Matt Heckler, “Blue Eyes Dancing,” ft. Benjamin Tod // GemsOnVHS™

In a very special edition here, we find Matt Heckler (formerly of Deep Chatham) teaming up with Benjamin Tod (of Lost Dog street band) to play a tune of Matt’s on the porch. Not just any porch, however. This is the house where Guy Clark used to live, and later Townes Van Zandt. Some parts of Heartworn Highways were filmed here. Benjamin is friends with Townes daughter, and filming on that porch just felt dang right.

Matt himself is one of those artists who can hold an entire room with a solo performance. His voice reaches and booms, and his fiddle playing accompanies that voice perfectly fine. The way he holds his fiddle is also of interest – what some may call the “incorrect” or unorthodox way. Doing things really well the wrong way is something we encourage here, for sure, and old time has a long tradition of it. Here’s an excerpt from a great article on chest level playing –

“There are two striking habits that appear among a considerable number of old-time fiddlers: their tendency to hold the fiddle against their chest rather than the classical way, and their tendency to hold the bow in all sort of weird ways, often gripping it away from the frog. For a classically trained violinist the image of someone playing this way is alien. However, these habits among old-time fiddlers should not be seen as restricting or simply wrong. I believe they are deeply meaningful and rooted in legitimate stylistic and musical aspirations.”

Learn more here;
http://www.learningfiddle.com/old-time-fiddling/

You can listen to this field recording on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/0POjMggmTvLo1rw4h0wkcJ?si=jrh5wwwpQi6G8p-zEWZhGw) and on all other streaming platforms. You can follow Matt on Instagram at @mattheckler and Ben at @benjamintodmusic.

Our undying love and gratitude go to our executive producers for making this project possible: Brad Sirois, Mitchell Davis, Keith McQuillan, David Jameson, Lisa Galvan, Irvin Maddox, Josh Collins, Brady Jones, Julie Nestoroff, VJ Arizpe.

Consider becoming a Patreon contributor to help sustain this project. For the price of a cup of coffee every month, you let us continue finding and filming amazing artists.
https://www.patreon.com/gemsonvhs

GemsOnVHS is a long running series of intimate, off-stage performances by songwriters we love.
We’re on instagram (@gemsonvhs or @anthonysimpkins)
Like us on FB too! (http://www.facebook.com/gemsonvhs)
www.gemsonvhs.com

Written by GemsOnVHS