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Every great story is like a long winding road, no matter where it leads, it has to start somewhere.
It’s been over a decade since singer Matt Layzell and guitarist Matt Rose spent a few hazy days writing songs in a rustic cabin in Desolation Sound on British Columbia’s wild Sunshine Coast. Since then, The Matinée has evolved from its humble origins, navigating their own route, to become a powerhouse roots- rock band with a following spread across North America.
The road-worn band – who were high school cohorts before their musical paths intertwined - also includes drummer Pete Lemon, guitarist Geoff Petrie, bassist Marcus Abramzik, and keyboardist Georges Couling.
Early on in their career they become familiar faces at every venue around their hometown of Vancouver, having honed their chops playing small clubs on self-booked nationwide tours. They have spent years cutting their teeth by playing anywhere they could, dropping sweat on stages ranging from prison gymnasiums to festival headline slots.
Things changed in 2013, when the group signed to Light Organ Records and released its debut album, We Swore We’d See the Sunrise. Recorded at the prestigious Armoury Studios with Grammy award-winning producer Steve Berlin (The Tragically Hip, Los Lobos, Matt Andersen), the record’s salt-of-the-earth rock sound made a splash on radio across North America .Their song Young & Lazy became a bonafide song of the summer and earned the outfit a string of prominent festival bookings across Canada and the U.S.A.
In 2015, they linked up with Mounties members Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat) and Ryan Dahle (Limblifter,) who produced the 2015 EP Broken Arrows and helped to nurture the ensemble’s gritty rock influences. The result; the first single off the record, Temper Temper, hit #1 on the CBC Radio 3 national charts.
Wanting to return to their ‘roots’ the band sought out producer Jamie Candiloro (Ryan Adams, REM, Willie Nelson) for 2017’s Dancing On Your Grave. A heart- swelling collision of hook- infused rock and earthy Americana influences, the album garnered 3 singles (Figure It Out, Blood Alley, Dancing On Your Grave) and accompanying music videos that were all well- received and have kept the band busy with touring and festival appearances right up until now.
When not out on the road, The Matinée has spent much of the past year holed up in remote cabins, working on new material for their next release, and has started recording the first of these songs with Erik Nielsen and Grammy-winner Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Tedeschi Trucks). Expect new music from the band in early 2020.