Wakin’ Snakes

Julian Matthews started out as a chorister and latterly founded the popular local group, Wakin’ Snakes, which has been entertaining appreciative audiences with their unique brand of American old time and bluegrass. HOT’s Sean O’Shea talks to him about his journey in music and some of the challenges facing the pub music scene.

Wakin’ Snakes lineup comprises: Jules: lead vocals, mandolin, fiddle, and tenor guitar; Dave: bass, accordion, and vocals; Rob: drums, whistles, washboard, triangle, and vocals; Jake: banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, slide, and vocals.

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Could you tell us about your personal background and how it has influenced your musical development?

My first musical encounter was as a chorister. My school set me up with an audition for a church choir at the age of eight, sometimes singing at Guildford Cathedral. To be honest, I originally did it for the money, but I grew to love it, as we sang harmonies which sent a shiver down my spine (they still do). Then, at age sixteen (in the 70s) I heard the inspirational Dave Swarbrick. Some people are fantastic musicians, but he is quite simply a magician, and that is what sets him apart. I bought a mandolin and a violin and bunked off school to teach myself. This old violin is still regularly used at Wakin’ Snakes gigs. At age eighteen I was employed by a medieval banqueting hall in London’s West End; I had to dress in embarrassing medieval gear and play and sing minstrel songs. It was crazy and funny and actually very well-paid! I then gigged around semi-professionally for years, first doing folk music from the British Isles with lifelong friend Rob – and later teaming up with the Tippler brothers and forming Spot the Dog and then the Dawgs (the Cajun years!) There was the great John Winch and his skiffle band, which I was fortunate to play in during one of his periods back in the UK. Then in more recent years, the late Roger Churchyard introduced me to bluegrass, but then I got stuck into the old-time American music which flourished in the early days of recording back in the1920s. There is a huge worldwide revival of interest in these exciting old songs and tunes, some of which can be traced back to early British folksongs.

You are an accomplished player on a variety of instruments. What’s your favourite instrument and why?

Well, for many years it was the mandolin, which I continued to play when my original band took off into Cajun music. I enjoy playing and collecting many stringed instruments, tenor guitar, banjo, mandola, etc. as well as fiddles. But actually, Jake Buckton is the true multi-instrumentalist in Wakin’ Snakes. It would be quicker to list what he doesn’t play than what he does! It was a happy coincidence that he was as passionate about the same type of music as I was. We had both built up a very similar repertoire of early American stuff over the years. We met whilst playing in the original Dawgs cajun band and then joined up again in Roger Churchyard’s bluegrass sessions and the band Alias Legs Diamond. Dave Levett (from Sussex Pistols), our bass player, is also a multi-instrumentalist.

But to get back to your question, the answer must be the violin, partly because it plays close to your ear and gets right into your head and you can do so much with the notes.

You’ve travelled extensively in Europe and Africa, could you tell us a bit about your musical journey and what have been some of your memorable experiences on the road?

In the 1970s, I travelled alone in the style of Laurie Lee, with virtually no money down through much of Europe and West Africa, doing some seasonal work to pay my way, often sleeping rough and catching a meal when I could. Africa was pretty wild in those days. There were too many experiences to write about here. I crossed the Sahara, travelled through many West African countries, some war torn and lived in villages in the Sahel and the jungle, including a Voodoo village in Togo. I was seeking adventure and courted danger, so, not surprisingly, a lot of extreme adventures were had; in fact, I was lucky to survive. I travelled light, but always carried my mandolin and played quite regularly; busking for money and playing for drinks in bars in Spain, for example. On other travels I worked in vineyards in southern France. In Mauretania, I became acquainted with the maverick American, Cary Raditz, the ‘Cary’ of Joni Mitchell’s songs. We had both lived in some caves in Crete, which is where he had met and become Joni’s boyfriend, but ironically our paths didn’t cross there. He had also once worked in a hop farm in Goudhurst whilst I had worked on a hop farm in Lamberhurst, but we didn’t meet then either. Instead, we met in a wild outpost in the Western Sahara. He gave me the two rings which Joni had given him, and I went and lost them in Paris a few months later – that still hurts when I think about it. A few years ago I tried to trace Cary, by now quite an old man and received a message from his son, but it wasn’t good news.

What brought you to Hastings?

I grew up in Wadhurst, so you could say Hastings has always been on my doorstep. Along with Lewes, it has been, for many years, one of the best towns in the south east for music, particularly for more alternative or world music. It has a musically more discerning audience than many other places.

How did your band Wakin’ Snakes (WS) come about and how did you arrive at the name?

Wakin’ Snakes came about a few years back because, after many years of playing home grown traditional music, I became fired up by the great stuff coming out of the US, such as the Old Crow Medicine Show, the Water Tower Bucket Boys and Woody Pines, to name just a few. Seventy or so years ago, the inimitable Harry Choates, for example, played and sang great songs from the 1920s. My wife was brought up with this music and has a huge knowledge of it, which has helped me, and when I decided I wanted to play this style I found out that Jake did too, so we bit the bullet and went for it. I had heard percussion being used to good effect during the Woody Pines tour, so asked old friend Rob “Sticks” Cooper to join us. Jake knew Jez Walker from previous musical incarnations and he was invited in on guitar and harmonica. It was great playing with Jez and we had a lot of fun, but later on he was keen to further his solo career and we agreed it was best to let it happen, so he now entertains us all as Jeremiah Longshanks. We obviously needed bass and managed to persuade Dave to fit us into his busy schedule. Dave also plays melodeon and Cajun accordion with us, but perhaps even more significantly sings superb high range harmonies.

‘Waking snakes’ is an old American saying, which means making a mean noise, causing a ruckus, having fun. I found it in a poem by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) called the Yankee Recruit. It appears towards the end of this long poem, hidden in the lines:

This goin’ ware glory waits ye haint one agreeable feetur,
And if it worn’t fer wakin’ snakes, I’d home agin short meter…

How would you characterize Wakin’ Snakes in terms of musical styles and could you give readers an idea of the kind of repertoire they might expect at your gigs?

Quite simply, we play early American music (‘Old Time’), with some Bluegrass and some Cajun numbers: loud, fast, raucous and all good for dancing to. The predominant sound is fiddle, banjo and mandolin with bass and percussion, but we bring 12 instruments to the gigs! Nearly all of our numbers are songs, which we do with three or four voices and we do a few Steve Earle songs as well.

What is your take on the contemporary music scene more generally and what kind of music excites you at present?

We all like several styles of music, but in the band we restrict ourselves to the three previously mentioned styles. Personally I also like Klezmar and Balkan gypsy music, but for playing I would like to include some old French Canadian (Quebecois) songs and tunes, which in my opinion are some of the most exciting to be found anywhere. Also I love singing in French as it is my second language. La Bottine Souriante are a great Quebecois band.

You are a person of many talents with teaching and other commitments, how do you find time for the music?

Well, if I’m honest, with my job and other commitments, I don’t have enough time and perhaps the organization of the band sometimes suffers as a result. I don’t have time to work on promoting the band as much as I would like, i.e. with Facebook which I rarely open, and all the publicity.

Hastings is known for its atmospheric pubs and vibrant music scene, yet pub landlords and many musicians – not to mention the fishermen – are struggling to make a living. How would you like to see some of these issues being addressed?

The people of Hastings already constitute a really good audience but the town needs to continue to promote itself as a prime venue for musical entertainment. Pubs providing free music are a great pull for people from far and wide; I speak to people who have come from London and beyond just to be at our gigs. I’m sure I speak for many when I say that I miss the now extinct smart and concise little publication called The Ultimate Alternative which was widely distributed and much appreciated.

Hastings is a brilliant musical venue with its seaside festivals and many great old pubs that deserve to be better known throughout the entire South-East. I’d like to think there is someone on the Council who is there to help landlords promote their pubs and musical events in the town as well as further afield.

Wakin’ Snakes regularly plays in many other places close by, including Eastbourne, Rye, Lewes but we always consider Hastings our home.

• For upcoming gigs and related information go to www.wakinsnakes.com

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