We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Matthew thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Practice-wise, I’m a bit cavalier. I’ve never taken a guitar lesson or a voice lesson in my life, and I blame that on my stubbornness. First, I played bass guitar for 6 years. My dad, who plays guitar, was integral in my learning and a touchpoint if I ever had any questions. I then learned guitar by listening to my favorite songs and playing every note until it sounded right. A long and painstaking process indeed. As for changing my learning process, I wouldn’t change a thing. We, as humans, get very fixated on hindsight bias. While taking stock is a very important part of our lives, I believe it is always important to accept yourself for who you are and accept the things you did to get here. Was it perfect? No? Was it easy? No. Will it help you as a creative person to dwell on past decisions? Certainly not. As cliche as it sounds, self-acceptance truly is a superpower.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Matthew Smith. I’m a student and musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have been active in my craft for 4 years now, playing solo gigs as well as with different groups around my hometown. Currently I am in the process of writing/producing my first album and would say this is one of my most intensive creative endeavors yet. As for my original material, I write a lot of folk and rock music but have yet to settle down in any specific genre. I never try to make two shows feel the same. This dynamic makes for a more entertaining creative process and I hope for a more entertaining show. Throughout my life, it feels like everything I’ve known has always revolved around music. This includes live shows, instruments, CDs, Vinyl, and so much more. The thing that always drew me to music was the connections you make. Sometimes, especially post-pandemic the world can feel quite isolated. Performing has given me an opportunity to make connections in the creative world as well as grow as a person.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I believe that music is the closest thing we have to magic, and being able to contribute that to my friends and community is the greatest gift I have. Obviously stepping out on stage is very rewarding but I think people need to focus on why that is so special. Why do we like live music? As humans we all search for belonging and for a lot of people I think that lies in storytelling, which is something I try to do with my songs. If we can all get together and share a common experience, musically or socially, we build community and raise each other up. That is what, in my opinion, makes music (and art as a whole) so unique.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Keep the local scene alive! I know many people who have full-time jobs and still manage to take time out of their schedule for their craft. Between a career, school, and other life responsibilities, being a musician can be a seriously cumbersome lifestyle. So while your favorite local artists may only be able to put together one show a year, attending these performances provides the artists the payoff for their work. Not only are you getting a night of entertainment, but you are single-handedly supporting the development of local music. All of your favorite artists are where they are because of local support. Art is dying? Start compressions!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @satthewmmith_
• Other: TikTok: satthewmmith

Image Credits

Rylin Dierkes