Most people dream of running off to join the circus, percussionist Matthew Burgess did the next best thing, “ Nashville is like living under the big top at the circus. You’re friends with the sword swallower and the bearded lady and the fire breather and the strong man. It’s really kind of cool. It’s like a musical ivory tower, I think. There are conversations we have here in Nashville that make no sense in most of the cities in America. It’s funny how many times other places you’ll have the conversation, ‘You do what for a living? You play music? You can do that?’ Where as here, it’s like, my neighbor is a professional guitarist, the one across the street is a bass player, it’s just a place where you can actually make that happen, and you’re not an outcast! It’s like a magnet; it’s a blessing and a curse. You’ll get a lot of people here that will do the same job for half the price coz they are hungry and looking for work, which make it hard for those of us who are trying to make a living doing it, but at the same time you get really talented people from all over the place who come here, it’s almost like they are coming to you.”

Making a living among the calliope’s and harlequins isn’t always simple, “Sometimes people call me, but it’s a lot of word of mouth, it’s a lot of hustling every day is like job interviews. You kind of approach every gig, yeah this is a great gig, but how can I get my next gig from this gig? You’re always working the room, seeing who’s there, talking to people, handing out way too many business cards. A lot of follow up emails.”

Leaving his home in Seattle, Washington, four and a half years ago, Matthew shares his unique perspective, “I spend all my time making other people’s songs sound better. The song is always going to tell you what to do. If you try to impose yourself on the song, then you’re trying to bend the song to your own will to make yourself look better. That’s not the job of a musician; the job of a musician is to make the song better. What’s the statement that this person is trying to say, what’s the vision that they are trying to convey? What’s it all about, what’s the emotion, what’s the message. You can do little subtle things, where you play and where you don’t play and how little you play around what you play, what’s the words? You can easily help that artist convey their message and honestly make that song better.”

Matthew chose his part in the sideshow early on, “I remember at a very young age going to a concert with my parents and I remember thinking I want to be a singer, I want to be an entertainer like that. Fortunately for the world, my brother actually owned a drum set; so you don’t have to listen to my singing voice,” he says laughing. “Listen to the rhythm instead. But that’s kinda how it came about, he played drums in high school and he got this horrible ugly orange drum set, but I got excited about it seeing it down there in the basement, so when it got to 5th grade band and it was time to choose an instrument, it was an easy choice. I just gradually started playing more percussion. It’s loud in the drummer world. That’s probably another reason I started doing the percussion set more - it’s quieter. You don’t just clobber the song with a bunch of cymbals.”

Before his trek to Nashville, Matthew started out with his own personal audience, “There are five kids in my family, two brothers, and two sisters. I’m the youngest, so I got to learn a little bit from each one of them. Two of them live back in Washington State, one lives in Portland, Oregon, and one lives in Hawaii.”

“My family was hesitant about this career for a long time, thinking it was just a hobby or a thing that would pass. Now my parents come out here and I take them to all my gigs, introduce them to all my friends and all the different stars I play with. They just eat it up. They love it. They think there’s nothing like bragging about me and putting little articles about me in the church bulletin back home.”

“I had about ever service industry job there is, immediately before I was working in a Brewery, making beer. You throw out your back enough times throwing around beer kegs and you’re ready for a change. Drumsticks are a lot lighter.”

Matthew started his path to Nashville by being at the right place at the right time, “About ten years ago, I was at a show that had a bunch of superstars, and big rock bands and they needed a percussionist. I was the one guy that knew how to do it. I got there and thought, I can do this, this ain’t no big deal. A few months later, I quit my day job and started doing it full time.”

Known around town as, “The Percussionator,” you can find Matthew many nights playing at the Blue Bar in Nashville with Amanda Williams or the band O’Shea.

Stories from the center ring aren’t about the type situations you hear everyday, and that’s what makes it fun. “I played this one bar where the bartender is a vampire. She has those fake teeth. She was cleaning out the bathroom and she accidentally dropped her teeth in the toilet. She wouldn’t go back in for them, so we passed around the tip jar to try and buy her a new set of teeth,” he relays laughing a hearty laugh.

“Life is short; we’re blessed to be on this planet for as long as we are. ‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may’,” Matthew says quoting the Robert Herrick poem. “You don’t have to be reckless, but there’s a lot to grab in this world. Grab what you can and make people happy. It’s pretty easy, really. Everyday is an adventure.”