Adam Meisterhans Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Axeman Cometh: Adam Meisterhans on Shredding in the Mountain State

“If I ever need humbled, I can remember that I live in the same town that Vince Gill does [laughing]. If I ever feel like, ‘Oh man, I’m really sounding good on guitar,’ I can just remember that I’m probably not even the best guitar player on the block.”

From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and A Change of Tune, this is 30 Days of #WVmusic, the interview series celebrating the folks who make the West Virginia music scene wild and wonderful.

And today’s interview is with a West Virginian currently residing in Nashville who’s worked with artists right at home like Martinsburg’s Rozwell Kid and Morgantown’s William Matheny, and artists from afar like CoCo Hames and JP Harris. This is… Adam Meisterhans.

Rozwell Kid’s newest release is Precious Art. You can hear the band’s music on rozwellkid.com. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Connect with A Change of Tune on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic and subscribe to our RSS / podcast feeds.

Interview Highlights

On his start in music:

My mom was the church pianist at Washington United Methodist, so those were like my first memories of being around music. She was always rehearsing with the choir or practicing the piano. Then my brother was I the band in middle school so I was kind of just always around that and I thought it was cool and interesting. Around 13, I got obsessed with the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. I didn’t think I could do that but I thought maybe I could at least learn how to play their songs. I got a guitar around then and just gradually became more obsessed with it and now it’s what I do.

On starting The Demon Beat (one of West Virginia’s cult favorite alt rock bands) in Shepherdstown, WV:

Well, the Shepherdstown scene is more-or-less a combination of whoever is in college at that time and townies. So it’s an interesting scene, but it’s not necessarily a great place for a band to graduate from a band with your friends in college to a band that can actually get out and tour. It wasn’t hard to start it, and it wasn’t hard to be in The Demon Beat in this area, but it was hard to get to the next level where we could afford to keep the wheels on the road.

On leaving West Virginia for Nashville:

I knew people in Nashville who were my age and who were touring a lot, so that was really attractive to me. So I decided to go there. And then after going there, Rozwell Kid became busier, so I was able to start a life there and start trying to meet people there, but also continue playing in a band with really close friends.

It wasn’t a culture shock [moving to Nashville]; it’s just hard to move anywhere. I had never lived in a city. I went from Washington Bottom to Shepherdstown, which is pretty similar in terms of number of people. This was the first time I lived in a city, I didn’t have a lot of money, I didn’t know that many people, so there are a lot of ways it sucked, but I was around world-class musicians for free there. Just whatever you want to tip them, essentially, which is crazy: you can go see Kenny Vaughn play for $3 and he’s obviously should get more. You can experience people playing at a level I had never really encountered before. It was a mix of the normal things that are hard about moving to a new place countered by an incredibly inspiring experience of being around people who could do things I’ve never seen before. As a guitar player and as a musician, it sharpens you and makes you want to go home and practice and try to better yourself in whatever way you can.

Adam Meisterhans recording with Rozwell Kid in the studio

On making records:

If you’re around different people and you’re not a total jerk then eventually, maybe, they’ll call you to work on something. Any time somebody calls me, I appreciate it. So working on Coco Hames’ record: she was in a band called The Ettes, whose bass player was Jim Cohen. He got ahold of me to play on her record, and that meant a lot. Playing with people who I admire and are great musicians is a rewarding experience. And then for Tyler Childers to come down and make a record, that was a fun experience. It’s nice to make records with people you care about, with people you admire. It’s nice to be in those situations.

On working with West Virginia rocker William “Billy” Matheny:

I think I’ve known Billy for ten years. At the time with Tucker and Jordan, we were trying to figure out how to play with people who would make us better. Within the state, we thought Billy Matheny and Bud Carroll were doing things that were above our heads, so we should try to hang with them and try to figure out what they’re doing [laughing]. Billy played a lot of shows with Prison Book Club and The Demon Beat, and we had always known each other, and I was always a fan of his music. As we came closer friends, we talked about working on something.

Actually, when we started working on his record [William Matheny and his Strange Constellations], it was the weekend I moved to Nashville [laughing]. I had all the things that I owned in my car [laughing], and I went to Huntington, Bud and Billy and I started trying to hash out what would be that record, and then I went to Nashville. So it was a pretty interesting time in my life. We had to chip away at that record because of all of our schedules.

But I was just talking about people I admire and people I care about, and it would be hard to find two people I admire or care about more than Bud or Billy. So working on that project was kind of crazy because Bud and I love [Billy’s] songs and love being around him, so to be in a situation where you’re making a record with somebody you know that well, and you care that much about those songs, that’s a pretty unique thing.

Rozwell Kid’s Jordan Hudkins and Adam Meisterhans

On playing Mountain Stage with William Matheny in June 2016 (with special guest host Joni Deutsch):

Rozwell Kid finished a month-long tour in New York City at the Music Hall at Williamsburg the night before Mountain Stage. So we loaded out and got out of New York at 1 in the morning. We drove back to Shepherdstown and got in around 6am. Then Jordan drove me down to Charleston [laughing], which was another five and a half hours, and I sort of slept in the car, and we sort of listened to some podcasts. He managed to stay awake, and we did our soundcheck. It was a little bit of a dumb idea, but it was worth it to play that show with those guys.

On the difference/comparison between Nashville and West Virginia’s music scenes:

The ratio of acts that have something to offer and are willing to do the work to put that out there is kind of the same no matter where you’re at. There are some people that have something really special to offer, whether it’s writing, singing or playing (sometimes a combination of all three of those things), and sometimes the people that have that are willing to do the work and build momentum to bring it to the people. I’ve been extremely lucky to be around people in West Virginia who have something to offer and are willing to do the damn thing.

Adam Meisterhans recording with Roger Harvey in his Nashville studio.

In Nashville, there is no shortage of people in that situation, it’s just a higher concentration. It’s an incredibly dense music scene. But there are also people there who just want to wear a nice hat and sing about stuff that’s not as resonate. But the ratio is the same, and there are some incredibly talented people there with a lot to offer. I don’t think work ethic has to do with where you’re from. You either work your ass off or you don’t. And that can happen anywhere.

On the future of the #WVmusic scene:

With any scene I suppose, it’s people who are willing to actively be a part of it, whether that’s fans, songwriters, people who want to play guitar or people who want to book shows. It requires all of those things. Obviously, there are a lot of great artists around here who do a lot of work. It’s people like Ian Thornton, who is a wonderful bass player, works so hard promoting and booking the bands he works with and promoting a festival. Any one of those things could be a full-time job, and he does all four of them really well.

I just think it takes people who are actively invested in it, whether it’s through Mountain Stage or running the Empty Glass or being a band that’s trying to make it happen. It takes all of those parts. So I don’t know if I’m necessarily qualified to say what should happen; it’s just a matter of people throwing their hands on deck.

On his self-described “do-it-your-damn-self” ethos:

You can either sit around and wait for somebody else to help you or hand you something, or you can do the best with what you have and the resources around you. If you do the latter, you are actively engaged in what you’re doing. Regardless of where you’re at or what your resources are, you’re at least making something out of whatever you have. Earlier in my life I was probably less actively engaged in my own success and well-being and life, and eventually you have to get out of that or else you beat your head against the wall and end up a bitter person asking, “Well, how come nothing ever happened for me?” At some point, either someone else has to kick you in the ass, or you have to kick your own ass.

Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:

The Demon Beat- “I Melted”

Rozwell Kid- “South By”

Rozwell Kid- “UHF on DVD”

Rozwell Kid- “I Wish”

Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Kin Ship Goods, proud supporter of DIY music and the arts. Local shipped worldwide at kinshipgoods.com.

Front and Center with Morgantown's William Matheny

Since the show began almost two years ago, A Change of Tune has highlighted some of the best up-and-coming artists out of these West Virginia hills with podcast-y chats ranging from Bud Carroll to Goodwolf, Rozwell Kid to Coyotes in Boxes and beyond.

But those interviews have been a bit infrequent, and since West Virginia Day was this month (and with A Change of Tune’s second birthday on the horizon), we thought we’d do something special: 30 days, 30 brand new #WVmusic interviews that range from Morgantown alt-rockers and Parkersburg singer-songwriters to West Virginia music venues and regional artist management and beyond, all of which contribute to this state’s wild and wonderful music scene.

And today, we are chatting with Morgantown singer-songwriter-rocker William Matheny, who joined a band and began touring when he was but a wee lad. Flash-forward to today, and he has a great new release to his name, and he’s primed to make his NPR Music debut on Mountain Stage. We chatted with William about his experience playing music up in Mountaineer Country, the friends he’s made over the years in West Virginia, and what we can expect at his June 26 Mountain Stage…

William Matheny’s newest release is the Blood Moon Singer EP, which is a preview of his upcoming full-length Strange Constellations. You can hear his music on his website. Catch him on Mountain Stage on June 26 with his band friends Bud Carroll, Ian Thornton, Rod Elkins, and Adam Meisterhans. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic and subscribe to our RSS / podcast feeds!

William Matheny, performing at The Empty Glass in 2016.

Interview Highlights

On his family’s roots in music:

My great-grandfather was a regionally known gospel singer, and then his son (my grandfather) was a regionally known country singer named Mansfield Matheny. He had a band with some of his friends called The Rhythm Rascals, this would’ve been in the late ‘40s/early ‘50s. My grandfather was the lead singer of the group and played rhythm guitar.

My dad also plays music. He was in a really good bluegrass band in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. They traveled around, did some stuff, and recorded an album, and then they all got married and had kids. Basically, I broke up the band. He still plays guitar in the church choir. He taught me how to play music, and we actually played in bands together when I was a kid. We played in cover bands when I was an adolescent and in early high school.

It was a long series of different bands, and I really have to give my father a ton of credit on this. I always stress this with people: my parents weren’t stage parents at all. This all was my idea. Basically I’d been playing guitar, and I told my parents I wanted to play in a band. And when you’re a small kid in a really small town, maybe you know people who play music, maybe you don’t. My dad got on the phone and said, “Hey, my son plays music. He wants to start doing stuff. Would you be interested in joining a band?” I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but I’m incredibly grateful for it now just because I’m imagining being an adult and getting that call from one of your acquaintances like, “Hey, would you want to join a band with my 9-year-old son?” [Laughing] I would be obviously be incredibly skeptical of that.

On beginning his music career in Morgantown:

I grew up about an hour south of Morgantown. By that time I’d become acquainted with the scene up here and all the bands, [not to mention] making music and doing albums and touring and stuff, I really wanted to get involved with [the scene]. At that point, I started playing with this guy named Brian Porterfield who had this band in the ’90s called Cheap Truckers’ Speed. Brian doesn’t really play anymore, but I say this to anyone who listens: he’s probably the best songwriter I know personally. In terms of people I can call on the phone and say “hello,” he’s just really, really great. Like one of those unknown treasure people.

I wanted to join his band. I looked him up in the phonebook, we knew some mutual people so it wasn’t totally like a cold-call, and I tried to pitch myself. It took a few phone calls, but eventually I joined as his drummer. That was my first proper band that was doing original material. I did that for like two years, like the second half of high school.

That band stopped playing like three or four months after I graduated from high school and turned 18. That was sort of when I [began playing front-and-center]. I was writing songs the whole time and played them a little bit, but it wasn’t my main focus. By that point, I was itching to get back to playing guitar, and I wanted to have a band that was playing my own material. I didn’t go to college; instead, I just moved to a college town and joined like five bands. I didn’t say no to any gig for a really long time. I was playing with a bunch of different groups, and it was a wonderful learning experience. I’m super happy about doing it. It meant I could learn how to play a lot of different genres and have a really good time doing it. There’s no shortcut into doing that. I wouldn’t recommend the same thing if you want to be a brain surgeon, but for music? Do it.

William Matheny performed at U92 FM’s inaugural Moose Fest at 123 Pleasant Street.

On playing in Morgantown:

123 Pleasant Street is obviously the biggest venue here in terms of ones that do things consistently. I’ve played at 123 for 16 or 17 years at this point. It’s been a really long time, and I’ve always really enjoyed it. It’s still my favorite club. Whatever place you latch onto when you’re young and impressionable, it will always be that gold standard for you. Every time I go out of town, I’m always comparing it to 123.

Gene’s [in Morgantown] is great. It’s this really nice neighborhood bar that’s a block away from my house. The owner Al [Bonner] is one of the best people in the world, just a great human being. It’s a very small place with a little PA, and it almost feels like you’re playing a house party more than anything. But it’s really great. He’s been very cool about getting in touring people. Sharon Van Etten played their once, and so did Lydia Loveless, John Paul Keith, and Webb Wilder. Gene’s is wonderful.

On recording his new record and forming a band of friends for it:

When we started recording, there wasn’t a concrete band line-up. Southeast Engine had stopped, and I knew I wanted to make a record. I wanted to get back to doing what I do. At the time, Rozwell Kid’s Adam Meisterhans was hanging out with Bud Carroll trying to make a record of his own (titled Best Vibrations, which I have to point that out because the title’s great), and I guess Adam sent me a text while he was down there saying it’d be fun for the three of us to work on a record. That seemed as good as an idea of any, so we went down, and we didn’t know what any of us would be playing on it. While we made it, Adam plays most of the bass, Bud plays most of the drums. I used to joke and tell people that if you’re going to make an album, you need to find the best two guitar players you know and have them play something else.

We also brought Tyler Childers & the Food Stamps‘ Rod Elkins and Ian Thornton on board so we could move Bud and Adam to guitar. Everyone is doing what they really excel at.

William Matheny’s upcoming full-length is ‘Strange Constellations.’ In the meantime, check out his 3-song EP ‘Blood Moon Singer’ at this week’s Mountain Stage.

On the new album and the band sharing the name of Strange Constellations:

Initially, I decided it was going to be the name of the record, and I wanted some continuity sort-of between the album and then name of the band. It comes from this thing in Moby Dick where Ishmael is talking about being in the Southern Hemisphere under different stars. What I took that to mean was if you’re astrologically inclined at all, you’re not really sure about the star signs that are guiding you, which is one of the main themes of the record. We wanted to tie the name of the band into that.

On playing Mountain Stage on June 26 in Charleston:

This is my fourth time. I did it twice with Todd Burge and once with Southeast Engine. It’s the first time under the guise of doing my own material. We’re obviously really excited. We’re doing the rarest of things in our band where we’re practicing. We’ve decided what we’re going to play, sharpening our knives and getting ready for the street fight.

A FestivALL favorite, William Matheny has been performing in Charleston for years.

On advice to anyone getting into music:

The big thing is to don’t quit; that will get you further than anything you can do. After that, you just have to get out of town and play as many places as you can. That can be really discouraging at first, especially when you don’t know what that’s supposed to be like. If you’re playing popular shows in your hometown, you kind of immediately think everything should be like this. You’re going to do this, and it won’t be fun as playing in your hometown is initially, but if you keep coming back, it will. While it may not seem like you’re having an impression, you really are. So the best thing you can do is stay with it.

I’d hardly call myself qualified to give advice, but keep working and don’t get discouraged. That’s the important thing. Keep working, everything will improve. Don’t let it get you down.

Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:

William Matheny- “29 Candles”

William Matheny- “My Grandfather Knew Stoney Cooper”

William Matheny- “Living Half to Death”

West Virginia's The Demon Beat Decides to Take a Break

Eight years ago three friends at Shepherd University started a band. The Demon Beat’s popularity grew from the restaurants and pubs around Shepherdstown to audiences across the state and region. The band just made a run around the state before taking a hiatus.

“Personally whenever I hear terms like ‘this is a garage rock band’ or ‘a back to basics raw sound’, those are just really tired phrases when you hear people talk about that,” said Morgantown musician and close friend of the band, Billy Matheny.

“When you listen to The Demon Beat and when you see them live, in both cases, I think it’s everything a rock experience should be. It is raw and it is immediate. More than anything, it’s fun to listen to. That’s kind of everything you want out of that experience,” he added.

Being so incredibly loud and raw musically speaking, it seems ironic the three members of The Demon Beat are so quiet and unassuming about making a last run of shows around the state.

But the band, formed in Shepherdstown in 2005 and currently living in Martinsburg, did just that at the end of this past week, performing at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown on Thursday, the Boulevard Tavern in Charleston on Friday, and Huntington’s V Club on Saturday. None of the appearances were advertised as final shows, though.

Matheny, whose own band The Frustrations played the show in Morgantown with The Demon Beat, comments on the band’s humble approach to hanging things up.

“This is a situation where most bands, like 90 percent of them would be, ‘Alright, I’m going to cash this in. We’ve got three big shows, last time to see us.’ Basically like kind of turning it into a cash cow thing and doing what KISS would do, or something like that. The big farewell tour. They’re cooler than that,” said Matheny.

The reason for the indefinite hiatus of one of the state’s most beloved rock outfits? Guitarist and vocalist Adam Meisterhans is headed to Nashville at the end of May to pursue other musical endeavors. While excited about the future, he admits stepping back is difficult.

“It’s hard not to do it. But, at the same time, I get more excited about what’s going to happen next than bummed out. Because it’s not like any of us are dying. We’ll still hang out and still talk a lot,” said Meisterhans.

Since its inception, The Demon Beat has toured and recorded relentlessly, garnering not only a following in their home state but throughout the region. But everywhere they went, they were quick to point out they were from West Virginia. Meisterhans notes the band’s sense of pride about West Virginia was met with stereotypical ignorance.

“Basically, we would hear the same question every night. People basically ask us about Jesco White, or Wrong Turn, or if we live near Roanoke,” he said with a laugh.

Aside from some sort of geographical or cultural chip on the shoulder, Bassist Tucker Riggleman says being from West Virginia instills a do-it-yourself ethic.

“I think it made us kind of have to learn how to do a lot more on our own, being from West Virginia. It’s not like it is New York or somewhere where you can play a million different places. You kind of have to get your butt in gear and figure out how to go travel and play other places and make connections and figure out how to record your own stuff and how to push it and make your own merch,” said Riggleman.

“There’s nobody to do it for you around here like there might be more opportunities in different places for that. I think you get a sense of pride from that,” he added.

Drummer Jordan Hudkins jokingly comments on the role each played in the success of the band.

“Tucker decided to try his hand at booking and, lo and behold, he’s really good at it. He’s awesome at it. It’s hard to do; it’s really hard to do. Adam started writing songs and, lo and behold he’s really good at it. Turns out I’m really good at buying a minivan,” said Hudkins.

Yet Hudkins is merely being modest, as his skills in visual art are responsible for the artwork on the band’s albums.

Meisterhans says virtually every facet of the band was a matter of trial and error.

“As we kept going, we kept wanting to do more stuff and then we had to figure out how to do that other stuff, whether it was making a record or booking a tour. We didn’t know anything about it, so we just tried to do it. Then, when we tried to do it and messed it up, we thought about what we did wrong and tried to do it again.”

Hudkins echoed those sentiments with a less serious tone.

“It’s like a recipe for a meatloaf or a casserole. You have all the ingredients there and you think you know what it is but, then you accidentally spill something into it or you don’t cook it right and it comes out and it tastes awful. But, it’s yours,” he explained.

As Hudkins’ comments might indicate, the band’s sense of humor is also worth noting. On their latest record, Less is Less, he Photoshopped all of the band member’s faces together for the album cover.

Titles of songs from the record mimic pop music hits, like Michael Jackson’s “Off The Wall”, Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, and Oasis’ “Wonderwall”. There’s even a song called “Teenage Wasteland,” an obvious play on the often mislabeled Who song “Baba O’Reilly.”

While all three admit it’s difficult to hang things up for now, Meisterhans isn’t the only one with musical ambitions.

Hudkins has recently been switching focus to his project Rozwell Kid, which released an album in February. And Riggleman has been building up his own collection of songs with Bishops.

But even still, The Demon Beat is a band that will surely be missed. Dave Lavender, arts and entertainment writer for the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, said the band’s prowess in the live setting left an indelible mark on the local scene.

“I think that The Demon Beat—I don’t think they ever kind of over thought their music. They always thought that it should punch you in the gut and bowl you over. Any time I saw them they just blew the roof off the joint, even if that joint was an open sky,” said Lavender.

The band plans to play a handful of one-off shows in the region before Meisterhans heads to Nashville.