Explore Quotes by Mat Kearney

I've always sought to get after something that's foundational in people. That comes through my faith, through my belief in life, through trying to hit something that's true every time. I think that's really where you move people, when you touch on something that's true, that's not based on fluff or based on a moment or a movement.

When I set out to write, I want to write something that will rip your heart out and connect with you. Great songs connect beyond genre and style.

Paul Simon is the king!

My songs have a layer of melancholy.

I played soccer. I was really known as an athlete. It was a shock to people that I was doing music. They thought it was really odd.

The first record blew up and sold really well. 'City of Black & White' didn't sell as well, and that's when you wonder, 'Did I peak already?'

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.'

'City Of Black And White' was me trying to do something more mature, more adult contemporary.

Songs like 'Learn To Love Again' and 'Rochester' and some of the more gut-wrenching ones deal with the pain of the younger times of your life... trying to make sense of some the stuff we probably all went through.

When I was in college, I wanted to study film. My first passion was to be a cinematographer. So maybe there's something innate in my music where it partners well with images.

Money definitely does not equal success in recording.

My dad was a scratch golfer growing up. When I'm on the road, I always bring my clubs with me.

Golf was big in my family.

I didn't start writing music until I was a sophomore in college. I would steal my roommate's guitar and sit on the front porch and kind of blend this weird spoken word and these little melodies over simple chords; that really started my whole journey as a musician.

I'm actually named Matthew William Kearney: my middle name is named after my grandfather.

All of my acoustic playing came from my songwriting. All of the chords I've learned and all of the voicings I play them in are a direct result of composing.

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.

New Yorkers are historically tough crowds.

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.

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.'

I was an English major in college, so I really liked spoken word and poetry; it was what I did before I wrote music.