Andrew Morris of the bluegrass band The Matchsellers says Kansas City has its own bluegrass identity, and he and his partner, fiddler Julie Bates, are proud to be a part of it. But their story starts in Leipzig, Germany, where they met as students busking on the streets.
“We both studied German independently of one another,” Morris explains. “We both were what they called ‘cultural ambassadors,’ but we were basically working in schools, helping teachers.”
Bates grew up in Missouri, playing violin in the school orchestra. Her introduction to bluegrass came when she attended a small fiddle camp in Ottawa, Kan., and learned “Orange Blossom Special.” They were both fairly new to bluegrass when they met as buskers. “She would show me ‘Tallahassee’ (a fiddle tune popularized by Bill Monroe), and I was like, ‘Whoa, I've never heard that tune before.’ I was just kind of getting into the music a little bit, too. So I feel like we learned it and discovered the music together.”
Morris did not grow up steeped in the music, unlike many bluegrass musicians. “I'm from the flat part of northern Indiana and I had to look around hard to find people who come from that tradition. When I went down to college in southern Indiana, I met a guy who played mandolin, and he was all into Bill Monroe. And another guy I met played banjo, and he took me to Bean Blossom (a bluegrass festival) for the first time, and I was hooked on that from there.”
Morris assumed he’d return from overseas to become a German teacher. Instead, when he and Bates moved to her hometown of Kansas City, they followed their bluegrass heart. “I got offered a teaching job, and I was getting ready to do that, but I just always wanted to do the music thing. And Julie was really encouraging to say, ‘You know what? The worst that could happen is we run out of money. And then you go become a German teacher or whatever.’ A lot of our education just came from booking gigs and living out of our car for like five years and buying bluegrass CDs wherever we went. I mean, we'd just buy these eight CD Stanley Brothers compilations and Don Stover recordings. I got really into Don Stover.”
Morris and Bates perform as The Matchsellers--usually as a duo, but sometimes as a band--and are known for their accomplished musicianship and original and unique approach to bluegrass. They’re mainstays of the Midwest festival circuit and continue to release creative and compelling recordings. Their recent showcase at Folk Alliance was an acknowledgment of their growing popularity. And The Matchsellers strive to put on an entertaining show because, to Morris, that’s part of the bluegrass DNA.
“I was really, really inspired by that Dillards’ Live!!!!, Almost!!! Album. Just, like, how hilarious that was. And if you watch some of the old Don Reno and Red Smiley videos, you can find stuff that is entertaining, really fun, and just weird. And I love that part of bluegrass that I tend to feel like is overlooked by a lot of people in the tradition because they try to take the music so seriously.
“It's not just the Tony Rice hot licks or the murder ballads. Bluegrass is that, and it's all this other stuff, too. So, I've always tried to do that kind of stuff and maybe highlight that kind of goofy, theatrical side of the music that sometimes gets overlooked. So, maybe that makes us unique.”
While The Matchsellers delight crowds with their faithful renditions of traditional tunes and bluegrass favorites, Morris’s original songs reflect astounding creativity. Bluegrastronauts is a “space opera” album. The Wishful Thinkers Hall of Fame includes a 16-page chapbook with accompanying stories and illustrations.
Morris contends that Kansas City bluegrass, though perhaps overlooked nationally, has a unique character--one that he finds welcoming.
“I think it's maybe a little wilder. I think it's a little more driving. It's a little bit, maybe more punk rock. Punk grass stuff. It’s a little bit wilder, a little bit crazier, and it's not so tied to a particular tradition. So it really feels like you can play anything out here. It's almost like the Wild West. You feel like you can play anything out here and make it bluegrass.”
The Matchsellers have recently released a live album and have booked a busy festival season. Morris and Bates also have a number of gigs in Europe this summer. Wherever they play, Morris strives to put on a show.
“I really hope that people get their money's worth,” he says. “I don't want it to be a vanity project for me. I want the people to enjoy themselves and have a good time because I think people's time is really, really valuable. They don't have to sit there and watch me. They can get up and go and do anything else. And if we're not doing a good job, I think they probably should just get up and go somewhere else. But hopefully, we can do something that gives them a good value for their time.”