The Matinee could do without playing mid-afternoon. This sounds counterintuitive unless you’re familiar with temperatures in summer in Canada everywhere but where the Matinee hails from, coastally cooled Vancouver. All indicators point to just the right combination of humidity, tempo and bare feet this September as they headline the Jasper Folk Music Festival on Friday night. Amidst harbour-like ambient noise, singer Matt Layzell explored the possibilities with Craig Gilbert.
Fitzhugh: Where are you today? Are you on the road?
Matt Layzell: No, I’m in Vancouver now, we have a few days off. It’s beautiful, it’s supposed to go to 30 degrees so I’m probably head to the dog beach with my mutt. We just did a road trip through the Kootenays in the last week. I’m pretty happy I live near the ocean (in Kitsilano) with the breeze because the rest of the province is sweltering.
I was born and raised here. I spent some time in Ontario but living on the coast you do take it for granted. I love the mountains. I think all of us have fallen for Jasper and Banff for those views, but there’ something special about being near the water, the powerful the call of the ocean.
Fitz: So what are you touring behind?
Matt: We put out an album last year called Dance on Your Grave. That’s kept us pretty busy. We’ve been to Ontario and crossed the Prairies a few times but we haven’t hit Jasper on this tour. We’ve all played Jasper a ton though. Eleven years we’ve been doing this. It was 2007 when we first started touring, and we’d pretty much only go as far as Banff and Jasper. Those were places that would actually put you up for a few nights, and you actually make some money. You can’t get much of a better backdrop than playing in Jasper.
I’m a bit of a romantic in that way, though. I love going to new towns, cheap bars and sweaty clubs. But playing outside in a summer festival? You just can’t beat it. (Like) in Mission, with the sunset on the mountains in the background. When the surroundings are already that magical, it’ pretty hard not to have a special experience.
The North County fair is unreal. The last time we played it, there was something in the air. It had just rained. It was misty and there were rainbows everywhere. The audience was full of Grateful Dead hippie types. One guy, who had been at every festival, had some stature there. He said, “that was awesome man, there were so many colours.”
I asked him “what was your favourite colour?”
He said “MUSHROOM!”
It explained what was going on that night, so it was an intense audience.
Fitz: Is it an intense stage presence, too?
Matt: We’ve played in every corner of this province and Alberta. We would do high school shows during day and club shows at night. We’ve been playing prisons and jails in Northern B.C. We played the air base at Cold Lake.
Our typical stage outfits involve a lot of denim and dark colours. We played one festival on the Island last year, it must have been 36 degrees. It was three in the afternoon, so it was the peak temperature for the day. It’s hard to sing and breathe and run around at the same time.
Fitz: What can the folk fest folks expect?
Matt: Our show is pretty dynamic. We’re a rock band at heart, but we bring in traditional elements like banjo and mandolin and pedal steel at times. There’s lot of foot stompin’ and hand clappin’. The best compliment we ever are paid is that we look like we’re having fun and the audience catches on. It’s been a lifelong connection with us now, so being on stage is us living out our dream.
After Jasper we’re in Vancouver the next day, we’re driving back overnight. Florence and the Machine and The Killers are playing too. We’ll finish our set and get to hang out and watch those bands. Playing festivals you get to catch up with friends in other bands you don’t get to see very often.
