Charles Matthews: Yeah! I took ten years, almost ten years, off from music between the Haloes and the Cheap Cassettes, and I really didn’t do much during that time. Now that I am without a band again, I want to continue making music in whatever way I can, and not stop for so long. I’m getting older, like everybody, and I only have so much time, so I wanted to keep making music in whatever way I can. So it’s kind of like what McCartney did at the end of the Beatles, just with way less talent. Hahahaha. He was burned out after that intense band experience, and so am I.
Shock Treatment: What can people expect from Songs From The Film’s music that may differ from your previous projects?
CM: I am not writing for a particular band now, so I can do anything I want, which is nice. The Cheap Cassettes were getting into a certain softer style of power pop, and I wanted to go back to harder, louder music while I still can. So SFTF will be very poppy, like all my stuff is, but there will be louder guitars and harder textures. More like the early Manic Street Preachers, Redd Kross, Hoodoo Gurus, the Wildhearts, etc. I think of it will have a very pronounced 80s influence, but we’ll see how that shakes out as I go.
Shock Treatment: You're officially a solo artist now. First, how has your approach to songwriting shifted compared to your band days? Second, has this new setup freed up ideas or genres you couldn't touch in a band situation?
CM: Absolutely. I can do anything I want now, there is nobody to please but myself. So you’ll see me experimenting with the songs, genres and production as I go along. The only instrument I can’t play is drums, but I have been working with studio musicians to do that for me. So there’s nobody to discuss things with, and that’s both good and bad, but right now it feels super liberating.
Shock Treatment: So you started the Dimestore Haloes in Boston, then you started the Cheap Cassettes when you moved to Seattle. You also mentioned to me before that you might be moving yet again. Do you feel like the city you live in affects your songwriting at all? Like, would the Cheap Cassettes have been THE CHEAP CASSETTES as we know it if you formed the group in Boston instead of Seattle?
CM: I have never liked to stay in one place for too long. I get very bored and restless, and I start drinking too much to alleviate the boredom. I was in Boston for 18 years, that was too long. I’ve been in Seattle for 12 years now, and I am getting the itch to go again. We’ll see. I think Seattle had a certain energy that helped the Cheap Cassettes along, and meeting people like Kurt Bloch from the Fastbacks and Rusty Willoughby from Flop was a huge inspiration. Seattle is a wonderful music town, with lovely folks.
Shock Treatment: In your Substack Blog The Ghost At Number One, you talk about being bullied at a young age, one reason you listed was being “too trusting.” I found that really interesting. I have this belief that the only way to really connect with people is through shared vulnerability. Have you ever written lyrics and thought to yourself “whoa, this pulls back the curtain a little too much?”
CM: Not in lyrics, I usually am very open about things in lyrics. In my own everyday life, I never open up about anything, haha. I keep it all inside. So lyrics are a way to get things out in a way that maybe helps others, if someone can relate to it, and it definitely helps me too.
Shock Treatment: With Songs From The Film, as I mentioned before, being a solo act. Do you ever plan to play these songs live or are you comfortable with them just existing on records?
CM: Yes, I think eventually I will put together a rhythm section and play live again, but first I want to get these songs recorded the way I want them, and then when that’s done, I’ll venture out to play them live. The funny thing is that you can reach more people on Youtube or social media than you can by playing a show these days, but it lacks the immediacy of playing live. So I know I need to do both, but not until all of these songs are recorded. So, if these records I am making are well received, there will definitely be shows. I need to find a great bass player and drummer to get up and rock with me.
Shock Treatment: So switching gears a bit, I know you’re a big horror movie fan. Can you discuss some of the horror movies that you feel have impacted your life the most?
CM: I saw “The Exorcist” when I was about seven years old, and that started the obsession. I have so many favorites, but “Return of the Living Dead” is probably my favorite movie, along with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” and “Fright Night”. I really dig horror comedy, the dichotomy between the laughs and the violence always entertains me. I love “Cemetery Man”, “From Beyond”, “Re-Animator”, and just over the top, cartoonish gore like “Tokyo Gore Police” and “Society”. I also really love Giallo stuff, like “Suspiria”, “Deep Red” and “Demons 1&2”. The aesthetics of those Italian movies are amazing. Newer stuff like “Hereditary”, “Midsommar’’ and “Longlegs” captured me as well. Sooo many great films are coming out these days.
Shock Treatment: I wanted to discuss something else regarding Ghost At Number One that you talked about. You said that when you were 12 years old, you started playing guitar and all your other hobbies fell to the wayside. Being older, do you ever feel any of those hobbies creeping back into your life at all?
CM: Not really, haha. I did start watching soccer recently with the World Cup being so intense and exciting this year, and I haven’t followed sports since I was a child. So I guess sports are kind of creeping back in, but I am still just obsessed with music, and writing the perfect song. Writing songs has been the whole point of my life for so many years.
Shock Treatment: I know you’re originally from the midwest. What do you feel growing up in a small town in Michigan has given you that maybe you didn’t appreciate as a kid or teenager but are grateful for now?
CM: Yeah, my family is very stoic and doesn’t express their emotions, so I learned to be stoic and not collapse in tough situations. That helped me as well as hurt me, I think, in a way. But I had a beautiful childhood in a beautiful place, and I am very grateful.
Shock Treatment: So Charles, where can people go to hear Songs From The Film or any of your other musical endeavours?
CM: Well, the new single “She Don’t Mind” is out digitally now, you can hear it on chazmatthews.bandcamp.com, on the Rum Bar Records bandcamp page, or on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, etc. In a few months, there will be a vinyl 7” release on Sioux Records. They are a great label with a lot of great bands. I am also working on recording the next single as we speak. There will be another digital single at some point, and another video. And the plan is for Sioux to put each single out on vinyl. So yeah, check out Sioux Records and Rum Bar Records, and all the streaming platforms. The video for “She Don’t Mind” is also on Youtube now.
Thanks for the talk, it’s been fun!