{"id":5916,"date":"2015-02-25T06:26:38","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T11:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=5916"},"modified":"2015-02-25T06:26:38","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T11:26:38","slug":"mat-kearney-sings-about-childlike-faith-and-the-grace-of-surrendering-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/02\/mat-kearney-sings-about-childlike-faith-and-the-grace-of-surrendering-control.html","title":{"rendered":"Mat Kearney sings about childlike faith and the grace of surrendering control"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Mat Kearney - Just Kids (Audio)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7SgUafccJSw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saying it in song.<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.inpop.com\/mat_kearney\">Mat Kearney<\/a> has grown a following by writing and performing heartfelt songs that are life-affirming. His most recent album, 2011\u2032s <em>Young Love<\/em>, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Digital Chart and #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.<\/p>\n<p><em>Just Kids<\/em>, his newest album, came together over the past few years as he toured the world. To get it done,<br \/>\nhe constructed\u00a0 a portable studio on his bus and cut songs all over the globe, including Los Angeles, Sweden and at his home studio in Nashville. His collaborators on the project included MDL [Maroon 5, Justin Bieber] and his frequent partner Josh Crosby.<\/p>\n<p>Kearney recently took part in a Q&amp;A for the press in which he spoke about his songs, his Christian faith and the grace found in surrendering control of one&#8217;s life to God.<\/p>\n<p><strong>QUESTION: It\u2019s been a few years since the last record. What has happened in your life in that time and how did those experiences influence <em>Just Kids<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MAT KEARNEY:<\/strong> It has been awhile since I put out an album. Sometimes you have to wonder a little bit to find songs that really resonated with you and come from your heart \u2013 and not just trying to write songs that complete a record. I also started producing a lot more, so I was working a lot by myself, with a laptop, backstage at a show, or sometimes I would invite friends over to my house and we would record at my home studio. So a lot of it was me, growing as an artist and as a producer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: This album has a more distinct pop\/electronic sound than your past albums. Is that a part of your growth or do you just like being \u201cpop like\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> I think I have always made really beat-driven pop-rock records. I was really exploring a lot of 90s music and music I grew up on. I enjoy changing; I think it\u2019s 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. So that is what this record really was &#8212; me exploring and finding some really cool creative ground.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: The song \u201cJust Kids\u201d seems really personal &#8212; why did that song in particular become the title of the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> You know, getting married and really digging in with another human being can point out your greatest strengths and your greatest weaknesses. And it\u2019s really about wanting to get to that place of grace and redemption and that may happen before you guys learned your bad habits. So \u201cJust Kids\u201d is really a song of me saying \u201cI want to approach you with like childlike faith in the way that I love you and just viewing life that way.\u201d So it\u2019s kind of my story and I kind of tell <em>that<\/em> story through it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> <strong>Tell us about the recording process. I know you did most of the production on your own, what was that like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> I did about half of the record on my own. I worked with some guys in Los Angeles that I met and hit it off with and a guy in Nashville named Josh Crosby, who is married to Britt Nicole, and does a lot of her records. He has just been a friend who has worked on albums with me since \u201cShips in the Night.\u201d And sometimes when you are by yourself, you can be more honest, more revealing and really ask yourself \u201cWhat do I want to write about today?\u201d And I have really enjoyed that process of being by myself a lot on this record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: Tell me about <em>One Heart.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> There\u2019s that place in our lives where we get a sense of desperation and we are like \u201cI really need something bigger than myself,\u201d and I guess \u201cOne Heart\u201d was really written like David in the Psalms where he is saying, \u201cI\u2019m at the end of myself and I don\u2019t have all the answers but I know someone who does and I really need that.\u201d It\u2019s a very humble song.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q::Tell me about <em>Air I Breathe.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> This song, at its core, is my journey battling perfectionism and being in control. I am a micromanager and I love being involved in every detail of my life, but in the big picture you realize how little control you have. \u201cAir I Breathe\u201d is about those moments of surrender where you get to something that is bigger than you and you don\u2019t have answers for it. You are kind of forced to wave your white flag and be like \u201cOkay I can\u2019t control this.\u201d Sometimes those moments can be very freeing because they are humbling. You realize you have been holding onto something and trying to control it when there\u2019s grace available for you that is bigger than your own control.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: What have you learned while making <em>Just Kids<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> I have learned that if you decide to work out of a home studio, you will annoy your wife a lot, because she has to listen to the songs a hundred times. And being like an insecure artist you\u2019re like, \u201cBabe come listen to this song, what do you think?\u201d And she will come up there and be like, \u201cAre you kidding me? You really want me to listen to this song? I\u2019ve literally listened to it all day. It\u2019s good, now can you turn it down.\u201d (laughs)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: Who inspires you musically and spiritually?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> Musically, I have been really into some of the stuff I grew up on, like Paul Simon and a lot of like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which is this African vocal group that has worked with a lot of people in Nashville like Charlie Peacock and others. But it\u2019s that real story-telling, fun upbeat groove but then the story can have a lot more depth and can really go to some places. So it\u2019s almost like it catches you off guard and you\u2019re listening to a pop song and then you listen to the lyrics and you are like \u201cWhoa, this is really profound and has a story!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spiritually, I\u2019ve been into a lot of Tim Keller \u2013 it is always good for an achiever (like myself), to hear the idea that God is way more committed to you than you Him. In your worst moments He\u2019s been there pursuing you. And in your best moments He\u2019s been there supporting you. That is kind of the message of this record &#8212; me coming to grips with my own shame, perfectionism and trying to control everything and come into the end of that and realize that is something I don\u2019t have to do.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nQ: What artist would be your ideal collaboration? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> My ideal collaboration would be Paul Simon &#8212; I love him, I grew up on him. I think he\u2019s one of the best lyricists of just being clever. Johnny Cash is a hero of mine. I just love him. Growing up in Nashville, he is one of the legends that formed this town musically. So yea \u2026 if I could summon him back &#8212; then we would write. (laugh)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: Tell me about your tour and what should people expect? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> You know\u2026I love creating moments that feel bigger than just like an artist on stage. So hopefully it feels very fun and people are there together and it feels like a moment that is bigger than just going to watch some entertainment. I love making it feel like we are there together. I think one of the things that I carry, and just my goals in life, is just encourage people and make them feel joy and celebrated and they leave feeling like maybe there was stuff talked about that was difficult, but then there was a voice of redemption and grace in the middle of that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: Are you playing all new tracks or some old ones?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> You know, I never play all new stuff, because you got to \u201cdance with the girl that brought you\u201d what is that saying? (laughs) You got to play the songs that got you there, so I love playing the songs from my very first record <em>Bullet, Nothing Left To Lose, City of Black and White<\/em> and others from <em>Young Love<\/em>. Then I\u2019ll play a good amount of new stuff.<\/p>\n<p>But I just love keeping people on their toes. With my music being kind of schizophrenic &#8211; I\u2019ve got ballads, more beat leaning stuff and more rock leaning stuff, that is the fun part of putting on a show I know that if I\u2019m entertained then I know others will be.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q: Tell us about the bands joining you on tour.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MK:<\/strong> I just brought some friends \u2026there is a band called Parachute, who I have met just living in Nashville being in the same community and friends and I said, \u201cHey do you guys want to go on the road with me?\u201d and they were like, \u201cThat would be awesome!\u201d And there\u2019s another Nashville band called Judah and the Lion, which I\u2019m just a fan of and I think they\u2019re young and excited and they bring passion and just a youthful spirit. I was thinking, \u201cThey need to be a part of this tour!\u201d So it should be a Nashville conglomerate out there!<\/p>\n<p><em>Encourage one another and build each other up \u2013 <\/em><strong>1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture Saying it in song. Mat Kearney has grown a following by writing and performing heartfelt songs that are life-affirming. His most recent album, 2011\u2032s Young Love, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Digital Chart and #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Just Kids,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,25],"tags":[35,7989,7981,7988,7987,7978,7985,7980,2907,7976,7984,7986,7979,7982,7983,7977],"class_list":["post-5916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-music","tag-1-thessalonians-511","tag-2011s-young-love","tag-air-i-breathe","tag-billboard-digital-chart","tag-billboard-top-200-chart","tag-bullet","tag-charlie-peacock","tag-city-of-black-and-white","tag-johnny-cash","tag-just-kids","tag-ladysmith-black-mambazo","tag-mat-kearney","tag-nothing-left-to-lose","tag-one-heart","tag-paul-simon","tag-tim-keller"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mat Kearney sings about childlike faith and the grace of surrendering control<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/02\/mat-kearney-sings-about-childlike-faith-and-the-grace-of-surrendering-control.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mat Kearney sings about childlike faith and the grace of surrendering control\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture Saying it in song. 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His most recent album, 2011\u2032s Young Love, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Digital Chart and #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Just Kids,&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/02\/mat-kearney-sings-about-childlike-faith-and-the-grace-of-surrendering-control.html","og_site_name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","article_published_time":"2015-02-25T11:26:38+00:00","author":"John W. 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Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations &amp; Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5917,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5916\/revisions\/5917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}