Biography

Scrapomatic Featuring Mike Mattison & Paul Olsen

"There's so much sadness expressed through dark humor by the blues artists we love like Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, it's an element that Mike and I relate to and find comfort in," explains Paul Olsen. "But it's sincere too. The longing and pleading for answer, that search for spiritual transcendence, it's all mixed up in these songs."

Mike Mattison, vocals; Paul Olsen, guitar & vocals


As vocalists and songwriters, Mike Mattison and his longtime partner Paul Olsen break new ground with SIDEWALK CAESARS, an album that infuses the heart and soul of roots music with modern topics and incisive lyrics. The new recording, enriched with themes that reverberate from urban to rural and back, showcases the duo’s breathtaking ability to mesh Mattison’s stirring vocal machinations with Olsen’s heartfelt tenor. All tracks include the rock steady rhythm section of Ted Pecchio, bass, and Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell, drums, both veterans of Susan Tedeschi’s and Col. Bruce Hampton’s stellar groups, along with dexterous guitarist Dave Yoke, all of whom joined up with Scrapomatic’s touring lineup in 2007 and have since become frequent additions to the duo. Bolstered by guest shots from Derek Trucks (guitar) and Count M’Butu (percussion), SIDEWALK CAESARS cruises seamlessly through an eclectic mix of soul searches, bittersweet romances, drinking binges and rowdy humanity.

Produced in Atlanta, GA by Mattison and Jeff Bakos, SIDEWALK CAESARS is the band’s second Landslide release and blends eleven wholly fresh originals with a couple of butt kicking cover tunes by Skip James (“Drunken Spree”) and R. Hazard (“I Just Wanna Hang Around With you”). Mattison, who also performs as lead singer with The Derek Trucks Band, sets the tone on “He Called My Name,” an introspective and deeply felt take on the contemporary spirit. A catchy “Drink House” introduces the dual expressiveness of the Mattison/Olsen vocal sound, which leads into a prototypical Scrapomatic offering, “Killing Yourself On Purpose.” Trucks adds stinging slide work to the rocking “I Want The Truth, and from that point forward the album reels off a surprising array of compositions that veer from poignant to funky. “Remember This Day” and the astonishing set closer “Good Luck With Your Impossible Dream” are a testament to Mattison’s versatility while “Hook, Line, and Sinker” and “Long-Haired State” show off Olsen’s ability to pen melodically earnest ballads. The metaphorically laced “The Fire Next Time” poses intriguing questions of the future over a finger snapping rhythmic framework that Mattison builds with skillful intensity.





SIDEWALK CAESARS follows the group’s 2006 Landslide release, ALLIGATOR LOVE CRY, produced by John Snyder, a well received critical offering that Blues Revue described as “primal and tasty…one of the most impressive releases of the year.” Hittin’ The Note agreed, calling it “an amazing collection of heartfelt and soulful tunes.”

Hailing from Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and schooled individually in jazz, roots and blues music, Mike Mattison and Paul Olsen began playing together in the mid-1990s. After being recognized with Minnesota Music Award nominations for Best R&B Group and Best Male Vocalist, the duo decamped to Brooklyn, NY in 1997 and have since stomped their way through nearly every venue in the metropolitan New York area and beyond, including Carnegie Hall. In 2003, they recorded their self-titled debut album with Snyder, which was released on his Artists House label. Chosen by the Boston Herald as one of its top ten “hidden pearl” releases of the year, the newspaper called it “the perfect blues appetizer.” The Savannah Morning News said, “Scrapomatic reaffirms that good music still has the power to feed the soul.” In 2007, the band reached new audiences as part of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi’s SOUL STEW REVIVAL concerts, which played to sold out crowds from coast to coast and continues to roll on this year as well.

Aside from his Scrapomatic duties, Paul Olsen remains active in New York City as a bandleader and an ASCAP award-winning songwriter, for “Transition” from the duo’s first album. Mike Mattison joined The Derek Trucks Band in 2002 as its lead singer, and performs over one hundred dates annually with the renowned guitar virtuoso. SONGLINES, his first studio album with the group, was released on Columbia Records in February 2006 and garnered critical acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and USA Today among others. Mattison is also featured on the recent DVD release by the DTB, SONGLINES LIVE.

Scrapomatic will spend 2008 touring in support of SIDEWALK CAESARS, which will be released nationally by Landslide Records on June 24.

For further information, please contact:

National Press: Kevin Calabro, Calabro Music, 718-369-6567, calabromusic@aol.com
Tour Press: Nancy Lewis-Pegel, npegel@mindspring.com, 404-373-2299
Radio Promotion: Betsie Brown, 901-278-6850, betsie@blindraccoon.com
Management: Blake Budney, blakebudney@earthlink.net, 404-459-8795
Label: Michael Rothschild, Landslide Records, mrland@mindspring.com, 404-931-9049
Booking: Entourage Talent, booking@entouragetalent.com, 212-633-2600