After a silencing illness, Matthew West is back with his storytelling songs
Matthew West spent nearly a decade writing songs recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts, Natalie Grant and Mandisa. Then, in 2003, he released his own recording, "More," which scored an instant hit in the Christian music industry.
The singer/songwriter followed it up with "Only Grace" and other songs, garnering multiple Dove Award nominations. He toured with other Christian groups, such as tobyMac and BarlowGirl. He definitely was on the way up as a Christian pop-rock musician.
But last year, after preparing songs for his third album, "Something to Say," he suddenly was forced into silence and a six-month concert hiatus when doctors discovered a vascular polyp and hemorrhaged blood vessels on his vocal cords.
Fully recovered, the 31-year-old will appear Monday at the Stanislaus County Fair. Expect to hear older favorites, songs from his new album and possibly a song he makes up on the spot.
"Everybody who attends will get a free funnel cake," he said. "Just kidding. I hope to just bring a great concert experience for people. I don't take myself too seriously, so I'm going to do my best to have a good time. There may be people who laugh and some people who cry. I like to be moved by music that speaks to me."
West, married for five years to Emily and with a 2½-year-old daughter, Lulu, lives near Nashville, but was born and raised in Downer's Grove, a suburb of Chicago. He had just returned from a long jog with his father, a pastor, near his parents' home when The Bee caught up with him Thursday afternoon.
Here's what he had to say about his life, his surgery and his songs:
Q: When did you have your surgery, and how long did you have to stay silent?
A: I had surgery May 17, 2007. I had to not speak or sing for about two months. I wasn't able to do any concerts until September, so my career was at a standstill for about six months.
Q: When did you write your first song?
A: It was my freshman year in college. I had loved music for a long time but was much more interested in sports. When I discovered I wouldn't be a professional baseball player, I gravitated to writing songs.
My first song had four chords and my entire life story. It was about some girl, the things as a young college student you were most inspired by. My friend joked that in all my first songs, I wrote about two topics: God and girls.
I'm just really a storyteller at heart. I write songs about things going on around me, but I still write about God and girls. These days, they're about my daughter or my wife.
Q: What Christian and secular artists do you admire?
A: There's no one better than Steven Curtis Chapman. After meeting him and doing some shows with him, I have such respect for him. In mainstream music, I like classic artists like James Taylor and more modern-rock stuff like Matchbox Twenty.
Q: How would you describe your music?
A: Pop-rock with a story to tell. Musically, I'm pretty diverse. I've always strived to be an artist that may be a bit unpredictable. My live shows are high energy. The band is great, but there's also those intimate moments of me singing my heart and sharing those songs.
Q: What's next on your playlist? Any changes in your songwriting?
A: One of the things that always forces me to remain fresh is I always do a lot of songwriting for other recording artists. That's kind of behind the scenes and many people don't realize that. It's like every day is a new challenge. For the last few days, I've been working on some songs for Mandisa, who was on "American Idol" a couple of years ago. On any given day, my songs could land and reach people beyond my artist career.
"The Day Before You" was a song I wrote for my wedding. Rascal Flatts heard it and wanted to record it. The album ("Feels Like Today") was released in 2004 and won several awards.
Q: What will you offer to fairgoers Monday night?
A: It's an exciting opportunity. I don't take it lightly, especially since I had surgery. I really want to sing and make a difference. I don't take that for granted. And I'm going to speak a message: No matter how hopeless your life seems, I've been there. God really showed me that he's not done with me yet. I'm going to stand on a stage in California and speak about that. No matter how broken we might seem, God isn't done with us yet.
Q: What's the favorite song you've done so far?
A: There's a song called "More" that started my whole career. To this day, when I get on stage and sing that song, the crowd sings it for me and I get moved. My favorite song of the moment is called "Safe and Sound," that I wrote for my daughter when I was anticipating her arrival.
Q: What's the major lesson you've learned in your walk with God?
A: Most recently, a major lesson I've learned is our broken pieces are something that God can share with the rest of the world to show how great he is. We go through life thinking it's our best qualities who show what we are. But through my surgery and some of the humbling times of my life, I realize if I hold up those broken pieces and my weakest moments, that God can even speak through those things. It's the brokenness of our lives that God uses to give us something to say to the world.
Life isn't like a TV show where you find out all the answers at the end of an hour. When you go through something in your life, you may not see the whole lessons that you've learned. There's something about being broken in your life; when you realize that you have nothing to bring to the table with God, it's a good place to be. It means I'm not relying on my own strength, but his.
Bee staff writer Sue Nowicki can be reached at snowicki@modbee.com or 578-2012.
This story was originally published July 26, 2008 at 6:20 AM with the headline "After a silencing illness, Matthew West is back with his storytelling songs."