Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide

Matt Stell & the Crashers tear up the road bringing their music to the masses

---Kody Ford
    Matt Stell & the Crashers have been tearing up the road lately. Stell and Co. released an LP entitled “The Sound & The Story” a few months ago. It’s a rough around the edge, balls out country rock record that doesn’t disappoint. Though he’s often lumped with red dirt country acts during performances, Stell brings something different to the table. It’s a sound that ragged yet elated like a six beer buzz on a Friday night at the deer camp.
    Stell has been performing solo for years but his current band has been together for 14 months and are looking to make waves. The band is made up of Adam Freitas on lead guitar, Joey Rowlett on bass, and Matt ‘Teaspoon’ Richardson on drums. Occasionally, Josh Rogers fills in on percussion as well. Nightflying recently caught up with Stell and friends to find out what they’ve been up to. The band has a lot planned including gigs at George’s Majestic Lounge with Randy Rogers on Oct. 29 and Stoney LaRue on Nov. 7.
NF: Who is in your band and what do they bring to the table?
M.S.: “Each are accomplished musicians in their own right and bring a style and flavor that is unique to them and their tastes, respectively. I am very blessed to be a part of a band made up of great players and great people. Somehow we manage to get along with each other and genuinely enjoy each other’s company almost all the time.”
    How did you get into writing and performing?
    “I was attending school in Southwest Missouri (Drury University) and a bar opened up west of town called the Snorty Horse Saloon that catered to live music. I started hanging out at this place and found out that there was other music (predominantly country, Americana, and Red Dirt) going on that wasn’t on the radio. I always had a passion for music, but the Horse really instilled in me the fire to write, play, and entertain.”
    How would you describe your style of music and what attracted you to this style?
    “I hate this question because my answer for it sucks. (laughs) I’d say we’re a mixture of Alt. Country (Jason Boland, Shooter Jennings), Americana (Grayson Capps), Southern Rock (the good kind back in the day, though - like Credence Clearwater Revival, Tony Joe White), maybe some soul. When people ask I usually say Americana or Alt. Country with a Southern flare and hope I don’t get a blank stare back.”
    Was it tough getting your start?
    “I feel like I’m still in ‘starting’ mode, and yes things have been difficult in some respects. We travel a ton now and get to play with some acts that are considered by most to be upper-echelon folks in certain scenes. But it takes a lot of e-mailing and harassing of venues, acts, promotion people and fans, not to mention the terrific challenge of writing music that entertains and is respected by peers. But I love it and I’m glad it’s hard because it can be tremendously rewarding, even at our beginning level.”
    Tell me about your album--how long did it take, who performed on it, etc.
    “The album, ‘The Sound & the Story,’ was cut, and mastered in Houston, TX, with John Evans, Mikey Ferrara, and myself in charge of production. Players included Adam Freitas, Brian Egan, and Mikey Ferrara, John Evans, and myself on guitar; Mikey on bass and drums; and John Evans and Liz from Madison on harmony vocals. We cut it in five or six days. The record came together nicely, in my opinion, and for the most part I’m pleased with the product.”
    You almost made it on “Nashville Star.” Tell me about that experience.
    “It was cool. I made it through several rounds to the semi-finals and was cut just before Season Five of the show. I met some cool people and heard some good singers. It had its drawbacks, which might be why the show is no more, but at least it made some people back home take a listen to what I was doing music-wise.”
    Tell me about your touring plans.
    “If there are ears that want to hear us then we’ll do anything we can to play music for them. We go all over pretty much at the drop of a hat and plan to continue to do that as long as we can.”
    What's it like being a (mostly) full time musician in this economy?
    “I’ve been a student for a long time so being broke isn’t too much of an inconvenience. Ha. It’s hard just like anything else and we operate with little room for error. But at least when the market is down fuel is usually RELATIVELY cheap.”
    What have been some of the challenges you've had to overcome?
    “Lack of funds, lack of industry respect, lack of notoriety that leads to bookings, dealing with less that savory characters, trying to write, play, and sing well enough to be entertaining, promotion, lack of demand, plenty of doubts, etc. And we haven’t overcome all of these yet, not by a long shot. But we’re making progress, and that breeds hope.”
    For more information, visit: www.myspace.com/mattstell or www.mattstell.com.

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