MINNESOTA ROCK MUSICIAN RICH MATTSON REFLECTS ON CAREER, LATEST ALBUM ‘TOTEM’

BY TONY BENNETT

For many musicians, there are moments in childhood in which music opens a metaphorical door, where it reaches into their souls and sets them on a path that they’ll walk their whole lives. It’s usually just a simple occurrence where a song lands just right and triggers new emotions in one way or another. For Rich Mattson, he was about 5 or 6 when his big, magical music moment hit.

“My first memory was singing in the back seat of the car when our family was on vacation, and I sang along to the Eagles’ ‘Take It to the Limit,’ and when I hit the Randy Meisner part at the end, everybody went nuts,” Mattson said. Later on, he “got bit by the rock and roll bug” and spent time obsessing over Van Halen and Ted Nugent albums from the now-defunct Columbia House mail-order record and tape club. Before long, he was playing guitar, bass and drums along to the records. And then he started writing his own songs, something he’s still doing today.

Mattson’s latest album with his band the Northstars is “Totem,” a tight collection of meat-and-potatoes rock music that is another brick in the wall of art he’s been building for decades.

“I don’t feel like I’ve evolved a whole lot, really,” Mattson said. “Not to say I haven’t. I always try to come from my own place, my own style, and not copy anybody or do the same chord progressions. I tend to tailor my songwriting to who I’m playing with. Right now, I am writing with harmonies in mind, and I love it.”

Mattson’s partner in life and in his band is Germaine Gemberling, whose harmonies are crucial to the group’s sound. “I’ve always been a big fan of harmony singing but until I started making music with Germaine, I didn’t have someone who wanted to work on singing that much,” Mattson said. “With the Glenrustles, I had to think ‘caveman beats,’ ‘cause that’s what my brother Glen, the drummer, was best at. Ol’ Yeller was more of an Americana feel. The Tisdales was garage rock.”

Those bands, while each having their own sonic hallmarks, are all of a piece. Just like Neil Young still sounds like Neil Young whether he’s making grunge or playing solo acoustic, Rich Mattson always sounds like Rich Mattson. And that’s sort of reflective of his work. He’s not looking to break into EDM.

“My goals as a songwriter are mostly to just keep on doing it,” he said. “There is nothing more therapeutic for me than finishing a song, recording a cool demo of it, and hearing it back the way it was in my head. Then, playing it to my friends in the band and having them learn it and add their flourishes and tasty bits and performing it live — in my world, there is nothing better.”

“The new album, ‘Totem,’ I feel, is a continuation of my story,” Mattson said. “I’m really happy with it because it seemed to come together so easily. The songs were fully realized before we recorded them, and to get [them] where they needed to be wasn’t a huge chore. It was fun the whole time. One thing about releasing so many albums over the years — and this is probably why I do it — I can remember the little things surrounding where I was at the time, when any of them came out. They’re all like little journals. There are lots of hidden messages to myself where I can remember events and things that happened.”

This is kinda the key to Mattson’s work. It invokes memories and feelings and moods, but it’s not just a one-way street. The things he talks about are easily relatable. His emotions are easy to empathize with, to recognize. A lot of people might call him a “blue-collar storyteller,” but it’s not that simple.

“The thing about songwriting is relating your stories to other people, sometimes becoming a character, and making them interesting in ways (where) maybe the listener can say, ‘Yeah, I get that, I know where this guy is coming from,’” Mattson said. “It’s the commonality of being human. I’m reaching out to see if anybody else thinks like me or wonders about the same things. I get a lot of comfort from music in general — not just playing it.”

At this point in his life, Mattson’s content with playing gigs all over Minnesota and recording bands at his Sparta, Minn., home studio. It’s the existence that he always wanted, and he’s just trying to live in the moment and enjoy it. No grand plans.

“The thing I worry about the most is my ears,” he said. “I don’t know a lot of people with retirement plans or savings. My goal is to get this place paid off, then maybe I can slow down a little bit, maybe I can sock away a few bucks for a rainy day. I don’t make a lot of money, but I don’t measure wealth like that. I don’t want to think about retiring. I like my job too much.”

“I do picture myself gigging until I can’t do it anymore,” Mattson said. “My guess is that we’ll evolve, we’ll play where we’re wanted, and if that winds up being old folks’ homes, that’s cool. I know a lot of golden oldies.”

Tony Bennett is a Duluth freelancer writer and music critic. His album reviews can be found every Thursday in the Duluth News Tribune’s A&E section.

Catch Rich Mattson

May 4: Rich Mattson & The Northstars play as part of Homegrown Music Festival, 9 p.m. at RT Quinlan’s Saloon, 220 W. Superior St., Duluth

May 22: Rich Mattson & The Northstars all Dylan Show as part of Duluth Dylan Fest, 8 p.m. at Cedar Lounge, 1715 N. Third St., Superior

June 7: Rich Mattson and the Northstars as part of Minneapolis Music and Movies in the Park at 7 p.m. at Minnehaha Falls, 4801 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis