Today: Interview With Songwriter, Music Producer, Author, and Former Band Member of Jars of Clay, Matt Bronleewe

 

 

 

Jason: Thank you for letting me interview you for my website.

 

Matt: No prob man!

 

Jason: How are you doing?

 

Matt: Really good. keeping very busy writing my second book.

 

Jason: How did you get started as a songwriter?

 

Matt: Well....if you want to go WAY BACK, I  started writing back in Kansas, where I grew up. I lived on a farm, so it was just me and my four-track, which was a simple system for recording music ideas. When I went away to college at Greenville in Greenville, IL, I suppose that's where my songwriting really took off. I wrote with anyone I could at Greenville, including the guys who I ended up starting jars of clay with.

 

Jason: What was your childhood like?

 

Matt: Childhood....You sound like a real psychologist! I was born in Dallas, TX.  but I grew up in Kansas. The first few years were in Lyons, KS, a town of about 3500 people, but then we moved to the farm. I loved it.  I thought it was a great place to grow up.

 

Jason: What is your process for song writing? Do you do the lyrics or music first?

 

Matt: For me, it's usually the music first. But that's not always the case. One of my favorite songs I was a part of - STRANDED - which I wrote with PLUMB - started lyric first. Most of the time a melody comes to mind and I spend the day chasing after it!

 

Jason: Does anyone ever send you lyrics that they can’t come up with music for?

 

Matt: On rare occasions.  most of the time I'm sitting in the room with the lyricist when we work on ideas. The lyricist might go away to work more on the idea, tweak it and so on, afterward. But many times we throw ideas back and forth in the room together.

 

Jason: Can people send you lyrics, or is there a legal issue with that?

 

Matt: Yeah...most of the time we have to be really careful with that. I know a lot of writers who won't open anything sent to them if they don't know who it's from. It just can be a danger. Say someone sent me a lyric about LOVE and I wrote a song about LOVE and then they came after me and said "Hey, I sent you that idea about LOVE!" I wish the world wasn't so crazy! But unfortunately, we have to worry about things like that....

 

Jason: What is it like recording an album?

 

Matt: It's a lot of work and a lot of fun. Sometimes records happen quick....the new Leeland record is something I'm working on...and we did the majority of the recording in two weeks. But the reverse is like Steven Curtis Chapman's new record, which we spent over seven months on. I love the studio. It's super creative. When the environment is right, you feel like real magic is happening before your eyes. But it can also be difficult. Sometimes you have to really fight to find the right idea. It can be like pounding your head against a wall if you're really struggling to find the right thing. Ups and downs, just like anything else in life. But I love it!

 

Jason: What is it like working with Steven Curtis Chapman? Leeland?

 

Matt: SCC was intense! He has so many great ideas it's amazing. He'll write the same song a million different ways. Sometimes the problem is just finding the right version to fly with. He's such a great writer.  his lyrics are absolutely amazing. We had many, many late nights...and a lot of fun too....the Leeland guys are awesome too. They are crazy funny to be around...but then you get them in the studio recording and they're really intense! Huge amounts of passion pour through their work.

 

Jason: What is your favorite SCC song?

 

Matt: I really dig his newest single a lot! It's called MIRACLE OF THE MOMENT. That's probably not fair because I co-wrote it! But seriously....I really dig it...(and it's just hitting radio stations right now!) As far as his previous work goes, how can you beat DIVE? Super amounts of energy. The new SCC record is gonna surprise people.

 

Jason: How much do you have to rehearse before doing a recording session?

 

Matt: It has a lot of ROCK moments....  Family Force Five even makes an appearance! In many cases, there is NO REHEARSAL.... we just dive right in. That's not always the case though...the Leeland guys were rehearsing their songs for a few weeks before we recorded in the studio.

 

Jason: What was it like being the lead singer for Jars of Clay?

 

Matt: Well....I wasn't actually the lead singer....I wrote songs and played guitar. Dan was always the lead singer....from day one....but here's something most people DON'T KNOW! Originally, he thought he would be the keyboard player in the band, but Charlie took those duties....so we were like....what's Dan gonna do?? Dan said, "I can sing, I guess..." And the rest is history.

 

Jason: How many music videos have you been in? What is it like recording a music video?

 

Matt: I actually left Jars of Clay early on in the band's career to pursue songwriting and producing....so I never got a chance to be in a music video, other than some of the raw video footage taken during our first few shows as Jars of Clay! After I left the band, Matt Odmark took my place.... he was Charlie's best friend from New York. The cool thing is that here we are...more than a decade later...and I still see the Jars guys! They're often at the local coffee shop. We catch up on what artists I'm producing and how their tours are going, etc. As fun as would have been to stay in the band, it would have kept me from working in the studio, where I love to be. I’ve had the chance to work with Michael W. Smith, Plumb, Chris Tomlin, and many others as a result!

 

Jason: What is your favorite of your songs?

 

Matt: Wow.  a hard one. Lemme think....I suppose one of my favorites is LOVE SONG FOR A SAVIOR. I still remember the day that song came together at Greenville College.

 

Jason: Do you ever come up with music video concepts? If so, how do you?

 

Matt: I have occasionally talked with people about music video concepts.  I think everything like that usually starts with a small idea, a story that needs to be told....I think most art forms come down to that one idea:  STORYTELLING, whether it's a book (like my first - ILLUMINATED) or a song or a video, you're always trying to get a story across to an audience.

 

Jason: What is it like being a record producer?

 

Matt: I suppose it's kind of like being a combined coach/psychologist/director. You have to do a lot of encouraging. You have to get people to perform at the highest level of their ability and you have to help them get there....to find that special moment when they can convey everything they need to. I really love producing. You're "the guy behind the scenes" who's making everything happen.

 

Jason: How does your faith affect your work?

 

Matt: In a huge way. Sometimes in a very obvious way...through a song lyric, etc....but other times it's expressed in a deeper and more profound way....I think that's why I've really enjoyed jumping into the whole "author" thing. To explore my faith in a whole new way. My faith affects my entire outlook, so there's nothing in my life that isn't through that "lens". I think sometimes people only look at the surface, the "bold statements of faith". But faith can be expressed boldly in a number of ways. In ILLUMINATED I dug into some mysteries that I think illustrate that point.

 

Jason: I keep finding more and more albums that you produced...what artists have you worked with?

 

Matt: Michael W Smith, Chris Tomlin, Rebecca St James, dc talk.... I've been VERY BLESSED to work with such amazing artists!  the list goes on and on...I've also had songs with Aly & AJ, Natalie Imbruglia, and most recently Hayden Panetierre (the cheerleader on the NBC show "heroes")

 

Jason: What kind of advice do you have for aspiring songwriters that want to get into Christian music?

 

Matt: Part of writing is CO-WRITING. Write with friends, especially people who have something unique to say. Keep working hard at the craft of writing, because once the ship sails, you're out on the water with whatever paddles you happened to bring with you! That is to say.....you won't have more time later to get better, because you'll be working full time just to keep up! Practice now and it'll pay off later. And really keep your ear open to God's leading...just because you THINK you should be a writer in Christian music doesn't always mean YOU SHOULD BE ONE. Sometimes God has something else in store, another place you should go.... it's important to be open to his leading....I never thought I'd be a songwriter, or a record producer, or an author....but what-da-ya-know??? Here I am! God works in mysterious ways.....

 

Jason: What are some of the pitfalls aspiring musicians need to know about in the music industry?

 

Matt: It's hard.  these days more than ever. Don't expect things to happen right away. I think most aspiring writers/musicians/etc expect for things to take off right away. But it can take YEARS AND YEARS of hard work to get noticed.

 

Jason: Any big plans for the future?

 

Matt: Big plans? Of course!!! Many things on the agenda. In music, I'm developing some new acts....(more on that in the coming months!) Plus, I'm considering some different projects for the fall. In books, my first novel comes out August 7th... it's called ILLUMINATED, and it's a thriller centering on the rarest book in the world, the Gutenberg Bible. I'm working on the follow-up, titled HOUSE OF WOLVES. Plus a young adult series, which features one of the characters from ILLUMINATED. And we're already starting to talk to movie people about a possible adaptation of ILLUMINATED.....so we'll see where that leads! I feel like I’m JUST GETTING STARTED! The next decade should be a lot of fun!

 

Jason: That last line reminds me of SSC's song, "Just Getting Started" If you weren’t in the music business, what career would you probably have?

 

Matt: I'll leave "author" out too....since that seems like cheating...so maybe architect?  or chef? Something creative!

 

Jason: What do you like do in your spare time?

 

Matt: Spare time? What's that? Hahahaha. Every minute of spare time I try to spend with my family. I have a bad habit of turning my hobbies into careers (a la "author")....so now I try to focus on time with my family when I'm not writing books or recording music

 

Jason: Are any of your kids interested in the music industry?

 

Matt: They're still pretty young....so we'll see what happens later! They're taking piano lessons....and they dig the studio....but I hope they take their own route......follow their own dreams....whether it's music or books or professional putt-putt golf or ANYTHING!

 

Jason: Thank you for your time, and the wonderful answers!

 

Matt: Thank you!

 

Jason: Have a great day

 

Matt: you too! Talk later.....bye bye.