Donkey Coffee and Espresso’s Saturday concert brings musicians William Matheny and Sam Mathes.
William Matheny will soon be waking up in Ohio, just as he sings of in his single “Blood Moon Singer.”
Matheny returns to Athens on Saturday at 8 p.m to perform at Donkey Coffee and Espresso along with Ohio University student Sam Mathes.
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Having performed in nearly 75 venues, Matheny said his band has been all around the country.
Most of his time is spent with his band, a five-member group dubbed William Matheny & the Strange Constellations, but this weekend happens to be a rare moment when he performs solo. His bandmates include Adam L. Meisterhans, Bud Carroll, Ian Thornton and Rod Elkins.
“I got started as a teen playing in the usual long series of bands, varying in quality and seriousness,” Matheny said.
Eventually meeting up with Southeast Engine, a band based in Athens, Matheny spent five years playing the keyboard. Now, he divides his time equally between keys and guitar.
After recent gigs in Columbus and Cincinnati, he is back in the place that was home base for his old band. He will return in April to play at Casa Nueva.
“(Athens) has been a very formative thing in my music,” he said.
Matheny said he categorizes himself as a rock ’n’ roll artist.
“You try to write about as much of your own experience as possible … be as honest as possible,” he said. “I think people know the truth when they hear it.”
Matheny’s most recent album came out in 2006. In the decade since, he’s just been playing.
He said he always jokes around when asked about the possibility of a new album. Even though he plans to release one in the spring of this year, he still approached the question with sarcasm.
“My next album will be out before the democratic process comes to China,” he said.
Mathes, a sophomore studying music production and psychology, will share Donkey’s stage.
Mathes hails from Columbus, a city which he said has one of the best music scenes in the midwest.
“I’ve seen countless amounts of people come through Columbus, and it has kind of shaped me and my own music to some extent,” he said.
His relationship with music started at a young age. His dad, a big influence, was a roadie for a band in high school and is now a guitar technician.
“I listen to music pretty much every second of every day that I could possibly be listening to music,” he said.
Mathes plays a number of instruments, including guitar, keys, bass and ukulele. His lyrics can be dark.
“Some of the times I’ve sat down to write haven’t been products of too much joy,” he said.
As a singer and guitarist for a band in high school, he played around Columbus until the band ended with graduation. His previous band, Offside Apollo, has an EP What's Left On Earth, which can be found on iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp.
Mathes has been solo ever since, but he hopes to someday join a band again.
“I’m not the most outgoing. I kind of need other guys behind me, guys or girls, to give me a little bit of a boost,” he said.
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