We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Matthew Broyles a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Back in 2007, it felt as if I had maybe taken too many risks. Having returned from a four-year sojourn in New York City without much to show for it, a pile of debt from making my first album, and a toddler in the house, the time seemed ripe to try and find some stability. I took a job at a bank in Dallas, working for general counsel, making binders for the board and generally being safe. The following September, the biggest financial crisis since 1929 broke the floor under my boring bank job, and it became clear to me that nothing is truly safe. If we live our lives with safety as the top priority, we will never actually find it. The safety I seek now is the comfort of knowing my music is expressing as true a picture of my inner state of being as possible, and the hope that it comforts others to know they are not alone. I take a risk every day by simply being alive, and any additional risk taken by playing a gig to strangers or creating stories that may or may not survive beyond me is miniscule in comparison. This period in history is risk itself. Do not shy from it.
Matthew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have been in the music world since 1991. During that span, I’ve witnessed fundamental changes in both the industry and in the public’s expectations of music generally. The thing I am proudest of is that I have remained myself throughout those three decades, even as the person who I am has evolved along the way. If you are listening to me, you are getting the most honest depiction of my inner workings as it is possible to put into story and song. I dislike editing to try and make truths more palatable. The least we owe each other is honesty.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
When you hear a song, read a book, or view a painting, you should know that in most cases, the person putting that art into the world has done so at great cost. Not always financially–although often that is a component–but psychologically, physically, and emotionally. Usually they have created this work because they can’t not create it. These impulses pound at the door of their subconscious, and if they are not released, they will undergo significant psychological consequences. Take a moment to hear what their inner voices were so insistent upon saying.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are nights when I play a show, and it appears no one is listening. Just a mismatch of venue and artist, not all that uncommon. Nonetheless, my professional training is that you give every gig the same amount of effort regardless of whether it’s being reciprocated. So when, at the end of the show, someone comes up from the back of the room, raptly describes some of my lyrics in great detail, and buys my entire catalog on the spot, it makes me realize that we don’t always know how we are being perceived at any given time. People I’ve never met have sent me emails describing the ways that my tunes have gotten them through a tough time. My girlfriend heard my music before she ever met me, or knew she was going to meet me, and so I brought something into her life without knowing. The most frustrating, and the most rewarding part of creating is never quite knowing who all you’ve touched.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://thematthewshow.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/mrthematthewshow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrthematthewshow
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/thematthewshow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrThematthewshow
Image Credits
Photos by Rene Gomez and Trista Morris