Matt Mays — rock and roll gourmand
Juno-winning rocker Matt Mays is now sharing a kitchen with celebrity chef Christine Tizzard
You can forgive Matt Mays if he’s starting to seem a little less of the skinny rock and roller we’ve come to know over the past 15 years.
A couple of years ago, he moved from his native Nova Scotia to downtown Toronto, where he shares a house with Christine Tizzard, host of CBC’s “Best Recipes Ever” and author of the “Honest to Goodness” cookbook.
Mays, who spent a few years trying to lead a vegetarian life, is now living the life of a meat-eating gourmand.
“I’m eating too well, it’s becoming an issue,” the Juno-winner tells The Spectator while standing in Tizzard’s well-appointed kitchen. “When you live with Christine Tizzard you start eating everything under the sun.”
Mays, 39, enjoys cooking himself but admits Tizzard’s in a different culinary league.
“I just live here and try to change the light bulbs,” he says. “I’m a very fortunate individual, but I do wash a lot of dishes.”
Mays is performing a rare acoustic concert Sunday Feb. 10 at Hamilton’s central library as part of a tour to promote his new release “Twice Upon a Hell of a Time.”
The album is a stripped down acoustic reprise of his 2017 rocker “Once Upon a Hell of a Time.”
“I just wanted to do a sit-down, mellow, cosy evening,” Mays explains about the acoustic shows, “give everybody’s ears a break and make it more about the songs. I’m also working on some new arrangements of some old songs. It’s going to be a
one-of-a-kind sort of thing. I’m doing a couple of songs off every album. ”
He’ll be backed by fellow East Coast musicians Adam Baldwin and Ryan Stanley on guitars, mandolin and lap steel, and Peterborough’s Melissa Payne on fiddle and backing vocals.
“It’s going to be a bit of an East-Coast fish party,” Mays says.
Mays was born in Hamilton, but his family moved to Nova Scotia when he was six. He knows Hamilton well, though, spending summers here with relatives.
“I still have lots of family in Hamilton — cousins and uncles and aunts and all sorts of Hamilton connections,” he says. “I see Hamilton’s become the cool spot in Ontario, kind of like Dartmouth in Nova Scotia.”
With a sound reminiscent of American rock legend Tom Petty, Mays’ career took off in 2004 with the hit single “Cocaine Cowgirl.” Mays bounced back in 2008 with his band El Torpedo and the album “Terminal Romance” and its singles “Tall Trees” and “Building a Boat.”
Despite multiple nominations, Mays finally won his first Juno in 2014 for his album “Coyote.”
Mays has found new discipline living in downtown Toronto and is working on songs for a new album.
“I have a pretty good work ethic these days. I get up every morning and in the studio working on tunes. I’m always keeping the wheels turning.”