The Music Man

As usual for the strumming genius, the work on My Life is full of surprises and things even the most hardcore music fan has never heard done on the instrument before. There's lyric-less covers of The Stones' Paint It Black and Floyd's The Wall, which truly transport these songs to a thrillingly new place. Then there's originals such as the aptly titled River Stories, that performs music-as-narrative that this writer, for one, cannot remember the like of. Not surprisingly, reviewers are situating My Life as Mathiske's magnum opus, and the man himself agrees wholeheartedly.

“I actually believe it,” he says, with good humour but also sincerity. “I really went into my little cave with this one, and it felt like there was something special about it right from the start. I'm really rapt that the early reviews have reflected exactly my intent. It's the way I feel about it, too, to be honest.”

Given My Life is, as mentioned above, record number 17 for Mathiske, it's possible he felt extra pressure to perform. With such a body behind you, surely expectations are sky high? Mathiske disagrees, though, and explains what can only be called his much more zen approach.

“I know, it was bizarre when I counted them up and came up with 17, I couldn't believe it. But I think one of the reasons that this one is… well, I'm going to say so good, is that I didn't think about things at all. I didn't think I should do this or I should do that. That's when – as a creative person – you can get into trouble. I just did what felt right. I just did an album that I thought I would love to listen to.”

Unusually for the normally prolific artist, this album was three years in the making. In explaining the reasons why, Mathiske gives us a strong clue as to why it's being considered in such a favourable light.

“The last part of the process was actually sitting back and not doing anything. The great Chet Atkins once said about listening to previous albums 'all you hear are the things you'd change', and that's so true. Well, I took an extra year and made sure I changed those things. It was amazing the difference this made. There were some songs that I thought were perfect and I kind of ticked them off. 'Okay, that one's done'. But then you came back a couple of months later after it's been mixed and mastered and it's like, 'well, hang on, it's not quite dancing. I may have to do this again'.”

So, how does this music translate to a live setting? Interestingly, Mathiske says that audiences are more appreciative of his ability to tell a story, so to speak, than his undoubted technical virtuosity.

“People always come out of concerts and they're not talking about that run I just did or anything terribly technical like that. They're not fret watching. They're always saying stuff like, 'oh that song took me to Morocco', or 'that song took me to Spain'. And that's what I want.”

Having said that, words are still important to Mathiske, only not in the way someone who's never seen him live might expect.

“What happened a couple of years ago was that a friend said to me that he thought I'd be a good public speaker. And I was getting asked to come and do these corporate gigs, which I didn't really want to do. But I just thought, 'okay, I'll come along and speak'. So, one of my live shows is almost like an 'evening with'. I try to talk about things that have happened to me, things that are beyond music, I suppose. To be completely honest with you, it makes me feel a little exposed.”

Bruce Mathiske will be playing the following dates:

Friday 19 April - Lighthouse Theatre, Warnambool VIC
Saturday 20 April - Performing Arts Centre, Geelong VIC
Sunday 21 April - Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 2 May - The Playhouse, Mittagong NSW
Friday 3 May - Milton Theatre, Milton NSW
Saturday 4 May - The Clarendon, Katoomba NSW
Wednesday 8 May - The Basement, Sydney NSW
Thursday 9 May - IPAC, Wollongong NSW
Saturday 10 May - Avoca Picture Theatre, Avoca NSW
Sunday 11 May - Newcastle Conservatorium Concert Hall, Newcastle NSW
Saturday 25 May - Zenith Theatre, Chatswood NSW
Saturday 15 June - Manning Entertainment Centre, Taree NSW
Sunday 16 June - Bowraville Theatre, Bowraville NSW
Wednesday 19 June - High Street, Bowraville NSW
Wednesday 19 June - Powerhouse, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 20 June - Civic Centre, Nambour QLD
Friday 21 June - Gold Coast Arts Centre, Gold Coast QLD
Saturday 22 June - Jetty Theatre, Coffs Harbour NSW
Wednesday 26 June - Fly By Night, Fremantle WA
Saturday 29 June - The Street Theatre, Canberra ACT