About Jeff Mattison and The Wayward Angels

Currently at work on his third album, Jeff Mattison is booking electric shows with The Wayward Angels as well as performing acoustic dates accompanied by bassist Chad St. Clair. The Wayward Angels feature St. Clair along with guitarist Ernie Brady and drummer Joe Label. Their live shows highlight Jeff's diverse songwriting, which combines alt-country rockers with both driving folk blues and country ballads, while mixing in covers by other American roots artists, such as Uncle Tupelo, JJ Cale, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, Jimmie Rodgers, and Neil Young. Recently dubbed "The New American Hope", the result is a smoldering blend of some of the best new American music this side of the Mississippi.

Though a native of California, Jeff Mattison often sounds as if he's spent a considerable amount of time in the South and Midwest. After several years paying dues with solo performances in half-empty barrooms and lonely outposts throughout Northern California, his debut CD, Moonshine Rain, was released in 1998. An attempt to blend traditional song structures with a more modern roots sound and lyrical direction, the acoustic guitar-based album was recorded with a backing band and was well-received, inspiring comparisons to Bob Dylan and the Violent Femmes, garnering radio airplay both locally and in the UK, and landing Jeff a spot on the television program San Francisco Sounds.

Section M, the Magazine of the North Bay Music Scene, gave the record a glowing review, noting that "this record has a very authentic sound…the focus is on Mattison's reedy voice, as well as on his lyrics and acoustic guitar-based tunes…an excellent band helps elevate the record above standard coffeehouse fare while creating a very live, in the living room sort of feel."

In 2003, Jeff delivered the goods on his second release, Backroads Heart Attack, recorded with a stellar band dubbed The Wayward Angels. Backroads Heart Attack is much more of an electric affair, one that Section M described as "plaintive, dirty, bluesy alt-country". A nicely balanced offering, the new record set alt-country rockers against driving electric folk blues material and also contains several acoustic-based songs. The band's energy and the high quality of Jeff's songwriting combined to produce one of the year's most exciting releases. The record continues to garner radio airplay both in the United States and Europe, and The Wayward Angels recently played a forty minute set, live on KRSH FM 95.9, Wine Country Radio in Santa Rosa, California.

Email : jeff@jeffmattison.com

Snail Mail : Jeff Mattison/Madboy Music PO Box 2692 Petaluma, CA 94953