Rusty's Road Stories

RUSTY MATYAS Enlarge Image

We put them on the guest list

After a quick four days of laundry and jetlag recovery, we found ourselves packed back into a van and on the road to Toronto. This month we are doing a giant circle of North America — starting with Eastern Canada, then down through the Southern States — with the Pixies again, and back up to cross Western Canada. We will be coming full circle just in time to put up the Christmas tree, pour some rum n’ eggnog, and spend the holiday season with our friends and families. One special thing about this tour is that we’ll be traveling through almost every landscape and climate North America has to offer.

Our first few shows were great. We played the 18th anniversary of Nu Music Night at the Horseshoe in Toronto, and had some great shows in Montreal and Windsor. In Hamilton we played at a little venue called The Casbah. I’ve met some interesting people in Hamilton before; about 10 years ago I played the same venue with Duotang, and met a guy who called himself "Sonic Dave." He gave me a huge stack of photocopied literature on government alien conspiracies and cover-ups. Also, I thought he was a girl for the first 10 minutes of our conversation. That was awkward, but certainly memorable.

This time around, we met another interesting person who said his name was Marchin. Although he might have said Martian. I walked into our dressing room to find him stoner dancing to the house tunes. All of us thought he knew someone in our band, so nobody said anything for a while. Turns out he just told the rock solid security people he played in our band, and walked straight backstage.

Then it was off to the U.S.A. Our first stop was in Louisville, Ky. opening for a band called Yhe Sea and Cake. I listened to them a lot when I first moved out of my parents house. My roommate Sean Stevens (Novillero) introduced me to them, and it was a pleasure to finally see them live a decade later.

The next day we were in Nashville, Tenn. We recently signed to an American label called Turnout Records, and they wanted some B-sides to release as bonus material for the record launch. So Marti and I spent the day recording acoustic versions of a few of our song in a classic Nashville studio. It was truly a different recording experience for us. We recorded much of it live off the floor, giving the songs a real natural and vintage feel.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel to find The Trews staying in the room right next to us. The Waking Eyes spent a lot of time on the road with those boys and it was a great surprise to see them again. We invited them out for a drink but they said they weren't ready to go.

We’ve just crossed the border into New Mexico on our way to the third of six Pixies shows. We were given an unexpectedly genuine welcome back from the band and its  crew — never have we been treated so well or felt so welcome. I’ve said I before, but it’s pretty humbling to be on tour with one of the most influential bands of the last few decades. Wish you were here, Rod.