New London Tube: Wall Matthews And Rusty Clark

Wall Matthews may not be a New London resident anymore, but he's giving the city some credit as he uploads his work to YouTube. I first came across this composer and guitarist via the song "Gypsies," from the album Air Over Water, in which he and violinist Rusty Clark perform "imagistic music." Matthews says the song was strongly inspired by his time living in southern New London, and includes a photo slideshow of nearby Harkness State Park, where winter seems to be making a misty dissolve into spring.

"Gypsies" dates back to 1975, and the video featured here hails from a year later. Several New Londoners I know have their own public access TV shows, and it seems like this activity may have been just as popular 36 years ago. Matthews and Clark play the songs "The Two Snails Who Went To The Funeral Of A Dead Leaf," a Clark composition, and "Sleazy Sue," a Matthews composition, on their show Journeys To The Mind.

Matthews has uploaded a number of videos in the past few weeks, though this particular selection was put up in March of 2011. One comment suggests that Matthews probably gets a kick out of looking back at his 70's hairstyle, and another recalls hearing the duo's music on the music program "Soundscapes." Clark's daughter also weighs in to note that Clark has passed away in the interim. "Getting to hear my father (Rusty Clark) speak after being gone for so long is so precious...thank you, Wall, for keeping his memory and the beautiful music you made together alive," she says.

Matthews remains an active musician. According to his MySpace page, he was formerly the composer in residence for dance at and worked with a number of prestigious ballet companies. He is currently the president of Clean Cuts Music in Baltimore, Md. and writes music for a number of television stations, including National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, and The History Channel. In 2010, he and his fellow composers were nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Craft: Music and Sound for their work on Animal Planet's Yellowstone: Battle for Life.

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