The HTD Express: #1 - Matt the Cat from THE JUKE IN THE BACK

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The Chronic Rift Network is proud to present the first in a series of conversations with creative types about the forms/struggles/joys of the creative life.  Handsome Timmy D (Davis) of The Dan & Travis Show presents this series of conversations, uncut and unedited, as he discovers how the creative process is the same despite the difference in mediums as withnessed in his first interview.

Here's how Tim describes the first episode:

"This week, we start with someone who is truly excellent at what they decided to do. Matt The Cat is a renowned and acclaimed DJ with experience ranging high school radio to world-famous WERS at Emerson College all the way to his own prime-time show that ran nearly a decade on XM/Sirius. And he’s not stopped there. You’ll hear more about his adventures in the interview, but suffice to say he’s been entertaining a multitudinous and voluminous audience for over 2 decades."

Comment on this episode here or by writing john@chronicrift.com.

Matt The Cat spent the better part of the last decade howlin’ nightly to a national audience over XM Satellite Radio’s 50s channel.  On weeknight The Night Prowl Show with Matt The Cat  took radio listeners prowling around the back alleys of early rock n’ roll and rhythm and blues.  Matt interviewed and profiled such rock n’ roll legends as Lloyd Price, Aaron Neville, Big Jay McNeely, Dale Hawkins, Earl “Speedo” Carroll of The Cadillacs. Also Earl Lewis of the Channels, Pookie Hudson of The Spaniels, Sonny Burgess, Johnny Maestro and rockabilly guitar king James Burton just to name a few.   Matt’s focus on doo wop, R&B, rockabilly and early rock n’ roll is unmatched on American radio today.  He delivers the “story behind the story” on the hits that enthusiasts remember and the rarities that should have been hits.

Matt The Cat has spent the last 20 years in radio, beginning at the tender age of 13 when his career began, hosting an Oldies radio show on the little 710 watts community radio station WBMT in Boxford, MA.  He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he hosted a weekly classic soul music show called “The Soul Bucket.” It was there he interviewed the legendary Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band. Others included Barrence Whitfiled, Bernie Worell, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson, and Otis Clay.

Matt The Cat arrived at XM Satellite just before the historic launch of the nation’s first satellite radio company in June of 2001. Matt’s “Night Prowl Show” was the only live, national call-in request show of its kind to focus on the hits. Including the deep tracks that so many early rock n’ roll fans long for. In 2002, Matt The Cat began hosting a weekly R&B show called “Harlem.” He featured the  soul that came before rock n’ roll and focused on post WWII rhythm and blues  the music that shaped rock n’ roll.  Music historian and singer and songwriter Billy Vera often appeared on the show to offer insight on such topics as West Coast doo wop and R&B. Other topics often included were vocal groups with bird names and the history of iconic record labels.  Matt became the Music Director of the 50s channel to his duties in 2004 and he continued to host “Harlem” and “The Night Prowl Show” until October of 2008.

Matt The Cat currently hosts a weekly syndicated rhythm and blues show called the “Juke In The Back,” which airs on both public and commercial radio stations nationally.  Matt also hosts a podcast called “The Friday Night Cat Fight” at www.fridaynightcatfight.com.

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