ARTIST | Matt Brouwer
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FREE ALBUM PREVIEW FROM NEWRELEASETUESDAY.COM |
| Posted: 08/26/08 13:13:10 | Member: (admin) | Tag: New Album!! |
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FREE ALBUM PREVIEW FROM NEWRELEASETUESDAY.COM |
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Vince Gill, Amy Grant, and Michael Omartian Partner with Matt Brouwer for his 3rd album, "Where's Our Revolution?" |
| Posted: 04/18/08 07:50:31 | Member: (admin) | Tag: New Album!! |
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"Where's Our Revolution" is produced by Grammy winning music legend Michael Omartian. The album is a pop/rock triumph that just may catapult Brouwer into the pop music fray, but it's the emerging fearlessness in Brouwer's writing that may be the records biggest achievement. There are twelve songs that make up the new project, which are sensitive and compelling both musically and lyrically. The marriage of Brouwer’s writing and vision, paired-up with Michael Omartian’s arrangements and production has created a work that is both artistic and commercial. Matt Brouwer was born in the eastern Canadian town of Truro, Nova Scotia. He is the sixth of seven kids born and raised on a dairy farm. In college Matt began to take music seriously and he started a band with a few friends there. “We got together because we had a need to ask some deeper questions.” Also, he remembers, “We were not skilled musicians, just willing to do whatever it took to be together.” Eventually, what came as a result of that experience was a tour and an album, which garnered international attention, received two Vibe Awards (Canadian People's Choice Award), was nominated for a Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy equivalent), and produced two top 10 radio singles. Brouwer's early songs had strong Christian and gospel roots which were influenced by the music he grew up with in the church. Despite strong industry appreciation of Brouwer's debut, sales were disappointing and sent Brouwer back to the drawing board. At this point Brouwer began to stretch out and his writing began to encompass more comprehensive subject matter in a way that spoke to the heart of the human experience. His 2005 Indie album, Unlearning, was a moment of transition. A rare and lyrically gripping project, this album propelled Brouwer more in the direction of a singer/songwriter, showing signs of a fearless honesty emerging. The project became an important step in laying the groundwork for an exciting push into the national spotlight. The result was Matt's first appearance on the Billboard Charts with a #21 single "I Shall Believe" (CCM AC) and a top 5 single on the New Music Weekly Indie Top 40 Chart with "Surrender". |
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New Album - "Where's Our Revolution?" |
| Posted: 04/06/08 21:18:38 | Member: (admin) | Tag: New Album!! |
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I just wanted to let you know a bit about what I'm up to. This year is shaping up to be very eventful as I'll be recording a brand new studio album in February and March in Nashville. Michael Omartian will be producing this time around and I'm thrilled and humbled to be working with such an amazing producer. The self-titled album will be released in the Spring as far as I know and to give you a little inside info into the songs I'm working on I have included some lyrics from the song, "Where's Our Revolution" that I'm really excited about. This CD is more 'upbeat' both musically and lyrically from anything I've done so far so it's fun to explore some new territory as an artist. I'm so excited about 2008! I'll be touring with my band across North America so keep in touch and stay tuned to the website for tour dates in your area. With all the internet media we are discovering there are literally hundreds of ways for us to stay in touch so let's do it!! God bless you all this year and I hope to see many of you really soon. In peace and love, -matt Where's Our Revolution (matt brouwer) I've been living alone now for six months I've been lost inside my head Carrying on a cryptic conversation with myself Well this was not in the plans now Not what I imagined my life would be Ain't is sad, ain't it sad when everything's crumbling Well slow down, take your time Or you will not survive And I know this to be true But it's so hard to do Where's our revolution? Maybe somethings getting in the way Waiting for a solution that gets farther off everyday The only thing I know is We'll never make it alone I've been walking along this Lost and lonely road without an end I've started contemplating that I might not Find my way again But do you remember where? Where to go from here Is it okay to ask you now Cause I might need a little help So Where's our revolution? Maybe somethings getting in the way Waiting for a solution that gets farther off everyday The only thing I know is We'll never make it alone Slow down, dry your eyes, revolutionize Cause it's time to believe again And I think, I'm sure, I know we can, we can, we can So Where's our revolution? Maybe somethings getting in the way Waiting for a solution that gets farther off everyday The only thing I know is We'll never make it alone Where's Our Revolution (matt brouwer) I've been living alone now for six months I've been lost inside my head Carrying on a cryptic conversation with myself Well this was not in the plans now Not what I imagined my life would be Ain't is sad, ain't it sad when everything's crumbling Well slow down, take your time Or you will not survive And I know this to be true But it's so hard to do Where's our revolution? Maybe somethings getting in the way Waiting for a solution that gets farther off everyday The only thing I know is We'll never make it alone I've been walking along this Lost and lonely road without an end I've started contemplating that I might not Find my way again But do you remember where? Where to go from here Is it okay to ask you now Cause I might need a little help So Where's our revolution? Maybe somethings getting in the way Waiting for a solution that gets farther off everyday The only thing I know is We'll never make it alone Slow down, dry your eyes, revolutionize Cause it's time to believe again And I think, I'm sure, I know we can, we can, we can So Where's our revolution? Maybe somethings getting in the way Waiting for a solution that gets farther off everyday The only thing I know is We'll never make it alone |
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Life in the Studio |
| Posted: 04/06/08 21:14:04 | Member: (admin) | Tag: New Album!! |
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it's been way too long I know, but I am gonna try and write a lot more now that things have settled down into a routine. I have been in the studio for about 3 weeks now and it has been one of those amazing, magical life experiences that take you by surprise. We have been tracking songs for a new album in Nashville. I am working with a producer named Michael Omartian who is a legend, and the people he works with are just amazing as well, namely Terry Christian who is engineering the process. I am going to start posting lyrics from the 12 new songs I have written or co-written for this project, and I must say that I can't wait to share them with you all! The release of the CD is tentatively sometime near the end of May. Please keep in touch, I'd love to hear from all of you. We need your help! Help us some promo photos, we'll be giving you the choices between the good, the bad, and the ugly :) ...so look for that as well. Other than that, I'm gonna start on a North American tour through Canada and the US for the remainder of the year starting in April or May. Can't wait to see you!! Matt |
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Trip to Guatemala |
| Posted: 07/04/07 08:58:07 | Member: (Blackshoe) | Tag: default |
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I just got back from Guatemala yesterday and as the events from the trip begin to sink in, I thought I'd share with you what an amazing time it was. This is the 4th time I have been to Central America but each time is unique and I learn something new. I went with a group from my church as well as a non-profit called NBRI where I serve as a board member. We run a medical mission up in the mountain region called Santa Cruz Del Quiche where we stayed in the dorm for the week. Every morning we would pack up and drive to a nearby town called San Pedro where we put on a 4-day "day club" for the kids of the town. It's just so amazing to hang out with these kids most of whom come from varying levels of intense poverty. The joy on their faces and laughter is enough to melt even the hardest heart. The love and acceptance of the Mayan people in general is a life changing experience for most who visit and my experience is no exception. In the afternoon after the kids left we would work. We've been in the process of funding a school building project in the town and this year we were laying down tile in the hallway entry. It was so cool to see the progress especially after working with the kids in the morning, to know that this school will be a place where they will soon be gathering to receive a quality education and Spiritual teaching was just awesome. The last day of our trip as we drove back to the city we stopped at an orphanage just outside of the city of Antigua. This particular place is the home of about 450 orphans some with back-stories that are absolutely heartbreaking. Many have been severely abused and abandoned. This is a Spiritual place of healing for these young people and you can feel God's love when you enter the courtyard. At one point one of the kids asked me to pull out my guitar and play a song I'd written. I started to play and before long there was a crowd of kids who had gathered to listen. What struck me was that while we played the kids did not keep a safe distance away but literally crowded us in and put their hands on our shoulders, they wanted to be a part of the music and did not have the emotional barriers that seem to keep so many of us as North Americans from diving into an experience like that. It was a special moment and one that I will not soon forget. All in all this trip provided a deeply humbling experience for me to realize that all the success and power in the world really means nothing, there are people living today that have basically nothing who have a greater understanding of what's important in life than I can comprehend. I felt like I learned more from the way they live and love others than I could ever have offered to them in return. |
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Stories Behind the Songs..."unfamiliar" |
| Posted: 03/29/07 13:55:47 | Member: (admin) | Tag: default |
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"Unfamiliar" (matt brouwer) I was driving in my car in East Texas when the idea for this song was born. I was three years old when my father was killed in a car accident. Essentially, I never knew him. As a toddler I'm sure that I experienced some sense of loss when it happened. As a teenager I dealt with it again as expressed in anger and feeling sorry for myself. But as an adult a very different sense of needing to deal with this death, the death of a parent, began to grip me and really opened up an incredibly vulnerable part of my heart. It was in that place that I wrote these lyrics as a letter to my father on the other side of death. I wondered about that day, the facts I have heard a thousand times and yet it never seemed real to me as I was too young to fully comprehend them. I wondered what he might think about all of us kids if he could see us now and what we've become. I wonder about that place after death and the faith that he passed down and how it gives me hope even now. After I wrote the song, I hesitated to even share it with people for fear of exploiting his memory and simply because I felt uncomfortably exposed by sharing it. But in the hopes that it could offer some encouragement I recorded the song and have not regretted it. Here are the lyrics… Was it a cold November in '79 The day you left the future and your troubles behind? You flew right by us without a warning Didn't we just see you this morning With your sleepy eyed smile You said goodbye, goodbye You said goodbye Just hours ago today Everything was okay, okay Until I started thinking through The things I never knew about you I never knew you Well since you've been gone There've been some changes Everyone has more than doubled ages Moving on as life sets in But there're pieces of you all across the pages In five plus two more lives you gave us Wondering if we're gaining any ground Or just walking around, around Well I want to do more than stand my ground Just hours ago today Everything was okay, okay Until I started thinking through The things I never knew about you I never knew you Somewhere on another shore Where death won't hold us anymore We'll stand Held together in the light that shines on everything We'll see we never had to say goodbye |
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Stories Behind the Songs.. |
| Posted: 03/29/07 13:54:57 | Member: (admin) | Tag: default |
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"Redemption Hymn" (By Matt Brouwer) "the writing of this song is one of those rare experiences as a songwriter of being given the gift of a complete song in one sitting. I had been playing the chord progression for a few months and had no real idea what to do with it. Then one afternoon I had some spare time to just sit and play my guitar and if I remember right, I was pretty worn out from playing and traveling. I kinda felt disconnected mentally--spiritually--and it reminded me of the time of Spiritual wandering I had just come through...the frustrations of repeating my mistakes and a deep longing for peace and shelter even in the middle of questioning...the moment when nothing matters except for letting it all go and surrendering to a higher authority. I felt so humbled by a mysterious grace that I was encountering in spite of the fact that there was still a long way to go...For me a key verse to the mood of the song is this, "Is there ever a chance at all/for someone to stand/when we're born to fall?/Well I come ready to be redeemed/I'm down on my knees/Can I wash in the water?/drink from this well and never thirst again?/Can I sail on the ocean and cast all these doubts and fears away?" |
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Stories Behind the Songs..."surrender" |
| Posted: 03/29/07 13:46:06 | Member: (admin) | Tag: default |
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"Surrender" (matt brouwer) "I wrote this song for a family member of mine who had been traveling abroad since high school and who I had not seen in a long time. I was dealing with my own pile of junk from the years of growing up and losing a parent early on, etc. and wondered what it was that motivated this other person to do the things they were doing in the world as we started out in the same place. It soon became clear that this song was also about my own journey and really my hope to re-connect with this family member and find the things we share when all the walls come down, how we were really in the same boat." |
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Release of B-Sides to Lifeway Christian Bookstores |
| Posted: 02/06/07 08:32:37 | Member: (admin) | Tag: default |
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Matt Brouwer Releases Third Album "B-sides Recording Vol. 1" to LifeWay Christian Bookstores Houston, TX --- Matt Brouwer is releasing his newest album, "B-sides Recording Vol. 1" on Black Shoe Records, to LifeWay Christian bookstores across the country January 22, 2007. The album has already garnered major market attention on the CCM AC charts with it's first single release "Father I Adore You" and the second release "Surrender". The album was selected to be in Lifeway's "Discovery Program" which is designed to promote up and coming artists to their stores. The CD will be placed on one of the prominent "endcap" positions and available at a listening station in each store through March 17, 2007. Spanning the 5 years that Matt has been a recording artist, these songs represent a specific spiritual focus that grew out of his experiences while making music in college and the years since. Some of these recordings date back as far as 1999 before his maiden voyage to Nashville while he was in a college band in Canada. The "B-sides Recording Vol. 1" also includes 5 brand new recordings including, "All I Want", "'Tis So Sweet" and "Peace (It is Well)". Matt deliveres a beautiful collection of Spiritual songs that mark his journey thus far, a "book-end" of sorts, remembering where he came from and looking forward to the next chapter. For more information about "B-sides Recording Vol. 1" and Matt Brouwer go to www.mattbrouwer.com or www.myspace.com/mattbrouwermusic |
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The B-Sides Recording Vol. 1 CD Review |
| Posted: 12/20/06 11:01:45 | Member: (admin) | Tag: default |
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Matt Brouwer "The B-Sides Recording Vol. 1" Wow - These "B Sides" are A+ from our perspective! If you enjoy adult rock bands such as The Fray, Train, or Del Amitri, you've got to give this CD a listen. The songwriting is hook-filled; The musicianship (especially vocals) is top-notch; The lyrics are meaningful, spiritual, and relevant; And the CD production is totally pro. "All I Want" and "Surrender" have all the elements of mainstream adult rock radio top 10 songs. "Freedom Song" builds from subdued verses with neat guitar licks, to a power-packed, hook-filled chorus. "Nails" is a beautiful spiritual song with tasteful harmonies. In the world of adult rock music, this is a must-have CD. -Reviewer: Staff at RadioIndy.com |
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Cd Review of Matt's Music |
| Posted: 12/15/06 11:36:16 | Member: (admin) | Tag: default |
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Matt Brouwer: Unlearning Review © Kevan Breitinger Last year's "Unlearning," from Matt Brouwer, is more than just a collection of well-crafted rock songs delivered expressively. He slices open a vein for our edification. I loved the solid, sensitive songs, offered always with both artistry and sincerity. But what stunned me was its honesty, its vulnerability. Matt Brouwer wrote the songs of "Unlearning" during a season of searching, and he holds nothing back from any listeners who may be enduring the same kinds of struggle. It is an act of generosity that I find hugely compelling and appealing. The fact that the music is equally excellent makes "Unlearning" a must-have record. Brouwer garnered national attention relatively quickly following the release of 2001's "Imagerical", after the disc became a worship favorite in churches across North America and earned him numerous awards and nominations. But much of the "success" it brought him raised questions that were not easily answered, some of them the kinds of questions being asked within the industry today. The aptly-titled "Unlearning" openly shares the spiritual and emotional wrestling that took place within the young singer/songwriter's heart during that long season. These rockers are hook-rich and well-written, with muscular guitars balanced against subtle, sometimes delicate, electric noodling moments. Containing a quiet sense of hope, they bravely examine those moments of doubt, fear, and wonder that we all face, if we dare to look beneath the surface of the day's frenetic pace. The honest and insightful "Surrender" contains these confrontational lines: "London, LA, Tokyo/ anywhere you want to go/ but you can't escape yourself/ its deep inside where you regress/ you're incomplete and fatherless/ there's so much anchored bitterness that you hold/ let it go". Yet the track would have to be described as encouraging in its message and its tone. Therein is the beautiful dichotomy of "Unlearning", explaining in its essence, its deep worthiness: it is true to life. The title track is nicely accented by Josh Grange's pedal steel as it considers the truths lying below the surface of daily life. This track and several others (the sonic delights of "If You Stay" and truth-heavy "Why Can't We Be Honest") also includes free-flow jams on the way out, a feature that I enjoyed thoroughly. Brouwer digs in so deep in these musical gems of examination, that those free flow endings provide release, a visceral sense of exuberance, of healing. A moving song of great vulnerability, "Unfamiliar" expresses Brouwer's yearning for the father he lost at an early age. It too is faith-filled, even in its deep loss. The superb Kendall Payne joins Brouwer for a rich cover of Sheryl Crow's "I Shall Believe", their voices blending movingly over sweet electric guitar tidbits. Brouwer throws himself in surrender at God's feet on the well-crafted closer, "Redemption Hymn", delivered with straightforward simplicity and passion. My only regret at the album's end is that I had not found it sooner. But the good news is that Matt Brouwer is releasing "The B-Sides Recording, Volume 1" very soon. Look for the Suite review next week. |
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