Tearing down the house with Matty T Wall

After several years of COVID disruptions and some time spent grounded due to a serious spinal injury, WAM Award-winning blues musician Matty T Wall is back in full flight. Ahead of a performance with his band at The Duke of George this Friday, June 21, Matt T Wall spoke to BOB GORDON about his forthcoming new album and touring plans.

Things are on the move right now for Perth blues artist Matty T Wall, and he couldn’t be happier.

A while ago, Wall, Leigh Miller (bass), and Ric Whittle (drums) laid down 30 songs, including over 20 originals, of which 12 have been chosen for a new album that is presently in its mixing stages.

“The first album (2016’s Blue Skies) had a lot of songwriting time leading into it,” Wall recalls, “so it had a chance to develop. The second album (Sidewinder, 2018) was sort of leftovers with added stuff, so the songs weren’t quite as strong. But this time, they’re all really strong.

“It’ll be the first album I’ve done where all 12 tracks are originals. The first two albums had three covers on each. These songs have good energy and good stories. For the place I’m in at the moment, they feel right. I think that with an album, you want it to reflect where you are musically at that point in time. That’s how I picked the dozen.”

Wall has always been an interesting entity as a guitarist, having initially focused on heavy metal before becoming a blues player. Metal and hard rock have since infused his blues style, but he feels that he has arrived at a unique point in his instrumentality.

“There’s been a sort of journey for me creating a blues that enthrals me like metal does,” he says, “but I’ve been sharpening my spear in terms of getting that to a genre that feels personally my own. The songs are very comfortable, and I feel like that’s my style. So it’s starting to cement a style that has a swing, a heaviness, and some humour all in there.”

The new songs feature a few classic blues titles and themes about the cornerstones of love and lust. From Warmhearted Blues (‘It’s about the person that you come home to. Your foundation’.) to Tornado of Love (‘It’s pretty self-explanatory, those moments of extreme physical energy with a partner’), to Railroad Blues (‘about a guy that travels from town to town hooking up’.) and Ain’t Coming Home With Me (‘It’s about a guy who’s hoping to take a woman home with him but he ends up taking home a guitar’.)

Following 2021’s collaborative album Transpacific Blues Vol. 1 (featuring contributions from Kid Ramos, Walter Trout, Eric Gale, Kirk Fletcher and Dave Hole) and 2022’s Live Down Underground release, Wall’s clearly had fun with his writing process, notably with a track called Tear the House Down, which he has actually rewritten a few times.

“There’s different connotations as to what Tear the House Down means,” he says. “You can take it a couple ways, meaning to party or really go hard, or it could be to tear down society to build a new one. What I’ve come to realise is that the way I’ve written it in the form that’s going to be recorded is that it’s someone who’s going through hard times and has a friend telling them not to tear the house down.

“There’s so many different meanings in that title, and it’s been quite enjoyable going through that journey of trying to find what it is.”

Wall is bound and determined to have the new album sound the best it can and is presently considering several highly regarded names to man the mixing desk.

“As far as everything that I’ve done, I don’t think it sounds ‘just right’ to me yet,” he notes. ”That’s always something I’ve got to work on.”

As for many musicians, the COVID-19 era was challenging for Wall. In 2020, he was set to perform with one of his heroes, Walter Trout, at Byron Bay Bluesfest, and there were plans firming for a European tour. The pandemic scuttled those plans, and a year later, the setbacks were magnified when he suffered a serious spine injury that required months of rehabilitation.

“I think it’s just a part of growing older,” Wall says philosophically. “You injure yourself, and it takes ages to heal. And the injuries get more serious. That’s been kind of tough to deal with; it’s been hindering my playing and performing and creating a blues of its own. That combined with just trying to make sure the money’s coming in to keep the house and make sure the kids are still in school, all those pressures create their own sort of angst and states of mind.”

He persisted through trying times, however, and the good news is that Wall and his band will be performing at a festival in Germany happening in November, alongside Walter Trout and emerging blues great Danny Bryant. He’s in the process of inking in a Central European tour around the appearance to coincide with the release of his new album.

With opportunities finally coming to light after being hinted at pre-pandemic, Wall is cautiously optimistic.

“I’m coming at it from a different angle this time,” he says. “Back then, I was coming at it feeling that I was peaking and getting close to the top of the mountain and to keep on climbing. Whereas after all that fell down to earth, I kind of fell down to earth, and I sort of had a hard time mentally dealing with that.”

“So now I’m coming towards it more cautiously. I suppose I’m less euphoric, but to be at this point is a massive relief after what happened during COVID—to be getting back in the midst of this type of performing and looking towards the next bigger steps.”

The joy of playing music, of course, always remains. Wall’s bandmates are second-to-none, and he revels in their talent and friendship.

“The band’s really good,” he enthuses. ”It’s gelling really well. We literally don’t have to rehearse, and we can rock up to a gig and just smash through sets. We really enjoy playing the songs with each other onstage. We’re playing a lot of new material from the upcoming album and a lot of the good old stuff.

“Leigh’s working harder than anyone in Perth on the bass guitar. He’s playing seven nights a week. Ric’s doing well, he’s cruising, and he still has that swing that no one else has. It’s great playing alongside those guys.”