At the conclusion of the previous episode, Portuguese-American singer/songwriter/bandleader Mark Matos had revealed some of his most important influences to be his friends in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Which makes perfect sense – he spends so much time playing music with them, how could there not be some intentional and even unintentional crossover?
It was this strong connection with his friends that enabled Mark Matos to form the Family Folk Explosion, which he mentions in part two of his interview as one of his most significant milestones. If you’ve ever seen the Concert for Bangla Desh, or footage from Bob Dylan’s legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour, you have an idea of what the Family Folk Explosion is like. Mark effectively serves as the MC, playing his songs and introducing his friends when it’s time for them to play their songs. It was the perfect format for the month-long residency earlier this year at Amnesia, in San Francisco’s beloved Mission District.
And as Matos continues work on his upcoming Coyote Survival Kit boxed set – which he explains in detail in this interview – one can get a sense of where it is going, and what it will be like sonically and aesthetically, via the digital download he has made available of the set’s centerpiece album, Coyote & the Crosser. In the meantime, Matos is accepting pre-orders and donations (with add-ons and exclusives available in the same style as Kickstarter, though exclusively through his own website) in anticipation of the set’s release.
But of course, the best way to experience Mark Matos and his various incarnations is live from the stage. Check his Facebook page and official website for upcoming dates (including a solo performance tonight at Hotel Utah in San Francisco, and a Trans Van Santos performance on July 8 at Disco Volante in Oakland). And dig deep into the website – the mystery and majesty of the Weird West awaits.
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