Twice as Good & The John Mattern Band

This Sunday, August 10th in Todd Grove Park at 6:00pm Fowler Auto & Truck Center, The City of Ukiah, KWNE-FM and MAX 93.5 are proud to present the fifth concert of the 23rd annual Sundays in the Park concert series featuring the Mendocino/Lake local favorites Twice as Good and The John Mattern Band.
 
Winners of the Blues Category at the 10th Annual Indian Summer Music Awards in Milwaukee, ‘Twice As Good’ is the professional name of the music duo formed by father and son duo Richard and Paul Steward. Richard had grown up around music all his life, having learned to play guitar and sing Country music from his mom. When Paul was a young teenager at 14, Richard taught Paul to play guitar, encouraging him to be a Lead Guitarist. Paul, inspired by B.B. King began imitating the electric blues guitar he heard on the radio and CD's, also practicing his vocals. In May 2003 they debuted as "Twice As Good, 2XG". Since then they have been all over the USA, released 6 albums, gained a West Coast Blues Award and a Native American Music Award, a great write-up in the San Francisco Chronicle, shared the stage with many legends and famous artists, and continue to garner success and praise with Paul leading the band through flashy show tunes with soulful vocals, screaming guitar, and unbelievable stage presence.

The name "Twice As Good" is not a claim of status. To Paul & Rich it is a dedication to hard work and quality of craft; about believing in one's self, not being shy, and having the courage to try something as hard as becoming a successful professional musician. They were once told, "you can't make it in the music business, you got to be twice as good," so they replied, "well all right then. We will be, Twice As Good."
 
The John Mattern Band will be playing styles that include Dancing Blues, Americana, funk, originals and funkabilly. John Mattern has the unique ability to interpret styles from Gershwin to Coltrane, J. S. Bach to Dexter Gordon. John grew up in Ukiah California, initially developing his musical skills playing the five-string banjo and moving onto guitar, sax, piano, guitar, slide guitar and pedal steel guitar and many more instruments. Mattern has recorded and performed on stage as a sideman for countless artist such as jazz legends George Russell and Gerald Wilson, as well as Boston's North Shore Symphony, The New England Saxophone Quartet, The Temptations, Bonnie Raitt, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Spencer Brewer, Alex DeGrassi, Rootstock and many others. He is also singer-songwriter-guitarist. 10 years as a music educator in the Ukiah area, Mattern is now the director of music at Redwood High in Larkspur Calif. 
 
Guitarist Jeff Massanari, Mattern’s sideman for the past several years has performed at Yoshi’s international Jazz House, Pearl’s, Davies Symphony Hall, national festivals including, San Jose Jazz Festival, Fillmore Jazz Festival, North Beach Jazz Festival, The Sausalito Arts Festival. internationally Jeff has performed in Japan, Sweden, Finland, Guam, and Italy at the Umbria Jazz Festival. 
 
Joining Mattern on Bass is Dewayne Pate. Dewayne has worked with a wide array of artists including Huey Lewis & The News, Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur, Robben Ford, Jose Neto, Pat Benatar, Tracy Nelson, Pete Escovedo, Ray Obiedo, Bonnie Hayes, Charlie Musselwhite, Ruthie Foster, Henry Butler, Long John Baldry, Roy Rogers, Chris Cain, Duke Robillard, Betty LaVette, Rad, and others.Dewayne has been a columnist for Bassics Magazine, and has recently toured with Grammy winning trumpet virtuoso Arturo Sandoval. 

Drummer, Alan Hall, Mattern’s drummer since 2005 will be with the band on the kit. Alan has performed at: WAMU Theatre @ Madison Square Garden w/ Cirque du Soleil; The Monterey Jazz Festival with Billy Childs and Bob Sheppard; He taught at Berklee College of Music from 1986 to 1993.