Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginger Matthews.
Hi Ginger, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in New Orleans to a blues musician and a music loving florist. I grew up on the East coast singing in choirs, musicals and talent shows, before heading off to SF for college in 2010, where I picked up a heavy psych influence. When I was 20 I moved back to New Orleans and sang with my uncle, Russell Batiste & Friends, Billy Iuso & The Restless Natives, a punk band called The Dommes, and my own solo project. I busked in the French Quarter, sang at Jazz Fest, and on WWOZ, before moving to Austin in 2018. After a couple years of getting my footing here in town, and after covid 19/quarantine, I put a band together in 2021 that was short lived.
After that, I started a new project with my partner Chad, until he passed away from a fentanyl overdose in Feb 2022. After finding him, I spiraled and fell off the scene for a while. It was hard for me to even pick up my guitar for over a year, but in May 2023 I stopped drinking (which had been survival for me for 15 years) and I recommitted myself to my music. Just as I was starting to shake off the stage fright and get back into the swing of things, I was in a terrible motorcycle accident. July 4th, 2024 I was t-boned on my Harley by a Ford SUV. I was in the ICU for a week, hospital for a month, neuro rehab center, wheel chair, brain injury, the whole deal. They almost had to amputate my left pinky but luckily were able to save it, but I play guitar 3 fingered now. I have hearing damage and am severely overstimulated by lights and sound, but I refuse to give up. The accident has truly given me a new lease on life. I had been putting my music on the back burner for far too long, allowing myself to be a workaholic in the service industry, and I feel that this was the universes way of telling me to get real and do what I came here to do. My first few solo shows after my accident were rough. I couldn’t stand yet because I was so weak and my vertigo was so bad, I couldn’t remember my lyrics so I had to have my phone tied to my mic stand, and I still had my pinky in a cast.
Little by little I started getting stronger and by March I put a band together. I’ve played 11 shows with my band since then and have many more booked throughout the fall. I am currently recording songs to add to my streaming pages. I’m learning how to be a modern day musician on the go. There’s way more involved than just being the artist these days, and it’s a lot to juggle, especially for a gal like me. I am truly hell bent on bringing my music to the masses and letting it take me around the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road in the slightest. for almost 20 years I’ve been searching for my bandmates and my place in the music industry. I have the performance and talent locked in, but the business side of things is very tricky. Finding the right musicians to join my band has been one of the biggest struggles. Everyone in Austin is in 5 different bands, wanting to front their own project, or are not serious enough to want to take it somewhere – not to mention mental health issues and substance abuse problems.
Another major struggle is that musicians are barely paid. Even here, in “the live music capital of the world”, most venues pay $50-$75 per band, even on a Friday night. If the bar rings over a certain number, then all the bands from that night can split %15 of the bar sales, which is still barely enough for each member to walk away with $25. When you add together the cost of gear, gas, and the time put into practicing and traveling, musicians are practically playing for free, or like me – paying to play. I make sure my bandmates get a decent pay out per gig, which usually means I’m at least matching whatever the venue pays. I don’t think the public is aware of how bad it truly is for artists, not just here in Austin but in the US in general. Everyone gets their music for free online these days, so it makes it extremely difficult to make a living. I wish there could be an overhaul of the system so that we can show artists how much they are truly appreciated in this mundane world.
These days, artists have to be their own curator, press and marketing team, administrator, technician, studio manager, art handler, social media manager, web designer, application writer, archivist, and photographer who documents the work all at once. It is definitely a lot to take on, especially when you are not tech-savvy, and want to just focus on your art.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a singer and guitarist known for playin bluesy/psych rock’n’roll. I write all my own music and have a dynamic range of styles of rock’n’roll that I play. Another category of original songs that I play, I call my ‘haunted lullabies’. I am heavily influenced by the first 3 decades of blues, rock’n’roll, and American folk, which I think comes out in my music.
I play a late 60’s Guild Galanti, a 3 string cigarbox guitar, and also slide. I think I have a distinct sound that sets me apart from others, not just here in Austin but everywhere. I channel my pain through my music and sing with everything I’ve got, and I think my audiences feel that. I write very personal songs in hopes to not only find catharsis for myself, but hopefully to aide and allow others to have one as well.
I am most proud when people approach me after shows to share their personal stories and/or to let me know that I made them feel something. My goal is exactly that. To give people the comfort and expression that all my favorite artists have given me.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Honestly I am extremely concerned for the music industry. Between ticket sales, streaming services, and AI, I think musicians are only going to continue to struggle. The fact that venues aren’t paying any more that they did in the 90s – with inflation the way it is – it’s no wonder everyone is working multiple jobs, or in multiple bands, or gave up on their dream entirely.
Streaming services have made it so that your are releasing your music for free. Always. Unless you have hundreds of millions of followers, your online music library won’t get you far.
The music industry and service industry are 2 of the most utilized in this country, and yet they are the most overlooked. I wish more of the general public understood why servers are forced to depend on their customers to pay them a living wage, and why musicians are always penniless and hustling in every way they can. It is so backwards. The system needs to be overturned, and establishments need to be held accountable for keeping artists and servers down.
Musicians save people’s lives in all sorts of different ways, and I feel it’s time we are valued as such.
Pricing:
- most shows are free-$15
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sisterscorpio.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sisterscorpioandthestarseeds
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/the.sister.scorpio
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sisterscorpio
Image Credits
Ryan Blake Balderas
