MUSIC IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION

“You’re a Mattei, we don’t give up”

by Re Mattei

I grew up in a small suburb of Trenton, New Jersey.

The closest music hub was New York City, and there was not a lot of country music happening there. Those facts were oblivious to me, because I was just a young girl that fell in love with country music. My parents would play traditional female country music artists like Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and Lynn Anderson. No one told me about the gender gap between male and female country artists. I just knew that I wanted to sing, write, play the guitar, and basically breathe country music. So, I started singing and writing songs when I was nine years old. At twelve years old, I began guitar lessons with a teacher that taught me out of the Berklee College of Music books.

At eighteen years old I auditioned and was accepted into Berklee College of music as a guitar performance major. My first week of classes were very enlightening when I noticed that in almost all of my guitar classes, I was the only female. It never occurred to me that there would be a gender gap between male and female guitar players. I remember being on Spring break and sharing with my Dad the things that I was trying to accomplish at college. He said to me., “ You’re a Mattei, we don’t give up”. That became my musical mantra that echoed through my head. I worked hard every day to be the best guitar player I could be. I would practice six hours a day on many days in a little practice room at the end of the hall in my dorm. It didn’t matter to me if I was a female. All that mattered to me was to work hard and be the best I could be.

It was a week before my graduation from Berklee and I had no idea what I was going to do. There was a note in my mailbox requesting that I audition to be the lead guitar player and singer in an all female Top 40 band. I auditioned and was hired the same evening. From that moment on life changed for me. I was now part of a seven piece all female Top 40 band that included a horn section. We played everything from the Rolling Stones, Chicago, to Cyndi Lauper. We toured the US, overseas to Singapore, and played for the military in Japan and the Philippines. There were no roadies or men to lift our heavy equipment, just us gals living the dream.

I remember playing in Atlantic City and getting to meet the mother of a musician who was a member of a very famous female band that is now in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. At that time, she mentioned to me that except for “that band” there weren’t really many female bands out there. Once again, I was oblivious to the whole thought of a gender gap between male and female music groups. All I could think about was working hard and being the best I could be as Dad’s words echoed in my head. “You’re a Mattei, we don’t give up.”

Three and a half years later, I moved to Nashville to continue my dream to be a country artist and singer/songwriter.

I played the Bluebird Cafe, the Opryland Hotel, and anywhere else that was willing to let me sing and play. Things were tough, and life was messy, but eventually, I put out my first song to country radio. This was followed by other singles and several radio tours. At one of my interviews, I was asked what it was like, being a female in the country music industry. As a woman in the country music industry, I have been able to share my perspective through my singing and songwriting on this musical journey.

Through the break ups, working two to three jobs at the same time, being an abuse survivor, and a woman of faith, the songs have poured out into storytelling lyrics and a voice that sounds like it has weathered the storm.

Once again, all I think about is working hard and trying to be the best I can be as Dad’s words echo in my head, “You’re a Mattei, we don’t give up.” – Re Mattei