RIP Scott Mathews

It is with a heavy heart that I annouce the passing of one of the founding members of the Butthole Surfers, Scott Mathews.

Scott was drummer fer the band from it's incarnation in Spring of 1981 until August of 1982. During his tenure, the band wrote dozens of songs, many of which comprise the first two LPs, 'A Brown Reason to Live' and 'Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac'. Some, like "I Love You Peggy" and "Perry", were recorded years after he had left the band. Many more never saw a proper release.

In March of 1982, Scott's brother Quinn joined the Buttholes to play bass. The Mathews Bros. rhythm section is what many consider the band at its finest. Though never officially touring, they did make it out of Texas to play Phoenix and the West Coast, and even recorded a demo with famed SST house producer Spot. Those sessions remain unreleased as the band was unable to fork up the $300 charge fer the tapes.

In 2001, Chris Smart, a local stalwart in the Austin punk scene, and brother of another BHS member, Terence Smart, conducted an interview with many of the members of the band...Here is a transcript of his interview with Scott:



THE ORIGINAL BAND WAS ME PAUL GIBBY AND SCOTT STEVENS. ANDREW MULLENS REPLACED SCOTT. A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT WAS THE BEST INCARNATION OF THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS.
WE PLAYED AS THE BLEEDING SKULLS, EL BATMAN, ASHTRAY BABY HEADS, ALL KINDS OF SHIT.
GIBBY WAS A BASKETBALL PLAYER AND BUSSINESS MAJOR AND A BUTTHOLE SURFER. WE WERE ALL MAKING ART AND MUSIC AND THEATER. TRINITY WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY NEVER ADMITTED ANYBODY LIKE US AGAIN.

I TALKED PAUL AND GIBBY INTO DOING SOMETHING BECAUSE THE WHOLE PUNK THING WAS SO STRONG. WE GOT TOGETHER AND STARTED JAMMING WITH NO BASS PLAYER AND THEN WE ADDED SCOTT STEVENS ON BASS. THAT WAS THE END OF 1980 OR EARLY 81.
PAUL AND I WERE ART MAJORS AT TRINITY AND GIBBY WAS PAULS BEST FRIEND WHO WAS MAJORING IN BUSINESS. PAUL USED TO GO AROUND S.A. WRITING THINGS ON PEOPLES DOORS AND STUFF. HE HAD LITTLE XEROX THINGS WITH LITTLE PHRASES LIKE "SELF CONTAINED UNIT" THAT HE USED TO PASTE ON PEOPLES DOORS. HE WAS INTO THAT WHOLE GUERILLA ART THING.
WE WERE SORTA DOING PERFORMANCE ART THINGS. GIBBY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GUYS ON CAMPUS TO JUMP INTO THE WHOLE PUNK THING. THERE WAS A CORE GROUP OF US. WE WERE ALL ART MAJORS. GANG OF FOUR WAS A BIG INFLUENCE AND THE JAM AND ALL THE BRITISH GROUPS. THE CALI THING CAME IN LATER.

PAUL HAD PLAYED GUITAR SINCE HE WAS A LITTLE KID. HE SORTA REVEALED IT ONE DAY. EVERY WEEKEND WE WERE GOING UP TO AUSTIN SEEING BANDS BECAUSE THE WHOLE PUNK THING HAD EXPLODED. THE ENERGY OF THE AUSTIN SCENE WAS OVERTAKING ALL OF US. WE WERE JUST SMOKIN POT AND DRINKING BEER. ONE DAY PAUL SAID HE PLAYED GUITAR AND I FOUND A SET OF DRUMS AND LEARNED TO PLAY.

WE WERE JUST SCREWING AROUND TRYING TO FIND A NAME. WE PUT 8 SONGS TOGETHER AND FOR THE OPENING NIGHT OF MY ART SHOW AT THIS TINY GALLERY WE PLAYED AS DICK SMOKE OR THE DICK CLARK FIVE.

WE STARTED PLAYING UP IN AUSTIN CAUSE PAUL AND GIBBY HAD SENT OUR TAPE UP TO THE BIG BOYS WHICH WERE LIKE AUSTIN'S NUMBER 1 PUNK BAND AND THEY’D STARTED PASSING OUR TAPE AROUND AND BECAUSE WE HAD A SONG ON THE TAPE CALLED BUTTHOLE SURFER, PEOPLE USED TO YELL OUT FOR IT. WE PLAYED UP THERE ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE TIMES AS THE BLEEDING SKULLS AND DIFFERENT NAMES EVERY SHOW BUT BECAUSE OF THAT SONG, BUTTHOLE SURFER JUST SORTA TOOK OVER.

ANDREW REPLACED SCOTT AND THEN WE STARTED PLAYING ALL OVER THE PLACE IN AUSTIN, HOUSTON AND DALLAS AS THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS. THE FIRST YEAR WE DID THE BAND GIBBY WAS WORKING AS AN ACCOUNTANT. HE’D COME STRAIGHT FROM WORK TO PRACTICE IN HIS SUIT AND THEN HE’D TAKE HIS SUIT OFF AND WE’D START PRACTICING AS THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS. IT WENT ON FOR AT LEAST A YEAR LIKE THAT UNTIL HE COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE AND QUIT HIS JOB. BUTTHOLE MANOR ON WOODLAWN WAS WHERE IT ALL STARTED. I SOLD MY CAR AND BOUGHT A 1976 CHEVY VAN SO WE COULD HAUL OUR SHIT AROUND TEXAS.

ONE PRACTICE GIBBY RAN INTO MY BATHROOM AND CAME OUT WITH A TOILET PAPER ROLL AND SANG THROUGH IT INTO THE MIC AS AN EFFECT.IT WAS THE TOILET PAPER ROLL THAT LED TO THE BULL HORN. I HAD A SAX THAT I USED TO PLAY AT OUR EARLY SHOWS AND GIBBY STARTED PLAYING IT LATER JUST SORT OF SQUEAKING AND MAKING NOISE WITH IT.

WE THOUGHT IF WE’RE REALLY GONNA MAKE IT WE GOTTA GO TO CALI CAUSE THAT WAS LIKE THE ANT BED OF THE WHOLE SCENE IN THE U.S. WE HAD CONNECTIONS OUT THERE WITH MDC AND THE BIG BOYS WHO WERE OUT THERE AT THE TIME SO WE SET UP SOME SHOWS. ANDREW LOST HIS MARBLES AND LEFT THE BAND. QUINN WENT OUT AS THE BASS PLAYER.



THE FIRST NIGHT WE GOT THERE WE MET THIS LADY WHO LET US MOVE INTO HER HOUSE ON FORMOSA AVE FOR LIKE A MONTH.

WE PLAYED WITH THE MINUTEMEN AT THE GRANDE ROOM AND WORD GOT AROUND ABOUT US REALLY QUICKLY. WE WENT UP TO S.F. AND PLAYED THIS GIG AND JELLO BIAFRA SAW US AND FREAKED OUT. A WEEK LATER JELLO HAD US OPEN FOR THE DK AND TSOL AT THE WHISKEY. IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS WE EVER DID.GIBBY WAS DOING HIS TOILET PAPER THING AND STRIPPING DOWN TO HIS BOXERS. WE HAD THESE HUGE BAGS OF PAPER COCKROACHES WE WERE DUMPING ON THE AUDIENCE. GIBBY WAS INTO ROACHES. THERE WERE SO MANY ROACHES IN S.A. THAT HE DECIDED TO MAKE IT ART. WE’D TAKE CLOTHES AND STUFF THEM WITH CHEESE BURGERS AND MOUSE TRAPS AND CONDOMS AND TEAR THEM APART AT SHOWS AND THROW THEM AT THE CROWD.WE PLAYED LIKE 2 OR 3 ENCORES THEY WERE STILL YELLING FOR US WHEN THE DK CAME ON STAGE. THAT’S WHEN WE KNEW WE WERE LIKE A NATIONAL BAND. EVERYBODY IN L.A. WAS TALKING ABOUT US THE NEXT DAY.

WE WERE PLAYING LIKE 25 SONGS BY THEN, A LOT OF THEIR GREATEST SONGS LIKE NEGRO OBSERVER AND RADICAL WESTERN WORLD.

WE WERE HANGING OUT WITH BLACK FLAG AND SPOT WHO RECORDED THEM SAID WE NEED TO GET YOU GUYS ON VINYL. WE ARRANGED A STUDIO SESSION WITH SPOT PRODUCING AND CUT A LOT OF THE EARLY SONGS LIKE WHITE DUMB UGLY AND POOR, SOMETHING, NEGRO OBSERVER, MATCHSTICK, BUTTHOLE SURFER IT WAS IN THE SUMMER OF 82.

WE WERE IN CALI FOR LIKE 2 MONTHS. WE PLAYED LIKE 8 OR 9 SHOWS AND WE WERE LIKE AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS. JELLO WANTED TO SIGN US TO ALT TENTACLES. WE WERE LIKE COLLEGE GUYS WHO STARTED A BAND TO ENTERTAIN OURSELVES BUT AFTER CALI WE REALIZED WE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL.

WE CAME BACK TO TEXAS CAUSE IT WAS CHEAPER TO LIVE THERE AND WE WERE STARTING TO FIGHT. I THINK GIBBY TRIED TO GET ON A GAMESHOW. I STARTED HAVING 2ND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BAND BECAUSE I WANTED TO GO BE A WRITER. WE PLAYED SOME SHOWS IN TEXAS

AFTER I LEFT I NEVER THOUGHT THEY’D BE LIKE U2 BUT I THOUGHT THEY'D DO OKAY. THEY WERE SO INCREDIBLY BLASPHEMOUS THAT I THOUGHT THEYD NEVER BE RADIO FRIENDLY ENOUGH. IN THE EARLY DAYS WE HAD MUCH MORE OF A POP SENSIBILITY BUT LATER ON THEY STARTED DOING ALL THAT REALLY WEIRD SHIT. YOU CAN’T BE LIKE A CIRCUS SIDE SHOW FOREVER. AT SOME POINT YOU GOTTA MAKE MONEY.

WE PLAYED WITH THE DK IN DALLAS AND PAUL AND GIBBY TOOK ALL THE MONEY AND WENT TO GIBBYS DADS HOUSE AND THEY DIDN’T WANT TO PAY ME AND QUINN SO I GOT IN A FIST FIGHT WITH GIBBY IN MR PEPPERMINTS FRONT YARD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. THAT WAS THE LAST TIME I PLAYED WITH THEM. IT’S A SHAME CAUSE WE WERE ALL SUCH GREAT FRIENDS BEFORE.

(c) 2001 Chris Smart

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Unfortunately, very little in the way of live recordings has surfaced from this crucial period fer the band, although many old BOSS demos have come into circulation. Since King has expressed that he didn't want demos to appear on the web, I bring this gem instead. While it DOES appear on archive.org, this is a brand new transfer and is much better sounding than the one put up there.

A recording featuring many of the staples of the time period, and an amazing performance by the classic Mathews bros line-up:



Butthole Surfers
Bonham Exchange,
San Antonio, TX
May 27, 1982

SBD(x)>Onkyo TA-RW344 w\ azimuth correction>Cooledit Pro 2.0>.wav>flac (level 8)

1) Matchstick
2) BBQ Pope
3) (middle class u.s.a.)
4) D.O.A.
5) Radical West
6) Desert
7) I Hate My Job
8) Negro Observer
9) White, Dumb, Ugly & Poor
10) DNA
11) (werewolves)
12) Butthole Surfer
13) (I don’t know why)
14) Holy Man
15) (time to go)
16) Mexican Caravan

You can download this show here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EZAGQ1F7


My condolences go out to Quinn and the Mathews family