Meet The Solicitors

Eddie Matthews (aka "The Cobbler")

 

                                                           Click here for Cobbler's Greeting

From the tender age of ten years old, Eddie Matthews knew that music would be a part of his life. Even if it was only just jamming with the family at the annual Christmas gathering.

And that's where our story begins. . .  

Following along with his Uncle Ray (who inspired the song of the same name) and his "cuz" Ken, playing old 1950's & 60's standards, little Ed caught on quickly and immediately impressed the other members of his musical family.

"Did you bring your guitar?" was the question most asked of him at family gatherings. As the family grew older, however, many of the principles of the annual jam passed on or moved away, unfortunately.

As Eddie became a teen, he found interest in the junior high school band, playing drums. His 9th grade music teacher discovered his keen sense of pitch and timing, informed the band director of her new "discovery", and Eddie soon joined the Eastview Junior High band percussion section. Once the band director found out Ed had some guitar skills, she insisted he joined the stage (jazz) band too. Being somewhat of a "nerdy" type, he found kindred spirits in the music department and found a place where he fit right in.

On to high school. . . Eddie kept up with the band in high school and made many friends in the music department. Most of his fondest high school memories are parties, shows, concerts, ball games and other events with other "band weenies". His first beer was drank at a cast and crew party for the school play, his first kiss was with the second chair clarinet player. He also joined his first band as a result of a chance meeting with another percussionist in one of the band practice rooms.

"The Upstairs Band" was the name of that first group, who became "Silent Thunder" shortly thereafter. At the time, the guys thought it was the "real thing". However, the tapes (that still exist to this day) reveal otherwise. Silent Thunder did have one brush with greatness; they got to play at Danny Seraphine's "Beginnings" club in Schaumburg, Illinois just before it was shut down. For those who don't know, Danny was the original drummer for the band "Chicago", and he owned this beautiful club in the suburbs. Which begs one to ask how a bunch of high school kids got a gig in this big club in the first place. Actually the bassist just called the club, got the manager on the phone and got the audition just like that. No booking agents, no band manager negotiations, just, "come on down". So they went on a Wednesday night and auditioned with a bunch of other local hopefuls. And promptly got booed off the stage.

Undeterred, Eddie kept on plugging away. After the first band fizzled out he joined a group that called themselves "Voyager". With Voyager, Ed got a good taste of the Chicago club scene. For several years he kicked around the windy city, playing in venues such as The Thirsty Whale, Brat Stop, Rusty Nail, Edgewater, Fat Rat's Tap and many, many others. Eddie's participation in Voyager ended when the band broke up, reformed itself around a new singer and guitarist, and our hero was left out in the cold. Poor guy.

For most of the late eighties Ed stayed clear of the music business. Jaded and cynical, he grew tired of the whole scene. Then, a chance meeting changed everything.

Early in the nineties, Ed was invited to jam with a couple old buds and a couple new ones. One of the new buds was Peter, a keyboardist. While the band that formed as a result of these jam sessions ("Glue" a.k.a. "Rigid Digit") never amounted to anything, Eddie and Peter became close friends and collaborators. Their collaborations evolved into a love of recording, and Delta-9 Recording Studio was born.

Which brings us to the present. One of Ed's first studio clients was none other than Steve Sanderson. At the time, Steve had some songs he had done on his own and wanted the studio to punch them up a bit. Ed & Steve became fast friends and began collaborating regularly on Steve's song projects. After recording enough material for a couple CD's, Mr. Sanderson asked our hero what to do next. Ed suggested that he form a band and get out there and play. Thus, The Solicitors were born.