Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt Mann. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Matt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I absolutely wish I would have started playing music and writing songs much earlier than I did. Although I wouldn’t change a thing about how I grew up, I focused more on sports in my youth than music. I had a drum set growing up but didn’t spend enough time playing because I was always busy after school with soccer, track, and wrestling practice. I didn’t actually start playing the guitar until I was in my early twenties.

Matt, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started playing guitar my senior year of college because I had such a love for music. I was managing my roommates band and always asking the guys to show me a few things on the guitar. I learned a few chords and shortly after graduating, moved out to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. While in LA, I met many people in the music scene and began playing more and more, taking guitar lessons, and diving into and learning everything I could about music . A few years later, I ended up playing bass in my guitar teachers band. I started writing songs while in that band and we actually played one of them. The band fizzled out shortly after and I focused on writing new songs. I had about 15 songs and thought, “it’s time to find a singer and start a new band.” Eventually I began to sing the songs on my own and learned how to sing in the process. Here we are 12 years later and I’m working on my 5th full length album.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Singing for me has always been a learning process. When I started my solo career, I probably had over 100 people tell me how bad my voice was and that I needed to find someone else to sing these songs. I never let this get me down. It actually inspired me to want to learn more and get better at it, no matter how much work it took. I still work on my voice daily to improve anyway that I can. I feel like I’m always learning, will always learn, and never fully master the art of music. That to me is what keeps me going. You can never fully master music.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part about playing music for me is being out there on a stage with my band, moving people in the audience. There is no better reward then watching someone enjoy the music that we play It makes it worth the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into this daily. Also, the greatest moment ever is when I sit down to write a song and finish it. You start the day with an idea and then turn it into a full song. Something beautiful is now created that didn’t exist the day before.

Contact Info:

• Website: mattmannmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattmannshinerunners/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/MattMannandTheShineRunners
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mmshinerunners
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/trpngdsy/videos

Image Credits
Chad Crawford Jason Stoltzfus