Man of many talents . . . and many guitars

One has to wonder . . . just how many guitars does George Mattson own? When asked that question, George just smiles. "I have a lot of guitars," he says, declining to provide an exact number. His vast collection includes acoustics, electrics and resonators -- not to mention three banjos, a mandolin, ukulele, electric piano, assorted harmonicas and other musical odds and ends.

Stringed instruments and the music they make are important to George and have been for well over 50 years. He remembers his dad bought a ukulele in the mid-1950s to share with his brother and sister. "I learned chord shapes and started playing songs -- mostly folk melodies."

"Dad had a crummy acoustic guitar I discovered in the basement around 1961," he says. "I adapted the chords I'd learned on the uke to the guitar."

Next came a few lessons -- and the rest is history. Well, actually there's a lot more history to George Mattson . . .

From ukulele to teenage rock god?

George entered this world in 1948, in Chicago, later moving to Arlington Heights. When he was 8 years old, he took piano lessons, but quickly gave it up. "I preferred baseball," he admits. In the spring of 1962, he recalls, "I bought a cheap electric guitar, amp and chord book, and spent the summer learning to play chords."

Turns out he was a fast learner -- when school started that fall he joined a rock band and played rhythm guitar. "We called ourselves The Shays, a name I stole from my brother's band."

While at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, he honed his skills with The Shays. They recorded two songs for Astra Records in 1964. One of the songs, "Tell Me Where,"  was written by George and received radio play on WCFL-AM.  (Check out the mp3.)

The Shays, 1963 - Steve Naylor, bass; Denis Ahlborn, lead guitar; Jim Harvey, drums; Ken Heinrich, vocals; George Mattson, rhythm guitar.

But the glory days of high school didn't last forever, and in the fall of 1965 George entered Northern Illinois University. The band lived on, however. "We got together on weekends and played at various rock venues around Chicago," says George. Then, a year later, Uncle Sam intervened. The Shays' lead guitar player and bass player were drafted, and their lead vocalist joined the Air Force. "And that," says George. "was the end of The Shays."

Senior picture, Northwestern University, 1974. (Yes, that is George.)

That same year, George was married and soon became a father. He has two sons, Jon and Jeremy. He began taking evening classes at Northwestern University, graduating with a major in Psychology. By 1974 he was single again, working for RR Donnelley & Sons, eventually becoming a journeyman typesetter and proofreader.

"My son Jon is married and has two daughters," says George. "Emily is 14 and Ashley is 10 --and both granddaughters are interested in acting and music."
 

With the demands of family, work and college, George had to put music on hold for a few years. Then, in 1979, seeking a new creative outlet, he started acting in community theater, appearing in both traditional and musical productions. "For the next seven years I performed in Guys & Dolls, Much Ado About Nothing, Gypsy, Spoon River Anthology, Fiddler on the Roof, Man of La Mancha, Steambath, Brigadoon, Ten Little Indians and more," says George.

"I found that acting was very emotionally satisfying -- but that musicians were generally less egotistical than actors." He is quick to add that while musicians are "easier to take," he has close friends from his acting days.

For some reason, George declined to  comment on this photo . . .

The Dvorak connection

"In 1988 I took up banjo with Mark Dvorak," George recalls. "While I never lost my love of playing or singing, Mark was instrumental in getting me back into music."

Mark recruited George for the Old Town School of Folk Music's 'Mr. Coffeehouse,' a Friday evening event that featured a song circle, followed by performances by local and national artists. "Mark was also a big influence in getting me hired as a guitar teacher at the Old Town School," says George. One of his favorite memories with Mark is a two-week vacation they took in Ireland. "We rented a car, traveled around Ireland, jamming in different pubs every night!"

George discovers Two Way Street and Plank Road

In 1992 George moved to Downers Grove and began attending concerts and sing-arounds at the Two Way Street Coffee House -- and soon joined Plank Road. "A year later I started substitute hosting the Saturday sing-arounds for Jerry Burke, and took over as permanent host around 1995."

In 1998 George recorded a solo album, All Things Considered...I'm Fine, on which he covered a range of genres by artists such as Merle Travis, Steve Goodman, Hank Williams, even Buddy Holly.

In addition to sing-arounds, George also leads our monthly Bring Your Own Song sessions. And recently, he completed the formidable task of purging, reorganizing, consolidating and reprinting Plank Road's two well-worn songbooks into one beautiful new volume.

It's all about the melody

When asked about his musical tastes, George says he likes the harmonies and the unpredictable melodies of the old standards by artists like Hoagy Carmichael. "I don't like the lack of melody in much of today's music," he says. As far as influences and genres, George says he likes almost every kind of music, "Except maybe drum and bugle corp."

The George Mattson Trio

His appreciation for "almost every kind of music" led to the George Mattson Trio in 2003. The trio consists of George on guitar, banjo and ukulele, Tom Re on fiddle and Mike Hazdra on bass. "I like to bill ourselves as playing Acoustic-Eclectic music. We play swing -- both western and jazz -- plus classic country, old-timey, and just about any genre that appeals to us." In fact, the Trio will play the Two Way Street Coffee House February 13.

George Mattson Trio, 2012. (photo by Vicki Ingle)

When it comes to performing, George is known for his 

commanding vocals, boundless energy and affable demeanor -- not to mention his extensive knowledge of musical genres and artists. And as a song leader he has the ability to keep us on track while making sure everyone gets their chance to choose a song.

What's on the horizon? George says there's the "possibility" of a new George Mattson CD and possibly a George Mattson Trio CD -- perhaps this year. 

We hope so.

- Bill Lemos