Matt Lewis Band

By Rosey Robards
Anchorage Daily News

Utah's Matt Lewis Band played the first show of their Alaska summer tour at Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse to a packed house Thursday night. The band has traveled to Alaska eight to 10 times within the last four years. I caught them on the phone as they were stopped in Denali for a lunch break while heading toward Fox, Alaska for a gig at the Howling Dog Saloon. My mission: To find out just what it is about Alaska that keeps them coming back.

It takes a bit to get them on topic as the boys, who are well-known jokesters, throw grapes at each other. Bassist Chad Bates slams a chip into lead vocalist Matt Lewis’ chest, leaving the chip shape, ruffles and all, printed on his shirt.

Matt Lewis Band at Humpy's July 19, 2007

“We would come to Alaska even if we didn’t get to play,” said Matt Lewis. “It’s our favorite place. We consider ourselves more of a band that’s from Alaska than from Utah. If you look at our MySpace, all of our friends are from here and our stories are from here.”

Drummer Cameron Runyan lightens the mood by joking they are here to complete his five-year expedition to the center of the earth.

“The North Pole has the best access,” he says.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Q: What is your best memory from an Alaska trip?

Chad: The first time we played the Salmon Bake in Denali (2005). We had to hike a mile up this mountain and the cabin we were staying in was plywood. We stayed up all night playing camp songs and joking around.

Matt: My wife was cold, so she had to sleep between me and Chad.

Chad: Which was weird.

Matt: Weird but exciting!

Cameron: (Lead guitarist) Jamie (Timm) gets naked a lot in Alaska. He walked into a cabin full of strangers naked.

Jamie: When you’ve got a body like mine it is a crime to cover it.

Cameron: Oh! One of my favorite memories is going to the minor league ballpark in Anchorage. We all like baseball and we would jump the fence and sit and have home run derbies and play baseball until like 4 a.m.

The crowd sings along at Humpy's July 19, 2007.

Q: Do you have any traditions?

Cameron: We have a cause called, “Pennies for Denali.” We find all the pennies in our car and pockets and chuck them out the window and yell, “Pennies for Denali!”

Q: Why does Denali need your pennies?

Cameron: Because it’s Denali! Everyone from Romania in Denali needs American pennies. … Actually, it’s so the wildlife choke on them.

Q: Lots of people at Humpy’s knew the words to your songs. Your band has a good fan base here. Do you have any crazy stalker fans or a super fan from Alaska?

Jamie: We had a crazy, old Native fan last night who was showing off her granny bra. … And we need to mention all the groupies that Cameron acquires.

Cameron: No, don’t say that.

Q: Do you guys have a favorite Alaska restaurant?

Matt: Best steak we have ever had at any restaurant is at the Pipeline in Valdez. And we have to say Leroy’s in Anchorage. We go there after every show and have the Leroy’s skillet with gravy or the Monte Cristo. There is a waitress there who knows our names and hooks us up. And the Hilltop Diner in Fox, Alaska. It’s one of those little unknown places, those secrets, those gems.

Q: Any songs about Alaska?

Matt: In “Coming Home to You” we talk about the Northern Lights. We wrote that when we were playing in Fairbanks. It was October and the first time a lot of us had seen them and they were really low. It was just 45 minutes of us staring at the sky.

Q: Matt, what is your favorite Alaska thing to freestyle about?

Matt: All the friends that we made and Alaska experiences that we had. Last night in the freestyle, I talked about Talkeetna when all these kids got naked and were riding snow machines. I ask people what I should freestyle about and they always say Alaska weed. That is my least favorite thing to freestyle about.

Matt Lewis Band will play several Alaska shows through the end of July. Including shows at Humpy's on July 27 and 28. Check their MySpace profile for the full schedule.

Have any good Matt Lewis Band memories? Were you one of the infamous nudemobilers? Give us the story!