WILLIAM MASON (BILL) MATTHEWS
Bill Matthews lives in Killen, AL, is retired from the University of North Alabama in Florence and travels the world. He is a hiker and belongs to a local hiking club. To learn more about Bill, go to Grand Canal Hike website for that story. And if you truly love beautiful photographic pictures, be sure to visit Bill's son, Mason's website on Smugmug at http://masonm.smugmug.com/
UPDATE: Local newspaper article about Bill and his community work in the Four Towns, AL.
From the Florence Times:
By Russ Corey
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 3:30 a.m.
If you heard one of Acoustrio’s shows during the W.C. Handy Festival, you might think they were another local or regional band playing traditional American music.
But the banter among band members between songs such as “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Rock Island Line” and “Old Dan Tucker,” might leave you guessing where they’re really from.
The three members of Acoustrio are from the Netherlands and they saved money from gigs they played during the past year to come to the Shoals. Their love of American music and the role the Shoals plays in so many musical genres demonstrates the impact of the area and the Handy festival.
“(The Shoals has) a lot of historical relevance in music,” said guitarist Hugo Waltmann. “It’s great to hear all the great names that recorded here.” Win and Hesselink, who plays harmonica and mandolin, is an admitted lover of American music, especially the blues, traditional folk music and gospel.
The story of how Acoustrio came to the Shoals involves a chance meeting between the band’s drummer and Florence resident Bill Matthews in a Belgian cafe.
Matthews was eating at a cafe and heard a man behind him say “thank you” in English. He engaged him in conversation, which led to the obligatory, “Where are you from?” question. The man, Jesse Monshouwer, was from the Netherlands, and Matthews replied that he was from Muscle Shoals.
Matthews said Monshouwer paused for a second, then repeated the famous line from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s southern anthem, “Sweet Home Alabama.”
“Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers,” Monshouwer said. “We sat for a couple hours talking about music,” Matthews recalled. At the end of the conversation, Matthews invited Monshouwer and the rest of the band to his home in Killen.
The band traveled to the Shoals in May 2010, played a few shows and saw several music-related attractions. “(Matthews) got us acquainted with all kinds of interesting people in the music business,” Waltmann said. They also visited Nashville and Memphis.
“A lot of the music we knew already, but we didn’t know it was from Muscle Shoals,” Hesselink said. “We only knew Muscle Shoals from the song ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ ”
Hesselink plays harmonica like he grew up in the humid Mississippi Delta rather than the cool climate of Holland. Hesselink said he learned more about the Shoals’ impact on American music through his 2010 visit and a tour of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. “We had such a good time,” he said.
During this year’s trip, the trio played five shows, including the festival’s opening ceremony at W.C. Handy Home, Museum and Library. Monshouwer, who has a new baby daughter, could not make the trip this year.
While they didn’t have much time to actually hang out and hear other musicians, they did get to sit in with artists Steve and Christian Turner, the owners of 2nd Half Studio in Sheffield. In 2010, they played with local Americana artist Doc Dailey. “They love the Southern hospitality,” Matthews said. “We know about it; they’re enjoying it.”
Bassist Robert Buitink said he learned about the Swampers and the Muscle Shoals sound through the video, “50 Years of FAME at Muscle Shoals.” “We saw the huge amount of musicians from all over the world who had been recording here,” Buitink said.
Buitink, a bass player, had the opportunity to hold and play Jimmy Lovelace’s 1958 Fender Precision bass, the one he used when he played with Sun Records legend Jerry Lee Lewis. “That was quite a moment for me,” he said.
Hesselink is a big fan of the blues — which is evident in his harmonica playing — and traditional American folk music. “Playing in Acoustrio I got familiar with a lot of old American folk songs,” he said. With the help of the Internet, he found even more old folk music, much of which is incorporated in the trio’s shows.
During their 11/2 hour set Tuesday at Wilson Park, the band played a variety of traditional American folks songs, bluegrass tinged gospel tunes, many punctuated with Hesselink’s blues harmonica.
Their Dutch accents were not noticeable when they sang, only when they talked to the crowd between songs. They said they were happy to be a part of the Handy festival and weren’t concerned with being paid. “We play for the fun, not for the money,” Buitink said. “We want to do what we’re good at and have fun.”
UPDATE: Local newspaper article about Bill and his community work in the Four Towns, AL.
From the Florence Times:
By Russ Corey
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 3:30 a.m.
If you heard one of Acoustrio’s shows during the W.C. Handy Festival, you might think they were another local or regional band playing traditional American music.
But the banter among band members between songs such as “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Rock Island Line” and “Old Dan Tucker,” might leave you guessing where they’re really from.
The three members of Acoustrio are from the Netherlands and they saved money from gigs they played during the past year to come to the Shoals. Their love of American music and the role the Shoals plays in so many musical genres demonstrates the impact of the area and the Handy festival.
“(The Shoals has) a lot of historical relevance in music,” said guitarist Hugo Waltmann. “It’s great to hear all the great names that recorded here.” Win and Hesselink, who plays harmonica and mandolin, is an admitted lover of American music, especially the blues, traditional folk music and gospel.
The story of how Acoustrio came to the Shoals involves a chance meeting between the band’s drummer and Florence resident Bill Matthews in a Belgian cafe.
Matthews was eating at a cafe and heard a man behind him say “thank you” in English. He engaged him in conversation, which led to the obligatory, “Where are you from?” question. The man, Jesse Monshouwer, was from the Netherlands, and Matthews replied that he was from Muscle Shoals.
Matthews said Monshouwer paused for a second, then repeated the famous line from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s southern anthem, “Sweet Home Alabama.”
“Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers,” Monshouwer said. “We sat for a couple hours talking about music,” Matthews recalled. At the end of the conversation, Matthews invited Monshouwer and the rest of the band to his home in Killen.
The band traveled to the Shoals in May 2010, played a few shows and saw several music-related attractions. “(Matthews) got us acquainted with all kinds of interesting people in the music business,” Waltmann said. They also visited Nashville and Memphis.
“A lot of the music we knew already, but we didn’t know it was from Muscle Shoals,” Hesselink said. “We only knew Muscle Shoals from the song ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ ”
Hesselink plays harmonica like he grew up in the humid Mississippi Delta rather than the cool climate of Holland. Hesselink said he learned more about the Shoals’ impact on American music through his 2010 visit and a tour of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. “We had such a good time,” he said.
During this year’s trip, the trio played five shows, including the festival’s opening ceremony at W.C. Handy Home, Museum and Library. Monshouwer, who has a new baby daughter, could not make the trip this year.
While they didn’t have much time to actually hang out and hear other musicians, they did get to sit in with artists Steve and Christian Turner, the owners of 2nd Half Studio in Sheffield. In 2010, they played with local Americana artist Doc Dailey. “They love the Southern hospitality,” Matthews said. “We know about it; they’re enjoying it.”
Bassist Robert Buitink said he learned about the Swampers and the Muscle Shoals sound through the video, “50 Years of FAME at Muscle Shoals.” “We saw the huge amount of musicians from all over the world who had been recording here,” Buitink said.
Buitink, a bass player, had the opportunity to hold and play Jimmy Lovelace’s 1958 Fender Precision bass, the one he used when he played with Sun Records legend Jerry Lee Lewis. “That was quite a moment for me,” he said.
Hesselink is a big fan of the blues — which is evident in his harmonica playing — and traditional American folk music. “Playing in Acoustrio I got familiar with a lot of old American folk songs,” he said. With the help of the Internet, he found even more old folk music, much of which is incorporated in the trio’s shows.
During their 11/2 hour set Tuesday at Wilson Park, the band played a variety of traditional American folks songs, bluegrass tinged gospel tunes, many punctuated with Hesselink’s blues harmonica.
Their Dutch accents were not noticeable when they sang, only when they talked to the crowd between songs. They said they were happy to be a part of the Handy festival and weren’t concerned with being paid. “We play for the fun, not for the money,” Buitink said. “We want to do what we’re good at and have fun.”