* En anglais uniquement
Scott Mathews started out as one half of Durocs (renowned ceramic artist
Ron Nagle was the other half), a Northern California new wave/power pop band that earned a U.S. cult following with their 1979 self-titled release; it was also a Top Ten record in parts of Europe. By then, Mathews had already caught the attention of the music industry and was getting work as a songwriter, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist (today he most frequently works as a producer). One of his first assignments was to produce
Roy Orbison and "Pretty Woman" for a TV commercial; this was before rock in advertising was common practice. He's written songs for artists as diverse as
Barbra Streisand ("Superman") to
the Tubes; he's produced retro-revivalists like surf-guitarist
Dick Dale and contemporary Americana, like the standard of the genre,
John Hiatt's Riding With the King. He's played thousands of sessions with everyone from
Bonnie Raitt and
the Beach Boys to
Keith Richards and he's participated in several Grammy (
Robin Williams, the
Beach Boys) and Oscar winning projects. His songs have been cut by
Streisand,
Dave Edmunds ("Closer to the Flame"), and
NRBQ's
Al Anderson (his songwriting partner), among many others in rock, pop, and blues. He's played with
Ringo Starr,
Elvis Costello,
Eric Clapton,
Steve Miller,
Ry Cooder,
Boz Scaggs,
Bonnie Raitt, and
Van Morrison, among other legendary performers and 70+ members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Various projects he has worked on total more than 20 million units sold. Mathews continues to work as a Northern California-based producer; he owns and operates TikiTown Studios in Marin County. ~ Denise Sullivan