Insider Sessions
Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts
The Insider Sessions with Erika Iverson
Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts on stage at Blues on Grand in downtown Des Moines. Check them out at: www.mattwoodsmusic.com
and www.myspace.com/mattwoodsandthethunderbolts. Photograph by Stan Brewer
Matt Woods photograph by Stan Brewer
The Insider Sessions are inspired by the emotion, power, and soul that go into one, simple song. The aim is to get closer and more personal to the music and the art. The acoustic sound, I believe, is perfect for this. It allows you to hear only instruments, only voice, no background fuzz, and nothing channeling the noise but our own ears. The artists will choose their own place to play, sometimes in a van, sometimes on a bus, sometimes simply in an alley way; either way each session is authentic and personal. So take a look at these artists, some are from Iowa, some just passing through, and as you'll sometimes find, just getting started. Listen and enjoy the sounds that erupt throughout our beautiful state.
~ Erika Iverson
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Bio
The great Mississippi Fred McDowell once said, "I don't play no Rock ‘n’ Roll." The same can be said about Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts who revere down-home, juke house blues.
Singer-guitarist Matt Woods, bassist Scott Cochran and drummer Michael Swanger have carved a niche for themselves as purveyors of traditional blues. But their admiration for the blues masters goes beyond mere imitation as they have created their own sound, style and songs. Their 2007 debut album, “Be My Friend,” a collection of thumping rhythms and stomping slide workouts influenced by artists from the Mississippi hill country to Chicago’s South Side, has garnered acclaim from local and international media, and received airplay as far away as Eastern Europe. One reviewer for Dirty Linen magazine proclaimed, “These blistering blues will get you spinning out on a cool midnight ride to the crossroads.”
Winners of the 2006 and 2007 Iowa Blues Challenge and semi-finalists in the 2006 and 2007 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts have graced many of the biggest stages in their native Iowa (Mississippi Valley Blues Fest, Living History Blues Fest, KUNI Blues
Blowout, Simply the Blues Fest, Blues on Grand, The Maintenance Shop); played to packed houses on Beale Street; opened for Hubert Sumlin, James Cotton and Pinetop Perkins; and shared the stage with Eddy Clearwater, Louisiana Red, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and John Primer.
In February 2010, the band will release its much-anticipated follow-up album, “Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts,” while continuing to prove itself to be one of hardest-working, well-travelled bands of any genre from Des Moines.
Sometimes wild and always fun, Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts are the original party music band that makes people move their feet. Get ready to have a natural ball!
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On a little corner off of Grand and 17th Street in downtown Des Moines is a bar where locals come almost every day of the week to wind down after work, drink some beers, and hear some blues. So we ventured out to see the regular blues act of Matt Woods and the Thunderbolts who are anything but regular. A group formed from several different bands that came together for their love of the art and excel in keeping true to the blues and sharing their souls through the sound. They have a new album coming out so be on the lookout! You will NOT want to miss it! Thanks again gentlemen!
~ Erika
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Erika Iverson attends Iowa State University for Journalism and Philosophy. She is a music fanatic that moonlights as a writer for Insider Iowa. Some of her old favorites include Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Bill Withers, The Who, The Doors, Buddy Guy, throw a little Cher in there (Half-breed!!!), Stevie Nicks, and a list that could be a story all it's own... When her heart plays music it plays bluegrass, when her soul plays music it plays the violin.
