MATTHIAS STEELE - AN IN DEPTH INTERVIEW

2021-05-10

MATTHIAS STEELE – AN IN DEPTH INTERVIEW

If you’re craving a metal band with an old school metal vibe, and who isn’t, check out Matthias Steele. An original band from Westerly, Rhode Island, Matthias Steele features: Tony Lionetti- bass/vocals Jami Blackwood- guitar Nino Trovato- drums.

KATE: Matthias Steele has been around since I was in high school. Congrats on the band’s longevity! I know Nino and Tony have been around since the beginning and Jami replaced the original guitarist. Have you ever had more than 3 members? Why be a trio when a 4th member could make it easier on your lead vocalist/bassist?

TONY: We thank you for this opportunity Kate! Now, about the members – there were actually two periods where we had 4 members. Both were short but exciting. Back around ’93 we recruited a virtuoso type guitarist named Brett Arruda who was dueling axes with everyone to outdo every guitarist on solos! Lol Then there was one more time in 1998 where we Jami, Nino and myself had John E back in the band. It was pretty heavy. We developed a sound similar to “TROUBLE”. It was cool but short lived. We have always liked the three piece. It gives everyone their own space in our songs. We like tightness and chops. As many may know I am a Rush fanatic so there’s a likeness to that lineup. I really dig having the lead vocalist and bassist role!

NINO: When we started the band in 1985 it was Tony, myself and our original guitarist Todd Gencarella and we really wanted to form a power trio. We had all played in various bands with each other prior to forming Matthias Steele but we felt this chemistry worked well because once we began the songs just started flooding out of us! There have been other versions of the band during the past 36 years where there was a second guitarist but those grouping didn’t last too long. John Erkan was a fantastic guitarist who joined the band in the early 90’s after Todd and I left to pursue other things. Tony carried on with John and another drummer. Eventually after they recorded “Haunting Tales of a Warriors Past” they added a second guitarist name Brett Arruda. Eventually that version fell apart and Todd and I got back together with Tony and got the original band up and running again. After 2 years Todd left and we got Jami in the band. At some point John came back in but stayed for about 18 months or so. But for the last 25 years it’s been Tony, Jami and myself and this is the core of the band. We’re tight as friends and bandmates and that chemistry works for us!

KATE: What is the significance of the name Matthias Steele?

TONY: Ahhh the name! The number one question asked of us! And here’s our answer…When we started out as a band we eventually knew we would have to identify ourselves. So what would the name be? Well, we knew that our music was of a metal variety. It was coarse. It was hard. Iron Maiden had already been taken so….we figured our music was of steel or some kind of composite. After that, our guitarist Todd and I both shared an affinity to the classic movie “The Omega Man” starring Charlton Heston. At one point in this movie he yells “Matthias”!!! And it echoes throughout the city of LA ( with no one alive after a bio- warfare attack on the planet). It was then and there that we came up with the name of the fictional character known as Matthias Steele. And from there we started writing songs around our new character.

NINO: The most often asked question is about the band name. When we began we were between 19 and 21 years of age and full of a lot of ideas and influenced by the Metal scene we were surrounded by. Mostly inspired by Tony, he had seen a movie called “The Omega Man” and in it was a character named Matthias. Todd and I liked the name and we sat on it a bit. We were influenced by the bands at the time like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Priest had the album “British Steel” Maiden had iron in it… very Metal. But when we added the word steel to Matthias it sounded like a name. Kind of like a knight on his trusty steed riding through villages etc. etc… But when we added the letter “e” to it then it all clicked. We had our “mascot.” Maiden had Eddie, Y&T had Rock as their mascot… it just made sense to us. So eventually some of the music was geared towards that character and stories were formed around it. We had a logo designed which seemed a bit Gothic… it all just came together. In some ways it gave us an image but after a few years we just decided to write songs and not get too into sticking with the character as much.

KATE: That is so cool!!! I love when the name was derived in an interesting way.

KATE: Not only did MS play the first Rock ‘n Rhode Fest, but it was Nino who approached me with the idea and was an event coordinator alongside me. My cousin Al, who was the winner of the Epiphone guitar donated by local band 21 Guns, still talks about how much he loved MS. I know MS, like many bands, has taken a hiatus during the pandemic, but are you ready to play out again soon?

TONY: I can say with certainty that we are ready and will play soon! This past Feb. 14th marked our 36th year together as a band. It didn’t look too good over the last few months. I developed a problem with my hands. I wasn’t able to move my fingers and thus didn’t play the guitar for 6 months. But through medical intervention I have that dexterity back. The guys and myself are rarin’ to go! And we’re working on some shows as we speak.

NINO: Please tell Al we said hello if you would! This pandemic has really put a lot of bands into hibernation… especially our scene here in Rhode Island and surrounding communities! Whether you’re in a cover, tribute or original band you play to entertain. That’s it! For us, we’ve never been about the money. We take pride in what we do with our music and the fact that even as we get older we still can kick some ass at our ages. But this virus has put a damper on everything. We haven’t gone away and we’ve been a bit quiet but we’re still alive and well! During this break we’ve been working on the next album and looking to book some gigs for 2021. The thing is that we miss the people that come to see the bands and hopefully restrictions will be lifted so the crowds will be able to come out again and see their favorite bands!

KATE: Tell me about your CD’s. Titles, inspirations, and meanings.

TONY: As brief as we can condense all those years! 1987 (debut album entitled “Matthias Steele”) it was an ambitious effort for three young bucks out of Westerly! Only 38 minutes but just enough to get us noticed on the local scene. It started with requested radio play on college music stations like WCNI, WHUS, WRIU. This album introduced to the world Matthias Steele, a freedom fighter who was cast in the European medieval times. We portrayed his exploits fighting good vs. evil. Only sold maybe 350 copies but people still show it to me every now and then. In 1991 we released “Haunting Tales of a Warrior’s Past.” We had a bigger budget to work with and we spared no expense in the recording. Although the production of the album was a bit of a hanging point (some reviews were less than favorable there) the album did achieve very good press reception. We were going for a concept with our man Steele, telling a story book tale from beginning to end. And producer Peat Brock and myself poured a lot of ideas and textures into the record. It was released by Big Noise Records in Providence and immediately garnered attention and eventually became one if their best sellers. And to this day it appears to have a bit of a cult status around the world. A few years ago Peat Brock and myself remastered it with a slightly warmer sound and included that CD inside a double vinyl lp that we call “Haunting Tales 2.0″ which can be found at our label’s site (Minotauro Records). It had a different line up with John Erkan on guitar and James Jordan on drums. A year later we went back in the studio with Tony Ricci at Fat Trax (now Triad studios) and recorded the tracks Playing God” and “Question of Divinity” that appeared on Big Noise compilation Digital Graffiti. “Playing God” in particular received decent airplay on indie and college rock stations around the world. Phew! Where am I? Oh, so a couple of years went by and it’s 1994-95. We changed lineups again with original drummer Nino and gutarist Todd Gencarella (from the first album) We recorded a song “Cloudcover” written by Todd and it got released on Big Noise’ compilation Digital Mystery Tour. The song was a bit different for us as we tried to fit in with the now popular grunge scene that took over the 90’s. We even changed the band name briefly to Chainsaw Symphony because Matthias Steele was too associated to metal. Uggh! One of my regrets! It was then and there I learned for us to be true to ourselves and not try to sound like somebody else! Shortly after that Todd left and Nino and myself felt it was almost over. Enter Jami Blackwood. We held an audition for Jami after he and I discussed his interest in joining the band one day. He had always been one of our biggest fans. And that was that. We liked his attitude and forethought that he applied to his playing. So here we go again, now with Jami (who was a capable lyricist as well) we went on to record our third album “Resurrection”. The inspiration was there after my father had passed (thus the name). A bit darker and heavier we returned to Steele form only this time lyrically we ventured into world affairs and current themes. Later on we released “Question of Divinty” in which we turned towards a raw “one room” sound. Both Resurrection and Question of Divinity have held their own in sales and were released through Minotauro records and are available today. And that brings us to now…. We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on a new album release! It has been recorded but I can’t divulge much info yet. One thing I can say is that it has a fresh, powerful sound geared to a slightly polished sounding recording with effects and multiple instruments!

KATE: One of my friends and your fans calls MS’s style: “Dungeons and Dragons Metal”. Hahah. How would you describe MS to someone who wasn’t yet familiar with your band?

TONY: Well actually we would like to dial back the “D and D” connotation to our music. And what I tell to people these days that know nothing about the music is: Nino is a die hard Queen, Cheap Trick, Beatles guy. I am a big Rush, Raven, Trouble, King Diamond, Blue Oyster Cult, Jethro Tull guy and Jami is all about Metallica, Megadeth and Randy Rhoades. So put all those influences together put ’em in a blender and you’ve got Matthias Steele! Lol

Although we do try and avoid categorization!

NINO: Yeah, we’ve had some labels put on us over the years because of the style of the music or Tony’s vocals in some songs but in recent years I’ve been calling our brand of music “Old School Metal.” Because that’s what we based the band on when we first started. Everything is tossed in there! Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, King Diamond, Metallica etc. along with some obscure bands from Europe like Witchfinder General, Picture, Raven… the list goes on!

KATE: If you could only save 5 albums from a fire, which would they be? Let’s assume you already have copies of MS CD’s safely stored away somewhere.

TONY: Five must need albums

1 Rush – Hemispheres 2 Jethro Tull – Aqualung 3 Witchfinder General – Death Penalty 4 King Diamond – Abigail 5 Raven – Wiped Out

NINO: My 5 would be: Queen II because once they got into the studio fulltime they really explored what they could actually do with their ideas.. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper Cheap Trick – Heaven Tonight Queen – News of the World Panic at the Disco – Pretty Odd.

KATE: What’s next for Matthias Steele?

TONY: The questions are getting easier! Matthias Steele would like nothing more than getting the opportunity record and perform perform our original music to anyone who digs our brand. We are not in it for money. That would be apparent by now after 36 years. We get off on playing our music to be heard and enjoyed and our live shows to contain electricity and energy that won’t soon be forgotten. It’s our same formula years ago and continues to be a constant for us. Staying power!!!

NINO: Next on our agenda would be to finish this next album which is still untitled, play some shows as we typically do during the pandemic and continue to write, record and perform more music. There’s no slowing us down no matter how old we are! This is what we love to do and what we will continue to do!

KATE: So how can your fans get their hands on your CD’s?

TONY: Presently we are in pursuit of making our music more accessible. But for now some sure bets would be www.minotaurorecords.com or just simply reach out to us on Facebook. We each have a cache of Cds on us at all times. Of course at our live shows we always have them for sale. I’ve also seen them for sale on CD baby and even Ebay! Again this is an area that we are working on so we can reveal multiple outlets where CDs can be obtained.

NINO: We have albums that are currently available on CD and were distributed worldwide by Minotauro Records based in Italy. Haunting Tales of a Warriors past Resurrection Question of Divinity For anyone who wants to purchase one or all 3 they can go to the Minotauro Records website or message us on our Matthias Steele Facebook page and we’ll send them right out to you. $10.00 will include postage and handling.

So there you have it! A long-established and somewhat long-winded (haha) band giving us their candid answers to my probing questions. Matthias Steele apologizes that Jami was unavailable for the interview.

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MATTHIAS STEELE – AN IN DEPTH INTERVIEW

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