Formerly, Eugene, Oregonian 27 year-old Mat Kearney (pronounced Car-knee) now residing in Nashville, Tennessee has released his major label debut CD, Nothing Left to Lose, on Aware/Columbia records. This disc is a uniquely original combination of hip-hop rhymes and pop rock sensibilities. Kearney has an uncompromising ability to connect with his audiences in an intensely personal manner. His music speaks to directly to your soul. He possesses both originality and purpose with his deep introspection.
For singer-songwriter Mat Kearney, Nothing Left to Lose is about how the echoes of your past can guide you through what lies ahead. On the title-track, Kearney retraces the long road that brought him from his hometown in Eugene, Oregon to his adopted home in Nashville, Tennessee. Written to make sense of his life, Nothing Left to Lose looks at the past to see the future. The album reflects his confidence and self-expression infusing hip-hop rhymes, folk, and pop rock with captivating melodies.
Nothing Left to Lose, features 13 original tracks produced by Robert Marvin and Mat Kearney recorded at Bridge Street, The Smokehouse and Sweetbriar Studios. Kearney plays acoustic guitar and is joined by Paul Moak (guitar), Lynn Nichols (guitar), Tony Lucido (bass) Lindsay Jamieson (drums) and others.
While in college in California, the Oregon-native visited Nashville on a summer break. In the country music capital he began writing emotionally complex songs dealing with redemption, spirituality and misery that were inspired by the works of Southern writers such as Flannery O’Conner and William Faulkner. After writing four songs, Kearney called home to say he would not be coming back. He began performing a songwriter nights at local venues alongside Nickel Creek and Duncan Sheik. Following a performance in Chicago, Aware Records president Gregg Latterman immediately signed him to his label.
In high school Kearney became interested in hip-hop. “When I started writing, I picked up a guitar and started blending in my poetry with the music I was writing. There’s something about the urgency of the spoken word,” he says, stressing the word urgency. Another influence in his environment was his parents’ spirituality. “My parents’ faith was a big part of their lives and their story. I valued that,” he says, “My music is committed to the idea of redemption.” This idea is evident in his songs on this new disc.
Kearney’s music can be heard on national television shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” MTV’s “Laguna Beach,” Fox’s “Bones,” and on promo’s for “Friday Night Lights”. Mat was picked as one of six hot young emerging artists to be featured during spring season of AOL Music’s innovative Breakers new music series.
Kearney’s sound incorporates wide-ranging influences that paint his songs with strength and passion with melodic choruses and acoustic folk/pop. Mat has headlined shows throughout the country and has opened for artists such as Train, Sheryl Crow, and currently on tour with John Mayer, among others. Check out Mat Kearney at: www.matkearney.com or www.myspace.com/matkearney.
