It’s always a blast to discover new and exciting talent from right here in the great state of Maine. Such is the case this week as I chat with singer-songwriter Katie Matzell, who will perform with Kat Wright on Friday, July 5, as part of the “Waterville Rocks!” concert series held in Castonguay Square. Having listened to streaming tracks and watching videos of live shows, I must admit that her voice is wonderful, rich, emotive and very easy to get lost in. In a recent telephone interview, the Portland-based performer filled me in on her history, giving me a glimpse of her future.

Q: So, you’re coming up to Waterville for a free concert where you open for Kat Wright. Have you ever shared a bill with her before?
Matzell: Yeah, we’ve opened for her a couple of times. Actually, this will be the third or fourth time that we’ve gotten to open for her. I think it’s a really good fit for a show, because we’re pretty influenced by soul and jazz — it makes for a good co-bill.

Q: Have you played up in Waterville before?
Matzell: I haven’t yet, but I’m excited to. I’ve been hitting the midcoast quite a bit and kind of hit a little bit of a stride in the Camden Opera House area; we just did the jazz festival yesterday. But I really want to be playing theaters and beautiful listening rooms.

Q: What do you have out for music now?
Matzell: I have a six-song EP that I put out a year and a half ago, in January 2018, and I just released a brand new single a week ago now. That’s available on all streaming platforms; you can even go on YouTube and listen to it. That song will most likely end up, in the next few months, on a full-length album. We’re starting to work out the new material. I’m starting to take stock of what this might turn into, whether it’s going to be my first full-length album or another EP or maybe just another cluster of singles. We’re just trying to figure that piece out in the next couple of months.

Q: Any idea when that next project may come out?
Matzell: Well, June is my pretty heavy show month, but then July and August calm down. So we’re really going to be focusing on getting into the studio and recording. For now, I’ve got a six-song EP and that new single. Then my hope is to just be consistently releasing music that will result in another body of work that I can print CDs for. And then I’m thinking about maybe printing a little run of vinyl for this run, too.

Q: Now, when you perform in Waterville, what kind of band will you have? Or are you just doing a solo performance?
Matzell: Oh, no, I’ll have a full band. I usually play as a five-piece, including myself. So we’ve got Chris Sweet on drums, and Max Cantlin on guitar, and Emmett Harrity on keyboards, and my husband Adam Frederick on bass. I like to travel that way; it’s how we record the music with the same group of guys. Sometimes we’ll strip things down and do a trio. Sometimes my husband and I will play as a duo; he’ll play upright and I’ll do vocals, and that’s been kind of a fun thing to put together. But for these big shows, I like to bring the full band, for sure.

Q: On your website, I’ve listened to that new single “In Spring Forgetting” — is that fairly indicative of your style and what you do?
Matzell: I would say that it’s pretty indicative of everything that’s to come. The EP I released was really just my first collection of songs that I wrote, plus a Beatles cover. The newer songs to come that we’re working on are definitely more cohesive and closer to “In Spring Forgetting” — that’s a lot of polyrhythmic stuff going on and complex chord progressions. That’s kind of where the jazz influence comes in. I feel like my writing is maturing and just the way the band is settling in and playing together and sharing a lot of ideas for arrangements.

Q: Well, the sound quality of that track is spot-on and very together.
Matzell: I wanted it to be a live-band recording. There’s no individual tracking. We recorded it live because I want our recordings to sound like what we sound like in a live show, because that’s one of the things I’m most proud of. I’m really lucky to play with a really incredible band of musicians. So I’m really committed to our recordings sounding like us live. I’m committed to authenticity, and that’s another component to this new batch of recordings that we’re working on now. We want them to be as live as possible.

Q: Is there anything, Katie, that you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Matzell: Yeah, I guess the thing I always wish to get across is that I love singing and I love performing and I’m working really hard on growing my music career. So it means a lot when people come out to see me live. So I would just say that, if anyone has been hearing about my music and is curious, definitely come out to a show. This one is a good opportunity because it’s free, it’s outdoors and it’s all-ages. I just want to share my music. I hope it speaks to people; I hope it sounds nice to people; I hope it makes people move. That’s all I’m really trying to do.

 

Lucky Clark has spent 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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