As the sun dips low near the crest of Brewer Hill orange rays spill through lightly tinted windows. Mathew Haeffel chats with band manager Matthew Koch near a mic’d amp while drummer Cody “C-note” Calderon adjusts the hi-hat of his hybrid hand-drums/kit percussion set as he finishes setting up for the night’s show.
The Twisted Fork is where Alt dash caught up with Mathew Haeffel on this particular occasion. One of the smaller Milwaukee venues, the North Avenue gig seems to reiterate Haeffel’s emphasis on the importance of exposure to fan base.
Get lines out the door and doors open up all over the place, offers Haeffel, the 25-year-old Wisconsin-born singer/song writer who, with his recent EP “Toaster Fires” and quickly mounting momentum is poised, engine revving on the starting line with the lights about to change.
Haeffel’s blend of styles sounding something like a funk version of Jack Johnson meets Rusted Root has the potential to go big, and Altdash just had to get in on the ground floor to see what makes The Mathew Haeffel Band tick.
Alt-: What would you say have been some of your biggest musical influences?
Matt: Well I grew up heavy into the early soul scene, Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Marvin Gaye… and then Paul Simon of course was there, he was kind of not in that genre but I love Paul Simon.
Alt-: The hybrid drum kit adds an interesting jam-band feel to your music. How did you guys come to use such a unique percussion setup?
Cody: Well, in my old band, I did have just a set of bongos to the left of my hi-hat then the rest of the kit. When I joined up with Haeffel he had so much percussion stuff already… and all this stuff was sitting in the van. We just pieced it together, the slower stuff starting out on the hands and working it to the kit… I don’t know it just works somehow.
Matt: That took him a while [to learn] actually, the first couple of months it was, so many stick’s would be falling, (laughs) no but he’s talented. It’s hands, then right on the snare beat every time.
Alt-: With the role of the folk singer/song writer becoming re-popularized in the mid 90’s, and poster boys Dave and Jack now spinning on permanent repeat in shopping malls across America, do you fear that there isn’t space in the mainstream for another similar musician?
Matt: I have that fear yeah. It was actually, it wasn’t so much Dave as much as it was Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz and then John Mayer, yeah they all started to come out, and I’m like ‘awe I missed the boat’ you know, ‘I’m 5 years behind’, but I don’t know. I think we’re different enough from those artists that you can find something unique in what we’re doing, cuz we’re not trying to be that at all, we’re not trying to be anything… I meet people every day that don’t know who Dave Matthews is so (laughs), I think it’s out there still.
Alt-: Do you have aspirations to become mainstream?
Matt: Tom petty said “do what you love and hopefully it pays the rent” and that’s the kind of attitude I take... I would love to make a career out of this so I don’t have to get a day job; that would be beautiful, as far as being on billboards and top, you know top billboard charts, doesn’t everybody?
Alt-: Would you continue performing even if you knew that you would never make any money?
Matt: Yes, I don’t make any money now (laughs) it all goes to gas (laughs) but yes… I’ve been hung over or sick and two songs into a set I feel like, it’s medicine to me. I think every other musician would agree with that, and even listeners can understand that because there are so many songs that listeners listen to that make them feel better or put their mind in a different state. Music is healing.
Alt-: If you could pick a favorite show, just one performance, what would it be?
Matt: My favorite shows are the ones where you make incredible moments in music… you know when the band is that tight and everything’s going well… just recently, we were playing trinity a couple times ago, not this last time, and it was like half way through the show all of a sudden stuff started clicking and all of the people started to come in and it was… its moments like that. Those are my favorite shows.
Alt-: Are we going to see an LP any time soon?
Matt: We’re actually working with a guy, Larry Hubbard who’s a musician in the area, and working on doing a production of a song,… we’re sort of testing the waters… so that’s kind of in the works at the end of July. That’s what we’re working on right now… but we usually try to get one [album] out every year, year and a half so I’m sure there’ll be one on the way. We’ve got plenty of material for it (leans into the microphone) if anyone wants to invest we’ll do it tomorrow (laughs).
Click here for the full interview.
As he expands his horizons to Chicago and college campuses around the region, Matt Haeffel is certain to explode his fan base and climb to a new level of recognition. Keep an eye rising star.
Mathew Haeffel
Next shows in Milwaukee
June 27 - Summerfest/ Refugee stage (12pm)
June 27 - Summerfest/ Refugee stage (6pm)
June 27 - Trinity
June 29 - Summerfest/ Refugee stage (2pm)
July 4 - Bad Geinie Rock Lounge
July 16 - Twisted Fork
July 19 - Trinity
Aug 2 - LIVE on North
Aug 29 - Up & Under
Aug 20 - Bad Geinie Rock Lounge