Mat Kearney

“I love what I do. I love playing music.”

“I think I have always made really beat-driven pop-rock records.”

“Somehow, my music really suits doctors making out in the syringe room.”

“The problem in this country is people gravitate toward one genre, and that's what they embrace. I don't understand that. If you hit me with Bell Biv Devoe meets country, well, I like the sound of that concept.”

“There's this song called 'Brad Chester,' which is like the depths of my family. It comes from a very personal place.”

“'Nothing Left to Lose' was an album that I wrote in my bedroom, and you don't know who is listening or who cares.”

“Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, there was everything from The Notorious B.I.G. to Weezer playing in my car.”

“I didn't know music would end up being my job, but I loved it so much I wanted to do it every day.”

“Paul Simon is the king!”

“More than any other instrument, the relationship between an acoustic guitar and a microphone is super-important. The kind of mics that you use and your placement of the mics to the guitar can radically alter your sound.”

“Getting married and really digging in with another human being can point out your greatest strengths and your greatest weaknesses.”

“I never wanted to be on an exclusively Christian label.”

“I've always been a writer. I've always done writing or spoken-word, hip-hop stuff with my friends.”

“I think you can hear all my hip hop influences in 'Just Kids.'”

“I love Michigan.”

“I've never shaped or crafted my music for any specific group of people. Whoever connects with it is fine with me. I don't care where they come from.”

“As an artist, you tend to gravitate to the opposite. I know, when I finish a song or an album, I'm interested in doing something completely new. It doesn't always happen, but that's the idea. My poor fans - I don't know if they love that or hate that.”

“I'm a '90s music kid.”

“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.'”

“New Yorkers are historically tough crowds.”