November 2005  

November began with a Pheenomenal start. Pheen, a lean and mean four piece band that blends hard rocking feels with pop friendly melodies, had Scott Mathews sand Tom Leukens put the finishing touches on their debut release for Monkey Wings Records at TikiTown. They give the term 'radio ready' meaning. To quote Jeff Britton; "We have five or six singles we can pull from this record. Every song on the record is my favorite."

With all this work in the studio, it was time for Scott Mathews to feel some autumn in New York. He flew out and had a very successful meeting in the SONY/BMG building with the Sr. Vice President of RCA Victor. Details of that meeting will be made available in future 'Scott Watches' but in the interest of not jinxing anything, let's just say things are looking most promising in regards to both companies.

Upon receiving the good news it was time to celebrate. What better way than to hook up with one of Scott's best pals, Huey Lewis who was starring in ' Chicago' on Broadway. They spent the better part of the day talking and playing music and soon the sun was going down and the curtain was rising on Broadway. Scott reported: "Huey nailed it. He was born for this role and he simply owned it up there. I was so proud. As a matter of fact, this was the first musical theatre show where I didn't catch up on my sleep. Huey has a very promising career in acting if he wants it."

Following the show, they hopped in a limo with Jackie Onassis' former driver and hit the town. The following morning, the New York Post had detailed reports on their exploits in their sightings/gossip page. Apparently Huey and Scott were spotted dining and carrying on at a hipper than thou restaurant downtown in the company of Dave Grohl, Lindsey Lohan and other notables. Surprisingly, one of the most powerful men in the history of recorded music wasn't even mentioned, Tommy Mottola. Oh well, what have you done for me lately, right?

As his East Coast Tour continued, Scott Mathews' next stop was Wilmington, North Carolina for the much-anticipated Bender record release party. The band (discovered by Huey Lewis) and produced by Scott Mathews was having its huge blow out concert to celebrate its phenomenal CD, Bender. The show was packed to the rafters with family, fans, press and seemingly half of Wilmington. Pressed up against the stage were rows of very excited young ladies - always a nice view to play to. When the band took their places, a deafening reception from the crowd erupted as front man Joe Bobbitt took command. Joe has never looked or sounded better - showing an amazing ability to drive the crowd nuts while maintaining focus and nuance to each song. The ladies up front seemed to know every lyric as they sang along with him. After two long sets (the first being the entire CD from beginning to end) he was still full of fire and showed no signs that he couldn't have gone all night long. Meanwhile Bill Buchanan ripped screaming lead guitar solos one after another and carried a boyish charm that had the female portion of the audience swooning. Band members Buddy, Travis and Chris laid down a solid groove and proved this band has done its woodshedding and is now a well-oiled machine with all parts in place. It's obvious they construct buildings in Wilmington to be able to withstand severe hurricanes because if they hadn't, Bender would have blown the roof right off of that building.

SCOTT WATCH! is solely written and posted by Eric Mendelsohn. For information on services available, please contact: esmendelsohn@hotmail.com