exclusive Reed Mathis Interview

WOODBURY, N.Y. - April 11, 2015 - PRLog -- PRESS RELEASE APRIL 11, 12015

Reed Mathis joins Fire on the Mountain Radio for Exclusive Interview April 6, 2015

Reed Mathis, considered America’s best Rock Bass Player was interview by Steve Kietz of Fire on the Mountain Radio on April 6.

Reed Mathis is touring with Golden Gate Wingmen and Billy and the Kids this spring and summer.  New York area dates include June 12 at the Cutting Room in Manhattan with the Wingmen and July 31 at the Gathering of the Vibes Festival in Bridgeport Connecticut with Billy and the Kids.  Billy and the Kids features Billy Kreutzmann, just back from Chicago after finishing the Grateful Dead fiftieth anniversary tour.

Reed is interviewed by Fire on the Mountain Radio creator and DJ Steve Kietz.  Reed and Steve discuss Reed’s view of the Chicago Dead shows, how he learned to play bass a new way from Mike Gordon and his view on today’s explosion of Grateful Dead cover bands.

Live interview is available at http://fotmradio.podbean.com/e/reed-mathis-interview-april-6-2015-1428406013/

About Reed Mathis

Mathis comes from a prolific musical family and started learning the fundamentals of classical music (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music) when he was four years old. Before picking up the bass guitar at eleven, he spent time studying piano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano), cello (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello), and voice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing). When Mathis was fifteen he performed Vivaldi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivaldi)'s "Mandolin Concerto in D" on mandolin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin) with members of the Tulsa Philharmonic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_Philharmonic). At sixteen he attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlochen_Center_for_the_Arts) near Traverse City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City), Michigan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan), where he was the top-ranked bassist in the program.

In 1994, Mathis met Brian Haas and a group of like-minded Tulsa musicians, who together created the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO). Originally an octet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octet_(music), the band toured six years before becoming the piano-bass-drums trio for which it became known. Mathis continued to tour and record with JFJO through 2008.

In a feature articled in Bass Player (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Player_(magazine) in September, 2002, noted music author Bill Milkowski writes:

"No other electric bass player around today has been as successful (as Mathis) at incorporating mind-blowing and mondo-effects into a personal voice on the instrument. The charismatic Mathis is freed up to soar into the high register and wail with impunity on his heavy effected bass guitar because Haas is holding down the basslines on the Rhodes."^[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Mathis#cite_note-1)

In 2009 Mathis became an original member of 7 Walkers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Walkers), a band led by Grateful Dead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead) drummer Bill Kreutzmann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kreutzmann). He recorded on their self-titled debut album that was released on November 2, 2010.

Mathis performed with the Rhythm Devils (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_Devils) for their 2011 tour. In 2014 he joined Billy Kreutzmann's new band Billy & the Kids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_%26_the_Kids).

About Fire on the Mountain Radio

Fire on the Mountain Radio was founded by Steve Kietz in 2010 as a way to keep Grateful Dead and Jam band music alive in Long Island.  Steve’s show is on live every Monday night at www.owwrny.org, tunein Radio OWWR and as a podcast at www.fotmradio.podbean.com.  Previous interview guests include Ken Hays, the father of Gathering of the Vibes and Keller Williams.

Steve can be reached at fotmradio@gmail.com