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10 Questions with ... Matt Stell
March 3, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. CRS was great. It's a really convenient way to meet the folks that have a lot to do with the decisions on your future. Radio is such an integral part of the lifecycle of music. We can't really do it -- and don't want to do it -- without Country radio because they have a job to do as gatekeepers, and promoters, and as keepers of the flame that get to determine what Country music is. It's important, and it's great to meet those people. It's great to see all the people who have such a passion for it ... The fact that they care enough to make it their life's work to program a Country radio station is pretty special
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
After moving to Nashville in 2014, Stell got busy performing at writers' rounds around town, which led to deals with publishing company Wide Open Music and veteran record executive Barry Weiss' RECORDS label, with promotion from Good Company Entertainment. His debut single, "Prayed For You," written by Stell, Ash Bowers, and Allison Veltz, is climbing the charts and has amassed more than 30 million streams. Its accompanying video, which features reality TV star Savannah Chrisley and pro hockey player Nic Kerdiles, has garnered more than three and a half million view. Stell will release a new EP in May, which follows 2018's "Last Of The Best" EP. He'll be on the road this summer performing at festivals, including Country LakeShake in Chicago and Watershed in George, WA.
1. "Prayed For You" is such a beautiful song with some deep lyrics. Can you describe the songwriting process?
My publisher/manager Ash Bowers and I were scheduled to write with my good friend. Allison Veltz, and Allison was running a little bit late. She called and let us know she had what she thought was a good idea. She had just met [her now-husband] a week or two before, and was riding high from that. She came in with "I prayed for you" as the very end of the chorus, and we just immediately took to it and wrote a song about a character that looks a lot like me and is way luckier in not only relationships, but just in life than they deserve. When we got done with it we were proud of what we had done and we were excited to demo it, cut it, and share it. I can't say that I really expected it to get the kind of response that I have enjoyed from this song -- it's kind of a game changer for me -- but it's still pretty special that it seems to resonate with folks. It seems to matter to people, which is why I wanted to do it in the first place.
2. What do you remember about the first time you heard "Prayed For You," on the radio, and how did you react?
I guess the first time I heard it was when my hometown radio station played it, and that was awesome. It wasn't long after that satellite radio picked it up. Since then, I've heard it in Nashville on the FM dial while driving my truck on Music Row, and that's just full circle. I remember when I got to town driving up and down just wondering how I was ever going to get any of those doors to open up for me, or anyone to pay attention to what I was doing. Then fast forward a few years and I just feel like I'm the luckiest guy there is. That's really such a surreal moment because radio means so much, especially in Country music. To hear my song played in a lineup of people that I grew up listening to is pretty amazing.
3. You're affiliated with a hybrid of independent companies including Wide Open and Good Company. Can you unpack all of that for us a little and explain who is doing what for your career?
It kind of starts and ends with Ash Bowers at Wide Open Music. He is my publisher and manager. He's the one that signed me to my first publishing deal and believed in me with the idea that he liked my music and he wasn't out to change me. We also wrote the song together, and we've produced some of the music I have out now together, so he's the biggest piece of the puzzle.
From there, my deal is a little different because the song, "Prayed For You," had a little viral thing to it that got the attention of some folks in L.A., and one thing led to another. Then a guy named Barry Weiss from New York, who was one of the principles in Jive Records back in the day and signed Britney [Spears,] Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and [Justin] Timberlake, has a record company up in New York. It didn't deal at all with Country music. It was a big Hip-Hop label, a big Rock label, but he heard something in the song and said he wanted to work with me ... They decided to staff up with their own promotion company, and that's where Good Company Entertainment comes in. Keith Gale heads up my promotions team with a bunch of industry veterans that are decorated. [The reason] there are so many words and acronyms at the end of my song is because it's a lot of people working to do something in a different way, which is really exciting to me. Our model is pretty innovative.
4. Your single has more than 30 million digital streams so far and is very close to charting. Is this what you expected when signing with a team of independents?
Honestly, I was pretty flabbergasted at the folks that wanted to work with me. But once they signed on, I have to say this was kind of their plan. There are a lot of acronyms at the end of my song and a lot of different companies listed, but these are made up of people that are vets and have as much success as you can have in the business of promoting records, releasing records, and making records ... So once they said, "Hey, this is a guy we can work with, and we want to get in business with," I can't say I'm surprised that they're doing such a great job. I have all the confidence in the world in them.
It's reciprocal. We have a pretty symbiotic relationship and everybody's roles are pretty defined. I am allowed, and encouraged, to be creative. I can get out in left field when it comes to creating music ... I've not been asked to change, I've just been asked to create, and I don't think an artist can ask for anything more.
5. Did you do a radio tour and, if so, what was the experience like?
We are in the midst of servicing radio right now. We've been at it for about four or five weeks. I've been doing these listener parties, which is really cool because it'll be, like, 5 pm on a Tuesday and I'll get to come in and play an acoustic show for people I've never met that are excited to hear what I'm playing, instead of playing at a frat house or a sports bar where I have to compete with a television. I came up playing anywhere they would let me plug in, and I cut my teeth doing that, so doing this kind of stuff is a dream.
6. What can fans expect from your next EP, coming in May?
They can expect the purest representation of what I do. Country music has always been this tension between Saturday night and Sunday morning, and certainly that's what you can expect from this EP. "Prayed for You" is relationship-based and has a spiritual element to it, but the rest of the songs on the EP are a wide range, from drinking a heartbreak away to losing somebody. They can expect Saturday night and Sunday morning on this project.
7. This was your first year attending Country Radio Seminar. What were your takeaways from the experience? And we noticed you attended the New Faces Show. Any thoughts of being on that stage next year?
My takeaway is that Barlines [in the Omni Nashville Hotel] is ground zero for CRS week. I think I ate every meal in Barlines for, like, three days. No matter what, there's always a Makers on the rocks there waiting for ya, and new friends to meet.
CRS was great. It's a really convenient way to meet the folks that have a lot to do with the decisions on your future. Radio is such an integral part of the lifecycle of music. We can't really do it -- and don't want to do it -- without Country radio because they have a job to do as gatekeepers, and promoters, and as keepers of the flame that get to determine what Country music is. It's important, and it's great to meet those people. It's great to see all the people who have such a passion for it ... The fact that they care enough to make it their life's work to program a Country radio station is pretty special.
[As for New Faces,] hey, every time I see a stage I wonder if I can get on it. It could be a stage at Buffalo Wild Wings, or Madison Square Garden. I just watched my buddy Jimmie Allen absolutely wreck shop up there, and it's inspiring. It's exciting. Really cool.
8. Your "Prayed For You," video has well over three million views on YouTube and features some familiar faces. How did Savannah Chrisley and Nic Kerdiles become involved?
I think Nic got involved because Savannah didn't want to kiss me, or maybe it was it was [dad] Todd [Chrisley who didn't want her kissing me]. I'm kidding. All I know is when the treatment came back and that was part of what was going to go on, the cast changed a little bit. [Laughs] The Chrisleys have been great. Todd's the man, and Nic and I have become buddies.
Some of my favorite Country songs are storytelling songs, and I love writing songs about characters. In this case, the person in "Prayed For You" is a lot like me, but I enjoyed being able to narrate a vision that other really creative people were able to shape around the song. It was really cool to see people work in a creative medium that I had no idea about. The Chrisleys were involved early and excited about it, and really came in and added some star power and some on-camera experience that really helped tell the story of the song. There's real chemistry there [between Savannah and real-life boyfriend Nic], and we got to leverage that into telling the story. It came out as something we're really proud of.
9. How old were you when you first started performing, and was there a certain moment you remember recognizing you had a talent beyond most for singing and playing guitar?
I really didn't start playing guitar or performing until my sophomore or junior year of college. When you play basketball in college, you don't get to go home for the winter break since it's a winter sport. I was up in my dorm, and I got really good at Tiger Woods on PlayStation. Then one day I remembered my Mom had gotten me a guitar when I was, like, 12 that I had never touched. I asked her to bring it up. When she [did], I just kind of sat in my room in front of a computer screen learning Country, Blues, and old Classic Rock/Southern [Rock] songs. It wasn't [long after] I could string two or three chords together that I was interested in writing music on my own. That then led to frat party stuff, and then to playing in venues. That was kinda just my M.O. [modus operandi] until I got done with grad school. After that, I came back home. I worked construction, worked for my dad and on the farm. Then I finally got busy enough to where I could just tour around and play music, and that's just how I made it work.
10. You made a big career decision in your college days between Harvard University's Extension School pre-med program, where you had been accepted, and a career in Country music. What went into making that decision, and how did your family react to your choice?
I took a medical missions trip to Haiti, and it was the first time I ever got to see how the doctors, pharmacists, and medical professionals could improve people's lives immediately and materially. That really struck me as something that was pretty special. I had been in Nashville and had some opportunities, but when stuff fell through, I was just trying to contemplate if I wasn't playing music as a career, what would I do? I applied to this program and got in, so then I had a decision to make. I was pretty much going, and then about six weeks before I had to fully commit, I had an opportunity come up with my publisher and management now. That turned into an EP, which turned into a record deal, which turned into a single, so it was all pretty crazy, pretty interesting.
I didn't want to worry about anyone else's expectations other than my own, so I really only told a handful of people that I had that choice to make. It was pretty much just my parents. They were supportive of whatever I decided to do because it was going to be a very long and difficult road either way, but they were supportive both ways. I think my dad was a little more pragmatic. He probably didn't know if I was making the best decision at the time, but ... I was really lucky to have someone who was willing to offer his advice, coming from a good place. He really just wanted to make sure I knew what kind of opportunities I had in front of me, and I appreciate that.
Bonus Questions
Writing music and touring is a lifestyle, but what are some things you like to do when you need to take a break or find inspiration?
I love to play golf and I love to bet on golf as well. Those are fun escapes for me. I love sports and outdoors. I'm kind of basic that way. I also read a lot. Those are the things that I dig when I need a break.
You recently became engaged. (Sorry, ladies!) Are you very involved in the wedding planning, or will you let your bride-to-be take the reins on most of it?
Yeah, she's going to run point on that for sure. I'm being responsible for as few decisions as possible, I can promise you that. Date and time, count on me.
You turn some heads at 6' 7". What's the dumbest comment you've ever heard about your height?
I never think about being tall until someone mentions it. My best friend in Nashville is 7' tall, I call him "Seven Foot James," so when I'm with him no one notices I'm even there. They treat him like a for real side show oddity.
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