Cape Breton's Magazine

From Talks with Matt Minglewood From interviews by Chariene Kosick and CAPE BRETON'S MAGAZINE I played Scottish music on the fiddle. When I was 6 and 7 I took fiddle lessons. That's how I started. My grandfather played fiddle music. That's all my family ever listened to was Scottish fiddle music. (What was your grandfather's name?) His name was John Batherson. from Port Hood. He was a fiddler back then. I'd be sitting on his lap, and he'd be playing. And he died not long after that. And he was in his 80s then. For his time, and his day, he would do the local dances around Port Hood and stuff. ing, going to play hockey--I'm going to take my fiddle lessons, you know. So I got teased a lot about it. So that's why I quit doing it. Back then the only thing they played on the radio was country music, of the time. And they would have, on the week? ends , they would have the Top Ten on Sunday afternoon, of rock. But most of the music they played at that time--what was pop mu? sic then--was country music, basically. Hank Snow, Hank Williams Sr,, people like that. They had me, my first professional--well, my first engagement wasn't professional, it was amateur--but in front of an audience was at age 4, singing two Gaelic songs in Port Hood, at the local church hall. And I was scared to death. (Did you keep up your Gaelic at all?) No, I--they taught me pho? netically, taught me how to sing these songs. At age 4 I couldn't hardly speak English! When we moved to North Sydney I was about 7. That's when I was taking fiddle lessons there. And then I saw Elvis Presley on "Ed Sulli? van." That was a family thing--every Sunday you'd sit down and watch "Ed Sullivan." And Elvis came on, and my father and mother were just shocked. But I remember that feeling that I got from seeing him doing that. It was like--I suppose it was wild abandon, and I loved the energy that he was giving off, the energy that was coming from the man and the music. It just sort of--I didn't know what it was at that time, but I just knew I liked it. So, an3rway, I quit playing fiddle and started playing hockey, because of peer pressure. Saturday, everyone's going skat- (How old are you when you hear Elvis?) Oh, God, I don't know how old I would have MATT MINGLEWOOD CONTINUES ON PAGE 21