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Some of Dave "The Hatchet Man" Matchette's earliest music memories involve painstaking piano lessons under the eagle eye of an elderly aunt. Somehow he survived all that and retained a lively interest in music. Soon he was secreting a transistor radio under his pillow, listening late into the night when his parents thought he was getting his beauty sleep.
Not yet realizing that the future would find him known for his searing vocal and harmonica skills, high school for Matchette brought the brass quintet, concert band, and the marching band, and the plan that he was going to be a low brass major in college. Always a multi-tasker in the interests department, Matchette, a winning competitive swimmer in high school, hit Western Michigan University with a spot on the swim team. Smart guy that he is, however, he quickly determined that 5 a.m. swim practices in the dead of a Michigan winter were nuts, and he turned his full focus to music.
Between the WMU marching band, wind ensemble, concert band, and jazz band, Matchette was a busy guy, but he still found time and energy for an ever-growing variety of ensembles and non-school bands on the side. He trained in classical music and to this day can still win a game of "Name that Tune" on any classical recording you care to drop a needle on (or, er, press a CD button on).
Playing the euphonium (don't say "what's that???") in college was very rewarding — and Matchette can still wow the crowds when he and his friends get their euphoniums and tubas (see!?) together for the holidays. But Matchette — and his musical soul — were searching for something more, and found it in the form of a harmonica.
Well, several hundred harmonicas later, Matchette is known for his driving blues harmonica work. From true-blue covers of the blues giants to the inventive creativeness of his original work, Matchette thrives in the gritty reality of the blues. He's well-known in the field, most recently as the harmonica player and lead singer of The Uptown Band, and as the harpmaster general with Big Bob and the Toe Tappers.
With Uptown, Matchette was the driving force behind getting the band recorded on cassette (hey, they have been playing for a long time!) and produced "Legends in Their Own Mind." He then joined the band, which since then has produced other recordings, including "New and Improved," "Uptown Band Plugged In," and "Out of the Blues."
Matchette favors the club scene where you can connect with audiences, but he's no stranger to the larger venues either. With Uptown, he's played the Main Stage at the former Michigan Festival, and for such luminaries as President George Bush (Sr.), President Bill Clinton, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and Michigan Governor John Engler. Just for fun sometime, ask him where the cars went on the Bush gig and what happened to the saxophones on the Clinton event.
They've also shared the stage and played with such blues greats as Johnny Littlejohn, Bigtime Sarah, and A.C. Reed. Matchette has also played with legendary harmonica players Peter Madcat Ruth and Fingers Taylor.
Matchette is comfortable in a variety of musical genres (this explains the holiday time euphonium and a folky wonder called Strangers in the Night). From the very beginning, he's been in a mix of groups so eclectic as to defy categorization. He's played rock with
Bethlehem Rose and with The Panic, Top 40 with the Fawn River Band, folk and
Bluegrass with Gandalf's Paw, country with the Whitney Brothers, rhythm and blues with Mad Dog and the Pack, Jimmy Buffet-style with Living Soul, and rock, blues and everything else with the Capital City Band. Although harmonica and vocals are what he's known for, Matchette also keeps the flute, trumpet and guitar handy, and is no stranger to the keyboards either.
He's played from one end of the country to the other, from California to West Virginia, and from Key West to the far reaches of northern Michigan.
But he never forgets where he is. Home, is, after all, where the harmonicas are.
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July 23rd, 2008
The Toes' latest CD, "Footnotes" is now available!
Order a copy for yourself and see what everybody is talking about.
Read the reviews
Order the CD
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Thursday, July 24th, 2008
7PM - 11PM
Jerry's Pub - Wamplers Lake, Irish Hills MI (517) 467-4700
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