By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune and other outlets
October 1, 2024
With a career spanning some 60 years and more than 50 albums, Iain Matthews is a veteran of touring and recording. Now based out of Horst aan de Maas in the Netherlands, the former frontman for the folk rock band, Fairport Convention, said he is looking forward to hitting the road to promote his Oct. 25 solo album, “How Much is Enough?”
“In [September, I was] off to your East Coast for a dozen shows,” said Matthews, 78. “I was based in Philadelphia and [went] to [places like] upstate New York and Virginia. I have a couple of shows in the Basque region of Spain [this month] and two nights in Paris in November. There are whispers of a few shows in the United States in November to promote the new album as well. Music keeps me young!” The British musician described himself as a “social media nitwit,” but maintains the Facebook pages Matthew’s Southern Comfort and Iain Matthews Music.
Q: What memories can you share about your tours with Fairport Convention and your other groups?
A: I’ve probably played over 3,000 concerts in my career, with 50 different alter egos.
Fond and other travel memories vary, from losing a member of [the group] Plainsong in a cow field in north Wales at 2 a.m., to jumping out of the car on the Berlin outer ring to fight with Brad [Kopp] – my best friend and guitar player – all because we were hopelessly lost. The travel [part] for me has always been a necessary bridge to cross, in order to be on stage for a couple of hours. Seriously, I could fill your newspaper with 60 years of memories – basically being on a stage with people I respect and admire over and over and over has filled my life with memories, which is why I wrote a book, “Thro’ My Eyes: A Memoir” (Route Publishing).
Q: Have your travels affected your songwriting?
A: I suppose travel has influenced my writing, but not in any tangible way. I’m inspired by things that might be meaningless to other folk. A line in a book, a conversation in a restaurant, an unexpected encounter. It’s all song fodder for me. Life inspires songwriting. It’s a process that flows through me like a virus.
Q: You’ve lived in the United Kingdom and the United States. How did you end up in the Netherlands?
A: I grew up in the U.K. and it was all I knew until I was 24 [when I] traveled to the USA. I was so taken with life on the West Coast [that] all I wanted was to be there. I went to Los Angeles in 1974 to make an album and came back to Europe 27 years later. Honestly, I just wanted to rediscover my roots and learn to be European again. Amsterdam was as good a place as any to land. After a year of soul searching, I met my future wife and moved two and a half hours south, near the German border. It feels more like home than anywhere I’ve ever lived.
Q: Do you speak Dutch or any other foreign languages?
A: No, I don’t, but my family all speak very good English.
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: Always take a book or two. Don’t forget your passport and your phone, guitar [and] books. Never go without someone with a good sense of direction.
Q: How have you spent your summer?
A: Writing and recording songs for my newest album, hanging out at home and enjoying the environment we’ve created.
Q: Do you attend other artists’ concerts?
A: I do if the music piques my interest. I also turn out for my friends, if I don’t have to travel too far. It’s always nice to check in and see what they’re all up to.
Q: Have you visited places for work that you returned to for a vacation?
A: Not really. But sometimes I like a holiday spot enough to figure out a way to go back and play. Usually I latch onto a place for its cultural significance. Barcelona, for instance.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: Some place warm where I can veg out, read and lounge around playing my guitar. If I had to choose a favorite city, it would be Paris.
Q: How do you separate work from vacation trips?
A: Vacationing is usually a family affair and a time to try and distance myself from work.
It’s more the other way around. I try to make my touring as relaxing as possible by treating it as a vacation of sorts.
Q: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?
A: Childhood vacations were always stressful and rarely enjoyable. My dad was pretty strict 24/7 and gave us little leeway on holiday. We never went far and certainly nowhere imaginative. It was more about convenience. Holiday camps were the thing when I was younger. We did manage to visit relatives in Edinburgh a few times. That was nice, but strict.
Q: If you’ve ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A: Visiting our close friends in Ohio. We always have a blast. That runs a very close race with being in front of the television watching football [soccer].
Q: What are your five favorite cities?
A: Paris. Amsterdam. New York. Vancouver. Seville. I’m sure there are others.
Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: Australia and New Zealand. I had chances to tour there and for whatever reason, it never happened. I’ve always intended to set that right, but never quite made it.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure when you’re on the road?
A: Very predictable musician haunts – pawn shops, guitar shops, record shops.
Q: When was your first real vacation?
A: I only really began taking holidays 20 years ago when I met my wife. She taught me how to relax and leave work almost behind. Almost.
© 2024 JAE-HA KIM
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