Loverboy Fan Club News (Spring 1983)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, March 7, 1954.
It was a red letter day for Mr.and Mrs. Frenette as their first child was born. They named him Matthew Robert Frenette. You can imagine this bundle of energy kicking and waving his tiny hands, eager to get on with whatever the world had to offer. His mother must have known from the beginning that this baby boy with the huge olive brown eyes was someone extra special. Matt credits his parents for being very supportive and helpful in the formative years of his career. In his youth, he was always involved in sports, enjoying hockey, football, soccer and Chesterfield rugby. He started playing the drums at the age of 3 (Bongos) and his very first ambition was "to learn side two of Harry Belafonte's Greatest Hits." With enthusiasm and excitement his constant companions, Matt never desires for something to do. "Spare time" is an unknown term. Whether it be music, which has become a very successful business for him, or athletics, in which he actively participates . . . or sports cars, another of his favorite things, he's always busy.
On the subject of cars he has this to say: "I've been into sports cars for several years. It's kind of a bad vice. They've always interested me, and now I can better afford it. I could buy a different car every week to experience them. I like to get into different driving feels. I have two totally different cars. One is a TR6 which is a convertible - a British made car, a fun car to go out and get your hair blown and tan on a sunny day. It's real rattley and shakey, and makes a bunch of noise. It would be difficult for a woman to drive. It's so stiff to steer and hard to maneuver around town and in parking. It's a real masculine car - large tires and all. Then the other car is an RX7 '82 Mazda or, as they say in the States, Maahzda. It's really smooth and quiet. You can't even really hear it. Sometimes when I'm idling in town, I think I've stalled. I have to look at the tachometer, because it's a rotary motor and has no pistons. It's really smooth, having no moving parts. You don't need valve jobs and stuff. So I bought a car that is totally at the other end of the spectrum from the TR6."
Several members of LOVERBOY have bought homes in Vancouver recently. Matt had this to say about his new place: "I bought a house that was built in 1944, and it had some renovation done in the '60's. The house is really well built. It's kind of California Ranch-style. I want to make a few changes and build a solarium. It looks to the south and gets lots of sun. It's on an acre of land with many trees, some of which are being topped to take advantage of the picturesque setting, with little gardens and hedges."
A place to call home is new to Matt - "Usually when I come home, I stay in hotels in town when we do an album. That gets to be very costly. When you come off the road, you want to have a place to stay and settle. This is really my first chance to settle since LOVERBOY began. We have been on the road basically, for 2 1/2 years. Just work, work, work! That's been O.K. It's really helped with the band at that level. Now everybody has time for lifestyles and has a chance to relax and hang up their coats in their own closets. That's been great! I'm really into pets and things. I have a brindle colored Great Dane and a couple of cats."
One of Matt's hidden talents is not unrelated to the fact that his big indulgence is 'good food'. Matt is a very fine cook, and has even been asked to appear as a Celebrity Chef on TV. His specialties are teriyaki chicken and poached salmon done on a barbeque. Maybe we can get him to share a recipe with us sometime. Interestingly enough, one of his favorite foods is RAW oysters!
The new album, being imminent, is on everyone's mind. You'll be interested to hear what Matt has to tell you about his significant role in the recording of the LOVERBOY sound. The drums -- the heartbeat of the band.
"I like to work really quickly, because for me, when you start the album, the weight is on my shoulders. You do what you call 'the bed tracks', your basic rhythm tracks. You concern yourself with the drums mostly to start. Like building a house, you start with the foundation. The drums are the foundation of the music. We have to get the drums to sound very energetic, very LOVERBOY, very Matt Frenette, so that I'm really working at my peak. It takes a few days to get the drum sounds, the feel of the studio, the headphones and everything. The guys will ask, 'What song do you feel like today?' Sometimes I'll record three separate songs and maybe all three of these will make the album. Maybe you have to come back to work on it the next day or two, to really nail it on the head. I have to come in prime shape, physically and mentally and be UP every day when I come in for the session. I have to 'psyc' myself totally! This week I've done nothing else. Haven't seen anybody, not even my parents. I sleep, eat well and rest so I come in and put all my energies totally into recording those drum tracks. That's the only thing in life for that particular week in time. It's the most important. When you are cutting an album, you have to live with that album for the rest of your days. You must really believe in those tracks. Everybody gets in their own little booth. Michael sings, the guys do their solos and stuff, but once we get the drums, we keep the drum tracks that are recorded. Then the guys come back in and do what is known as 'overdubbing'. They come in and do the keyboards and Paul redoes his solos and they can refine them. They play the drum tracks that are recorded, back to them in the headphones. Theoretically, you can pack up the drums, move them out of the studio, and then the guys just do their overdubs. The last guy to record is Michael. He'll come in and sing all the vocal tracks once all the keyboards and guitars and the bass guitar things are done.
PART 2