Grab a copy: Kyabram-born music writer Joe Matera’s first book is out now.
Former Kyabram and Shepparton musician Joe Matera’s first book on the backstage lives of rock stars is rocketing up the charts.
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Backstage Pass: The Grit and the Glamour was sitting at number 12 on the global publication giant Amazon’s Best Sellers list this week — just two slots behind a book on the songs of Paul McCartney.
“I’ve been blown away by the response,” Joe said about the paperback published just over a week ago.
Joe said the idea for his book came from diaries he had collected during his 20-year career as a music journalist interviewing stars such as guitarist John Mayer, Lemmy from Motorhead, Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music, legendary keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Beatles producer George Martin and countless other pop and rock music icons.
Fellow muso: Joe met Shadows’ guitar legend Hank Marvin in Melbourne in 2007.
As a working musician himself, Joe said music industry shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic provided the perfect opportunity to sit down and write his first book.
“I couldn’t play anywhere, but I love to keep busy and I was just thankful I had diaries with all the entries and dates of stories I had done over the decades,” Joe said.
His articles have been published in music publications across the world including Rolling Stone and Australian Guitar Magazine.
Joe began his musical career as a young man playing in cover bands around the Goulburn Valley during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He went on to become a guitar teacher and later a music writer.
His big journalistic break was getting the first Australian interview with Canadian rockers Nickelback in 2001 when they were a relatively unknown band.
“Six to eight weeks later they were massive and I had my first scoop,” Joe said.
He said he first saw American guitar virtuoso John Mayer play to about 20 people in a bar in Melbourne in 2002.
“I got the chance to meet him face-to-face before he became big — I knew he was something else and he was also a lovely bloke to talk to,” he said.
Witty: Joe interviewed Motorhead wildman “Lemmy” at Vodafone Arena in 2005.
He said when heavy metal band Motorhead came to Australia, he sat down with lead singer Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister at Vodafone arena in 2005.
“Lemmy had a reputation as a real wildman, but he was a real gentleman, respectful around women and very witty,” Joe said.
Perhaps one of Joe’s biggest scoops was an interview with “fifth Beatle” Sir George Martin in 2002.
“He was rock royalty, and I was nervous — I spent weeks researching my questions — I wanted to come up with something different,” Joe said.
Joe said Sir George had knocked back about 60 other interview requests during his Australian visit.
“To be given the opportunity to interview a man of his stature was quite an honour and one of the highlights of my music journalism career,” Joe said.
He said he met the iconic record producer at Melbourne’s Hotel Windsor.
“Standing tall — over six feet — and silver haired, he looked fantastic for his age considering he was 76 by then,” Joe said.
“We sat down and had a cup of tea together — and he was a true gentleman. He told me lots of stories,” Joe said.
A true gentleman: Joe with legendary record producer and “fifth Beatle” Sir George Martin at the Hotel Windsor in 2002.
The publicity blurb for Joe’s book says: “Backstage Pass takes the reader to that holy of holies, the artist's dressing room as they prepare to entertain the masses and in some cases face their demons.”
Joe said in writing his book he wanted to reveal the real life of a working musician.
“I try and show the reality of the business — the travelling, the hotel rooms, the waiting around. It’s a lot of hard work for 90 minutes on stage. But that’s what you do,” he said.
Backstage Pass: The Grit and the Glamour is published by UK publisher Empire Publications.
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