Matt Brouwer

For Matt Brouwer it’s been a slow, steady, and relatively quiet climb into the hearts of music fans. From humble beginnings at Prairie Bible College in Canada which led to the release of Imagerical to the critically acclaimed vulnerability of 2005’s Unlearning, the humble singer/songwriter has steadily added fans to his ranks, drawn by the humanity within the artist’s work.

We recently sat down with Brouwer and found him just as you’d imagine: humble, witty, and friendly as he discussed his early days, his new album, and the daunting task of being an honest artist.

SA: So it’s been a long time since the first release I heard of yours, Imagerical, and now. Are you at the place you wanted to be, or that you thought you’d be, here in ’08?

Matt: Well, essentially in ’01, I really just found myself post-college, just barely out of college, and that album, that blue album with the weird title that I released, was essentially a praise and worship record that was really just a direct result of my experiences in college. I got involved leading music at the church aspect of the college that I was involved in and it was a beautiful accident, really. I didn’t go with any idea of wanting or desiring to do that but ended up leading this thing and it was a really meaningful part of our college experience.

SA: Where was that at?

Matt: It was in Alberta, Canada; so it was actually called Prairie. And it was north of Calgary in the middle of a grain field with an hour drive to civilization in any direction, pretty much. (Laughs) Prairie Bible College was the full name of it. Little small school.

But anyways, it was this really cool thing that was happening there. We had nothing else to do so we played music all the time. (Laughs) It was cool. So that CD was really a reflection of the songs I wrote for that service specifically and really the band the band that I had that had gathered around me while I was in school.

But through the years, trying to find yourself and trying to find your voice, that’s really the journey that I’ve been on. And essentially for me, that’s been a wild and crazy ride. And really I’ve found myself a singer/songwriter, first and foremost, and that’s the music that I’m doing. The album after that was an album called Unlearning, which was an attempt to erase everything that came before because I found myself where I felt like a fish out of water. I didn’t necessarily feel like a traveling praise and worship leader was something that I felt really comfortable with.

So I went to a local church in Houston, Texas, and almost had to create a sacred space for myself to be a part of worship in community where there’s trust and shared experiences. It had a real value for me that I wanted to protect in my own life. When I go out and tour and travel, I see myself more as a storyteller than as a singer-songwriter and that’s the music I’m doing now. Well, all of that time, all those experiences, mission trips, traveling, getting involved with kids and church, and all that stuff has sort of led me to this point.

I’m recording a new album that I’m working on called Where’s Our Revolution? and it almost feels like I’m just starting, even after all that back story. So I’m really excited about this record.

SA: That statement: Where’s Our Revolution? What does that point toward?

Matt: Just in our culture, looking for…you know, if you look back to the Jesus Movement, or the ‘whatever’ movement that has happened, you’re sort of like, “Well, what’s our movement? What’s the thing that gets us excited about moving forward, about getting up in the morning and following Jesus?” And so I guess the question for me was that I felt like a lot of our culture has gotten cynical; I feel like that myself. I also felt like ‘what’s the point of all the stuff that we’re doing all the time?’

And I guess I had sort of felt like I’d lost it. So this song starts out with really a personal story of me going, “How did I get here?” I don’t know that I, and this was a couple years ago, feeling like I don’t know exactly how I wound up where I wound up. But I had a desire to be a part of something that was powerful and moving forward. And so the question just is, where’s our revolution, and let’s try to figure this out.

SA: Is that the prevalent theme of the whole album then?

Matt: Yeah, it really is. We’ve actually titled the album that. It’s the name of a song and it definitely is an overall theme of the new stuff going forward.

SA: So do you feel like you’re where you want to be? I mean, there’s certainly pros and cons to running under the radar a bit, so to speak, so do you feel that that’s where you’re at right now?

Matt: Yeah, it’s funny because I don’t ever really look at it that way. I don’t think commercially which maybe is why I’m under the radar. (Laughs) Because I just write music and sing. And if whatever audience is there, it’s cool. I want to be fully present to what’s going on. In Houston, Texas there’s mega-church audiences so it’s great because you get to play for people and be a part of interacting and the story. But that’s really what I’m seeking out, especially with this next project, saying, ‘I’m looking for an audience to walk through a longer period of time.’

Because you know what? Everything these days in our culture seems like it’s a flash in the pan. You barely get a chance to get out there and people are moving on to the next big thing. But I’m not looking for that kind of getting into the big splashy world of whatever that is, I’m looking for the kind of audience to walk through a kind of season of life together and experience the ups and downs and be really honest and dig deep into the messy stuff that’s not ever going to be commercially maybe the most popular thing. But it’s real life. And I’m basically offering myself up to say, ‘I’m not going anywhere so if you want to hang out for a little bit longer, let’s do it.’

SA: When you say, “not going anywhere,” you mean that you want to artistically keep on the path you’re on, doing things your way?

Matt: Yeah, yeah. Not like, I don’t want to be stagnant. But I’m not going anywhere in the sense of, I’m going to keep making music no matter what. If I’m breathing air and I’m sane (laughs) I feel like this is the call on my life. And these days it’s real easy to get disillusioned as a music listener I think, and I feel that way too because I just start loving a band and they break up because they didn’t make it to the top. And I just wish some people would stick with it a little bit longer sometimes so I could continue to have a relationship with this band that I’m totally digging, you know? So I guess that’s what I’m saying. I’m going to keep doing this, sink or swim, and I think that consistency, hopefully, will connect.

SA: It’s interesting that you brought up the word “calling” because it seems that for people who are taking a route similar to yours almost have to have that sense of calling on what they’re doing. It seems like there have got to be a lot of moments of “Am I even supposed to be doing this?” and such that the calling seems to be what keeps a lot of people going on.

Matt: Absolutely. In the music industry the rewards are few and far between. So if you don’t do it for the sheer love of the craft then you should definitely quit and do something else. (Laughs) Because there’s going to be a lot of days, and I say this to a lot of the bands I take on the road sometimes, there are times when you’re going to be sleeping on the floor in some smelly basement or whatever and you go, ‘Okay, I’m supposed to be doing this kind of thing.’ (Laughs) There are definitely times when it doesn’t feel like things are working out.

But, for me, the ability to just actually do this for a living is just such a gift and its such a blessing. So I never want to lose that feeling. I don’t want to ever become that guy who’s like, ‘Well, I didn’t get treated as well here as I did at the place before so that’s lame’ because it’s just a gift to be able to do it. I remember when I was in this college band and things were really moving forward. And I look back at that time and I’m like, man, this seems so easy, because growth was just happening in leaps and bounds and it really was exciting to be a part of. But we were so excited. I remember we got like fifty bucks one time to play, and this is for like, five people. (Laughs) And we were like, ‘Okay, they not only let us play for free but they paid us fifty bucks!’ We were freaking out!

SA: Was that your first paid gig?

Matt: Yeah, I don’t even remember if that was our first paid gig but I think it was our first gig on the road and we were without the support of our college. So we were like, ‘this is amazing; we get to actually put gas in the van and it’s not coming out of our own pockets.’

SA: The realm of the singer/songwriter is a pretty deep pool. What sets Matt Brouwer apart in those crowded waters?

Matt: Well, I think what I’ve learned as a songwriter is to not be afraid to put as much of yourself into it as you can. And usually, at the final end, you end up just a little embarrassed about it. But I think that’s a good thing. I think that if you’re not a little bit exposed to the point of where you’re like, ‘oh man, that’s maybe a little too far, I feel a little vulnerable here,’ that feeling, that uncomfortable feeling, I’ve learned is what I want to feel by the time the song or the album or the performance is done because then I feel like I’ve done my job and I’ve been who God made me to be. And that kind of vulnerability…no one else can be you. So as much of your uniqueness to your experiences the better.

(On) this new album, Where’s the Revolution?, I wrote a song called, “The Other Side” and it really lays out the experiences of the loss of one of my family members and just walking through that grief process and the circumstances of what went on. In an attempt to relate and to attempt to share some of those things that are just a little bit uncomfortable to share, for me, I think that’s really the only way to move forward and separate yourself from the pack.

The other thing is I really believe, I think I read a book by Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and I’m certainly not endorsing pop psychology or whatever, but there’s some really good things that he had to say. But he talked about, at least, I think it was him, the idea of scarcity versus abundance. And I think that the best way to look at things is that there’s room for everybody. If you feel led and called to do something, do it. Don’t feel like, ‘Oh, there’s competition so I’m going to worry about it.’ Let the chips fall. There’s room enough for everybody.

SA: What you had to say there about the issue of vulnerability seems to be the key to what you were speaking of before, of establishing that long-lasting relationship with the listener. It’s as though the vulnerability serves as the key to opening the door to that relationship. I mean, I’m sure there are other things you can be doing but…

Matt: Sure, but if you have the courage to take that first step, that’s how you discern people, you know? That’s how it works for me. When somebody shares out of their pain or their struggles or whatever, and do it in an honest way and not a manipulative way to try to gain record sales, but like ‘I don’t care if everyone walks away from me because I need to share this.’ I think what that does for me is that it totally breaks the ice and it takes away all the false pretenses and it makes me want to reciprocate and say ‘I get that, I’ve been through that, and I am so happy that somebody else in the world feels the way that I do in that one little way.’ And those connection points are great.

I’ve learned about vulnerability through some embarrassing moments sometimes on stage where things are going wrong and I’m completely thrown and don’t know what to say next and then you just blurt out what ends up being probably the most truthful thing you’ve said all night. (Laughs) And it’s like those little quirky things about yourself are the things that you kind of want to airbrush out of the experience, those are the things that people gravitate toward and want to grab onto.

So I think if artists can stop trying to make ourselves sound like everybody else, and that’s a temptation for me too. I’m like, ‘well, if I want to have a hit it has to sound like all of the other hits’ but that’s not what the people who made the hits did. They just embraced whatever was going on and who they were and either it connects and hits the moment or it doesn’t. But that’s what fate, God’s will, all that stuff; we really have no control over that. So you just be faithful to do what you do and throw out as much honesty as you possibly can. Because great art is all about honesty.

SA: So tangibly, what’s happening with you right now, with the release date, and around the album?

I’m so excited! I did the album, Michael Omartian produced it. He’s a legend and we just hit it off. It was a blast, a thrill. It’s light years ahead musically of anything I’ve done. That song I was sharing about my family member passing away, Amy Grant and Vince Gill came in and sang backup on it so it was like a super fun recording experience. That’s different from what I’ve ever had where I’ve either been in somebody’s basement or in Canada freezing to death recording music. So it was really, really fun. And I’m really excited to share this music.

It’s definitely got some crossover appeal to it, in a lot of aspects, but I am an absolute believer in Jesus and want my life to just emanate the powerful truths that have changed my life. So I think that I’m going to be basically traveling and touring and playing wherever I can for the next year. I have a really solid foundation based out of a church in Houston that is really artist-friendly. I think Brandon Heath is actually part of our community there. We actually live in the same apartment building.

SA: What church is that?

Matt: It’s called the Woodlands United Methodist Church and we have this guy, Bob Swan, who’s one of our youth ministers, and he just believes in music and he believes in artists and wants to help support us. So they basically have a deal where they sponsor us and there’s just so much love and support in that church.

SA: Like an ‘artists in residence’ kind of thing?

Matt: ‘Artists in residence’ is exactly what it is, that’s what they call it. What’s really cool about it is that when you’re doing this sort of thing, you can get discouraged really easily and you can also lose your connection to the real world because you’re so obsessive. It’s all about yourself. Like, when doing mixes, you’re trying to figure out, ‘does my voice sound good?’; stupid stuff!

We shouldn’t be thinking about ourselves that much so it’s really good to get back home to a community of people that aren’t taking you that seriously and are able to just say, “Dude, snap out of it and just get real for a second.” I really appreciate that and I don’t think that anybody can achieve anything in the Where’s the Revolution? kind of thing, trying to find that out, asking those questions, it’s not something that you can just do on your own. It comes through your relationships with people and that sort of solid base and foundation.

• www.mattbrouwer.com
• www.myspace.com/mattbrouwermusic

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#1 MattConner.net » Blog Archive » S-A Interview: Matt Brouwer on August 20th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

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