Singer Matt Gold released his first album, Drown Before You Swim, in 2012. It ranked him on Amazon.com's Top 20 Adult Contemporary music downloads for weeks. The openly gay singer is slowly moving from his darker work to more upbeat tracks this year.
He recently brought his live act to Uncommon Ground on Devon and Windy City Times met him for an exclusive face-to-face interview.
Windy City Times: Hi, Matt. You are from the Midwest?
Matt Gold: I'm from Ohio originally.
WCT: Have you been to Chicago before this show?
Matt Gold: I have been here for IML and Pride. This is my first performance here other than [the former piano bar] Gentry that had open mic that I sang at one time. That was fun but a long time ago.
WCT: Have you always wanted to sing?
Matt Gold: I have and I have been playing and singing since I was 8. I took a month of piano lessons. I turned down college to do this.
WCT: With only a month of piano lessons do you just play by ear?
Matt Gold: Yes. I just quit when it got too hard. I can read music but if I were to sit down and play classical music I would do better hearing it than actually looking at the music. I know what the notes are but I am not really good with the technical aspects of it. I do it my way. I played in a church for eight years so I am used to playing hymns.
WCT: Where do you live now?
Matt Gold: I live in Bloomington, Ind. I came up for this and next week I leave for LA to finish up my new album.
WCT: It comes out in March?
Matt Gold: That's the goal. I think the video and album both come out in the middle of March. The video for the first single is called "Appreciated." It is different than my normal stuff. It is really upbeat and poppy. I do have some happy songs but not many.
WCT: What is the story behind your gloomier work?
Matt Gold: I think "Ordinary" is middle-of-the-road. It is not sad and kind of a love ballad. "Oh Joe" was a bromance type of situation. "Void" was very depressing.
WCT: Is it a break-up song?
Matt Gold: Yes; it is about my last relationship. That one is very difficult. I am not doing that one tonight. It always depends on the venue and the crowd. This is an intimate venue that holds about 60 people and I prefer it. I like more intimate venues but I am not opposed to huge crowds either. I do the Tori Amos and Rufus Wainwright kind of thing. I think it is great to get that focus of attention.
WCT: Wouldn't it be great to get those kinds of fans?
Matt Gold: I think I eventually will. I have a decent fan base now. Five thousand likes on Facebook isn't bad. It's a good start. I think for me it is about people knowing who I am. I don't think it's about the talent or music not being there. I think it is getting it out into the social world. If I were more prolific in that it would happen the way it was supposed to happen. I think there is something to be said about a slow steady climb as opposed to instantaneous gratification. That is fine for some people but it is also a learning process for yourself.
WCT: What do you want people to know about you?
Matt Gold: I am putting myself out there honestly how I am. It's not fake or a big facade. I am doing my thing and being honest. I think that is what has kept me really relatable to people. I have noticed on their comments that they are able to relate. I think that works. I'm accessible. I think people need artists who are accessible.
WCT: Are you in a happier place now and that is why the music is changing?
Matt Gold: I wouldn't say I was unhappy before; I am just a very deep person. I'm just usually serious. I like to write light things but I don't really sit down to write whatever—it just happens.
We are doing a six-song EP. I don't think the material is as heavy as "Void" but it is definitely intense and emotional. There were more upbeat songs on the album but we had to cut them because I wasn't really happy with the way they were going. I wanted to get the album done and work with that I had and not go back and redo things because it is very expensive. I have songs like "Appreciated" that are happier and upbeat. I'm a middle of the road kind of guy. It is difficult for me to come up with set lists because I don't want to make my audience depressed. I try to keep a good balance.
WCT: Are you doing cover songs?
Matt Gold: I might do a couple of cover songs tonight. I always try to change it up for me it is a mood thing. I will have a list of what I want then I will change it at the last second. If you are not feeling the song and you do it then it is not going to come across the right way. I never like singing something that I feel forced to sing.
WCT: I noticed some cabaret-style singing on your YouTube videos.
Matt Gold: Oh, the "Santa Baby" song? I can do that stuff but I don't think that is the authentic me. I am not saying that is fake but that is just me showing a different side of me. I can do cabaret and Broadway stuff if I really want to but that is not where my heart is.
I grew up listening to Tori Amos, so that is where I learned everything. Tori Amos, The Cure, Depeche Mode—they are all pretty deep and dark. I understand that is not everyone's tastes and that is fine. Sometimes I don't want to listen to Tori I just want to listen to blow off stuff that doesn't make any sense but on the same token I don't want to put out that type of music.
At the end of the day, I think people need to come home to something that wraps their arms around them. When we are all alone and the party is over then you start thinking and things happen.
WCT: Do you have a favorite musical?
Matt Gold: No, which is strange because I am gay and I feel like I am supposed to like this stuff. Not to be trite about it, but I like Chicago the musical.
WCT: It is coming here in the next few weeks.
Matt Gold: I love that show and would love to see Bebe Neuwirth in it. She is playing the Mama Morton role since she had done the other two parts. I thought that was interesting.
I have seen Sweeney Todd and I like that. I like The Wild Party. I am not the type of guy that would go see Cats or Phantom of the Opera but maybe Victor/Victoria.
I have a lot of friends in musical theater but I am kind of alternative. I like indie and grunge.
WCT: Describe what being an out musician means to you.
Matt Gold: Being an out musician is fine but I don't define myself through that. I don't look at my sexuality as being any different than having blonde hair and blue eyes. It hasn't hurt me or helped me. For me, it's a non-issue. I'm glad to be a positive role model for the community but at the end of the day it is really about the music for me. It is not about labels.
Everyone tries to put you in a box with the music that you do. I hate that. I hate being shoved into a category. I feel like the music is what it is and you as the listener decides how it affects you.
WCT: Rufus Wainwright is gay but has large straight crowds at his shows.
Matt Gold: I think he is more cabaret and Broadway than I am. I also see him as adult contemporary like myself. I always use Elton John as an example. We all know Elton John is gay but that never came across to me as an issue when I was listening to his music. I feel there are certain artists that play into that gay demographic and some that don't just leaving it up to speculation or the public to decide. They are in that middle ground and not shutting out a certain type of audience.
I'm not up there singing about gay things or gay relationships. "Oh Joe" I left so ambiguous that it could be [about] a bromance or a best friend.
I don't do it on purpose. I just write what comes to me. There is one I am writing specifically about a boy. I am fine with that but want to have stuff that everyone can relate to.
When we found out that Melissa Etheridge was gay, those past songs changed. That might not sit well with people. I don't want to limit my demographic because I have stuck myself in a category.
Look for Gold's new album in March; visit www.mattgold.net .
