I never got too specialized but did like the Southern Gothic writers like William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.
God found me when I was at my lowest point. That was the first time in my life when I really felt like I understood who Jesus was - it was more than just knowing about Him: I felt like He met me in that time and place.
I had the lyric 'Chip Don't Go' and a few words, and my wife came in and said that it sounded like a good song. I thought I'd finish writing it up and posting it to YouTube. I didn't realize it was going to take off like it did.
You write these songs which are really dear to you about your family or friends, loved ones, and then you get this call, and they say, 'It's perfect for two vampires making out in the back of a car.' It's some random TV show, and so I say, 'Oh, yeah, perfect - that's what I meant it for.'
I was an English major, and I always wrote poems.
I'm a '90s music kid.
Choosing an acoustic guitar for a live setting can be different from picking out one for recording. One doesn't always work for the other. The sonic properties can be vastly different.
I enjoy changing; I think it's more fun to try something different than to just do what you did last time. As an artist, you just want to keep creating, keep finding a place that really inspires you that feels fresh and new, and keep it exciting.
I'm actually named Matthew William Kearney: my middle name is named after my grandfather.
When I barely got into college, the one thing I could do was write, so I became an English major.
With 'City of Black & White,' I wanted a record that would make you feel good, that would sort of take you up in its hand and sweep you along.
Hopefully, reading and being around great literature inspires me to write songs, but I'm not sure about that.
I grew up in Oregon, so there was always a lot of that folksy, Bob Marley stuff. There was a mural of Bob Marley on a wall at my high school.
I love Bruce Springsteen's writing, but I grew up on '90s hip hop, like Tribe Called Quest.
I thought my second record was good, but it didn't have that smash hit we did on the first one that somehow found its way onto tons of formats of radio stations.
For my father, he didn't know what 'Grey's Anatomy' was. He didn't know who John Mayer was. But when I showed up on the 'Law & Order' TNT promo spot, he thought, 'Wow, my son has made it.'
Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, there was everything from The Notorious B.I.G. to Weezer playing in my car.
I've had moments in my career when I've made more money and had more success than at other times, but I've realized being happy has very little to do with any of that.
I was an English major in college, so I really liked spoken word and poetry; it was what I did before I wrote music.
Paul Simon is the king!
