Can you recall the first time you listened to a band or artist and said that is what you want to do?
M.K – When I was a kid there was a TV show on channel 31, I think the show was actually called “The Guitar Show”. It had a bunch of different live gigs from international guitarists & artists performing here in Australia. Two artists I remember still so clearly was Bob Brozman who was a slide guitarist/ethnomusicologist as well as Eric Bibb playing at Sydney’s ‘live at the basement’.
A family friend also played an acoustic guitar at family hangouts and I remember wanting lessons after that. I played a lot in high school and decided in year 11 to do VCE at an Arts based school so I could purely focus on music.
My parents have always been very supportive, when I was a youngster they took me to all my guitar lessons, a heap of open mic nights, as well as a bunch of local Blues gigs across Melbourne and that’s when I really knew that I wanted to play.
MM – How long were you playing guitar before you decided to play live as a singer/songwriter & guitarist?
M.K – I had my first guitar lesson not long after I turned 9 but I don’t think I began learning how to sing or had a singing lesson until I was around 15 or 16 and it was then still a couple years later until I could muster the courage to sing one of my own songs outside of my bedroom. You could throw me a guitar and I’d jump on stage in a heartbeat, that came naturally but singing was the tough part. I’d play guitar for hours and hours on end every day, after school, over the weekends – so once I knew I had to get my vocal skills up to scratch I felt I was playing catch up. Back then my grandpa would tell me how important singing was, it took me a while but when I finally realized it too, I began to put in the hard yards.
MM – Can you recall the first gig you played and what the setlist was?
M.K – If a year seven high school fete playing Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Gun’s n Roses and Santana covers in my first band qualifies then that was the maiden voyage! Another that comes to mind was playing nylon string guitar as background music at a Spanish restaurant around a year later when I was 14 (kind of my first residency).
MM – When did you start to write your own songs?
M.K – The first songs I wrote were guitar instrumentals back around 15 years ago.
In the lead up I had just come across a live album called ‘Living’ by The John Butler Trio and it struck a chord. From then on, the start of my obsession with alternate/open tunings and electrifying acoustic guitars kicked off and I found this whole new approach toward playing guitar. Pushing the boundaries and potential of the acoustic was where I began to shape my sound.
As the years went on, bands and artists from Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley to Johnny Cash were high on my list of influences and played a role in how I navigated through writing my own songs.
The exciting thing is that there’s always so much more to learn, keeping us keen to chip away at building our skills and trying to better the other aspects or instruments and things that don’t come as easy and the things you have to push the extra mile for.
MM – How important is it to have a busking background and how did you start out?
M.K – Busking came about in a way I would have least expected.
I was 21, I had just finished a bachelor of music and in those last couple of years of my degree, I had also begun teaching guitar. At one point teaching 35-40 lessons a week.
I was teaching and would play a few cover gigs during the week and on weekends but after a few years of this I found myself beginning to forget what got me into guitar and interested in music in the first place.
One day after been in the city and walking through Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall I noticed a few buskers out and it just clicked. I realized this was what I was going to dedicate my days to. I don’t think I’d have been able to hone my skills if it wasn’t for hours on end busking sessions as a one-man-band. The most appealing and sometimes most challenging thing about busking and street performance is that you have to be present and in the moment; you can’t just switch off and go into autopilot. Otherwise, you just might as well not bother to show up!
It’s been a real eye-opening experience over the years; I’ve met so many interesting people – wether they stop for a chat or buy a CD and some have even ended up being involved in the process – from cover art to co-songwriting. You are connecting with people. And that’s pretty special.
MM – In 2015 you won the Bruthen Blues & Art’s Festival International Musician’s Challenge. What was the prize and how did it change the way you saw yourself in the music industry.
M.K – In 2015 for the first time Bruthen Blues hosted a musician’s challenge and I won first prize, which was a trip to the USA with a mini-tour of southern Oregon.
My girlfriend and I road-tripped across Arizona, Nevada, Utah and the Western coast of California, finishing in Oregon and getting the opportunity to play 9 shows over the span of 2 to 3 weeks in the American Summer.
It was a great experience playing to audiences on the other side of the globe; visiting some incredible places like Yosemite, Bryce Canyon and Joshua Tree. It ignited a love for the States and we returned in 2015 to cover the Deep South; Tennessee, Georgia and down through Mississippi following the Blues Trail to New Orleans and the Keys. This is where I really felt I was soaking up the history and tradition of the music in the south that I first heard as a kid and has been a huge part of my songwriting and guitar approach ever since.
MM – You released ‘The Burke & Wills Sessions’ EP with some songs featuring a rhythm section and in 2017 you released a predominately solo studio EP – ‘As The River Runs’. Were there any new challenges you faced from playing in a band to performing on your own?
M.K – I think the main thing was that for such a long time I had become accustomed to the full sound a trio alongside bass and drums could produce. When I moved further into the solo realm I definitely think the band concept had set a benchmark sonically speaking, in terms of what I was aiming for and felt I needed to create moving forward solo.
That been, a well rounded sound that included the momentum of a kick drum, by way of stomp box and tambourine treated like the snare or high-hat, depending on the particular feel. Also on the flip side, not having to check in with the band whenever a gig opportunity came created the freedom to move around and play more often.
In terms of low-end bass, a sub octave pedal follows my 6th and 5th strings. Not for everything I do but definitely for the most part, I have honed a picking style that allows an independent groove and the ability to feature more of the melody or slide guitar on top, which lends itself straight from the early Delta Blues and hill Country influence.
MM – You have created a wonderful rendition of Voodoo Child on your EP ‘Bare Bones’. What made you choose to cover the song? Was Jimi Hendrix an influence on your music?
M.K – Thank you!
Without a doubt, there’s only one Jimi Hendrix. It’s always a little daunting tackling songs from these legendary artists. Covering Voodoo Child in a 12-string open tuning way heard on Bare Bones came about as an accident really. I first learnt the original studio version on electric guitar a decade earlier but I when I found I could transfer the energy of an electric onto the 12-string acoustic, my rendition quickly took on more of a darker eastern sound. From there I found myself with a whole solo section taking shape and I just ran with it along with the wah wah pedal for good measure.
MM – The Album ‘The Burke and Wills Sessions’ has very Australian name to it. How did you come up with the name for the album?
M.K – In the lead up to recording this EP I had been in touch with the engineer Damien, he had just moved from the Peninsula to Castlemaine and I was keen to record with him once again after working on some prior music together. He was telling me about a few different spaces located around the area that could suit and he mentioned a great space out in Fryerstown, a small town just 15 minutes from Castlemaine.
On recording day we pulled up out front of the hall above the large ancient looking doors read ‘The Burke & Wills Mechanic’s Institute’. It got me thinking about the Burke and Wills expedition; they were pioneers and risk takers and I felt inspired by this – I really wanted to include a nod to their story on my EP.
MM – Are there any Australian artists you would love to work with or perform with?
M.K – I was stoked to have played a support for Jeff Lang last year; he’s one of if not my favourite Australian guitarists. The show was out at a country hall in East Gippsland, Victoria and was a definite highlight for me on my last tour. Although I didn’t get to play alongside him, sometime down the road I would love to jam and learn a few tips and tricks from the aussie roots music master! Josh Pyke would be another one – I have a deep respect for his storytelling and song craft, I would love to work alongside him in the studio – I know I could learn a lot!
MM – Your new album to be released this month ‘Live at the Wheaty’ was recorded during the ‘As the river runs’ national tour of 2017. How difficult is it to record live and to know what songs to feature?
M.K – Recording live always has its challenges – Kev the sound engineer at The Wheaty made what can be a stressful process a lot easier and smoother. I try to make myself as ‘at home’ as possible to help me relax. The venue is quite unique as it’s a rustic style tin shed out to the side of the pub. It’s got a nice elevated stage with a generous sound system. The audience were really fun, which helps make the energy in the room and in the recording.
The live recording is actually from 2 separate 1 hour sets at The Wheaty a year apart – so I was lucky enough to be able to pick and choose what I felt made the most impact at both shows and build the live album from there.
MM – What will Matt Katsis be doing for the remainder of 2019?
M.K – The year has flown, I’ve recently moved to Bendigo and come back from a trip to Vietnam, I cant believe we are already August! I have a bunch of shows and festivals coming up throughout Victoria in support of the live album, which will see out the year, I’ve just finalised a new EP with my new bayou/psych/blues 2-piece side project “Timbakat” – which we will launch later this year. I’m also going to be sharing some news on some solo shows that are a little bit different later in the year as well, so stay tuned for announcements on that very soon!
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM| SOUNDCLOUD | ITUNES
