Dave Mattacks

Mattacks is not only a gifted percussionist, but a serious-minded instrumentalist. "When people ask me what I do, I always say, `musician.' That's not to say that I'm not proud of being a drummer. But, I'd like to consider myself, for all my lack of ability on the instrument, as a musician first, somebody who has a certain amount of knowledge about music."

Between shows with Fairport Convention at the intimate Old Vienna Kaffeehaus in Westboro, Massachusetts, Mattacks had a chance to talk about his musical approach. "I'm more concerned with tone and sound and cymbals and response and that whole side of the instrument than I am with any abilities or any kind of facility on the kit. I'm very interested in the drums. I concentrate a lot."

Mattacks isn't surprised that the line-up of Fairport, which he re-joined in 1985, has endured. "We're all quite a bit older and wiser. We've all grown up. We've learned to deal with each other's foibles. I think that, as you grow older and mature, you try to control your excesses, the extremities of your irritating personal idiosyncrasies, the things that you know make other people crazy."

According to Mattacks, the addition of violinist Ric Sanders and guitarist and bouzouki player Maartin Allcock provided the key to the band's success. "Ric and Maartin are younger than Peggy (Dave Pegg), myself and Simon (Nicol)," he said. "They keep us on our toes. They bring their own musical influences and enthusiasm for the music."

Fairport Convention's latest album, Jewel in the Crown, ranks among their most consistent work. While it lacks a rousing, up-tempo rocker, the fillers of their latest albums are gone. "I really think we got a good one this time. The bottom line is that the material is very, very, strong." The choice of material was decided initially by singer-guitarist Simon Nicol. "He has to be happy," Mattacks said. "He has to feel that he could sing with conviction. Because we don't have any writers in the band, we get our material from outside. Simon has to feel that he's comfortable, not just melodically or lyrically, but from an aesthetic point of view."

Each song on the album uses a different snare drum and cymbal set-up. "They all sound different," Mattacks said. "I love to pick the tone colors. I picked the cymbals and snare drum to suit each track."

Although Fairport Convention has been together, in its various forms, since 1966, the current band has developed its own contemporary sound. "Peggy's put an inordinate amount of hard work into it," Mattacks explained. "What the band has done is re-establish itself as a viable working unit and not a Freddy and the Dreamers folk-rock thing, banging out the old hits."

The group has remained faithful, however, to the folk music that made them more than just another British explosion band of the 1960s. "There's a real attempt to keep that aesthetic going," Mattacks said. "It's not waving a flag or anything. But, that's what seems to suit us as a band."

When Mattacks joined Fairport in 1969, the band was going through heavy changes. In the aftermath of an equipment van accident that took the life of drummer Martin Lamble, the group had decided to rent a cottage and get back to their musical roots. "They had had a break and wanted to try carrying on to see what would happen," Mattacks said. "They didn't want to just knock it on the head. It was a kind of experiment."

The group had also taken a shift in musical direction. "There was a feeling that playing blues and country music was best left to Americans," Mattacks said. "We wanted to come up with some kind of homegrown thing." Mattacks had little prior experience with English folk music. "I didn't really understand what was going on," he said.

Mattacks, whose background was with big bands that he remembered as "almost Lawrence Welk-ish," came to Fairport through an audition. "I had gotten their album Unhalfbricking, and had swatted to that," he remembered. "That may have given me a head start. When I got to the audition, I managed to fool them."

Fairport provided an entry into a much different world. "This was a real turnaround for me," Mattacks said. "I knew that there was an alternative type of music and I wanted to be involved. It was almost like a light bulb going on," he recalled. "It had quite an effect on how I saw and listened to music. It really changed how I played and how I wanted to play. I started listening to songs and not to licks and technique. I started becoming much more aware of form and lyrics."

Mattacks' moment of enlightenment was reflected in his approach to the drums. "It made me appreciate even more straight-forward drummers who swung. I became less concerned with trying to show everybody how clever I thought I was and more concerned with trying to support the song and the singer."

Mattacks was only with Fairport for a short while before he saw how unstable it was. "It was very strange for me because I was so new to it," he said. Although he recalled that, following the departure of Sandy Denny and Ashley Hutchings, it was "difficult to adjust," Mattacks found the band's next line-up an improvement. "When they got Dave Pegg, it got very friendly," he said. "I started to feel a lot more comfortable. That felt good for a long time."

Fairport's open door policy, however, kept things from becoming too good. "Richard left and that was a blow," Mattacks said. "Simon did a wonderful job carrying on. But, when he left, I didn't feel very comfortable anymore. It had nothing to do with Dave Pegg or Dave Swarbrick, but, it didn't feel comfortable. So, I left."

Mattacks returned, temporarily, a year later, when Denny's former Fotheringay partners, Jerry Donohue and Trevor Lucas, joined. But by the end of 1974 he had had enough. "I was tired of the business problems," he said.

During the 11 years between his stints with Fairport (1974-1985), Mattacks remained busy and performed on countless recording sessions.

Mattacks' first instrument was piano before he took up the drums in his teens and his understanding of the piano continues to be reflected in his drumming. "I might just be playing a backbeat, but I understand the sensibility and the shape of chord shapes. I understand harmonics, harmony, chord sequences and melody."

Jazz has been a constant source of inspiration. "I've heard all the rock drummers I need," Mattacks said. "I get more inspiration from listening to Paul Motian, Jack DeJohnette and Tony Williams. There's a lot of great cats coming up. That's what I'm listening to these days. It satisfies me more. I really like to play it. I'm trying to get better."