By Sonia Schnee | Posted Thursday, March 8, 2018
NJ Pop-EDM artist, actor, and film producer, Matthew Schultz, recently released his new single entitled "Promise for Keeps" (scroll down to watch the music video). Learn more about Matthew's musical influences, personal journey, and words of advice to up-and-comers in our interview, below.
What's your name, where are you from, where are you based now?
My name is Matthew Schultz. I was born and currently live in New Jersey. I also have offices in New York and right outside Los Angeles so I spend a lot of time in those locations.
Tell us about your music. How would you describe your sound? Where do you record? Who are your influences, musically?
I love all genres of music, and I want that to be reflected in my music. I think that my music is best described as Pop-EDM with a little bit of Rock, Hip-hop and Dancehall sprinkled in. I grew up listening to Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Gipsy Kings, Dave Matthews Band and Michael Jackson. Musically, I am inspired by today’s artists and producers. I love what Major Lazer, Calvin Harris, PartyNextDoor, and Tory Lanez are doing. I currently record in Staten Island mostly with my mentor, favorite producer, and musician Armando Guarnera. Armando and his daughter Alessia Guarnera are some of the most talented musicians, songwriters, and performers that I have ever witnessed. I have learned so much from both of them.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get started with music? What's been your personal journey? What has inspired you to do what you do? Are there any artists, bands, or producers who you'd love to collaborate with one day?
I started to fall in love music the first time I saw my uncles and cousins jamming out at our family functions when I was about 8 years old. My first band in high school was with Chris Daughtry. It has been amazing watching his journey, and I am blessed with his friendship to this day, he truly inspires me. I pursued a career in banking right after college to try and help support my family after my father passed away. I always wanted to also fulfill my dreams of being a “rock star” so it was a lot of sleepless nights trying to juggle both. I have had the privilege to record songs with some of my favorite artists like Jim Jones and Gyptian. I think that if I was able to collaborate again one day with Chris Daughtry it would be a pretty amazing story.
What words of advice or encouragement would you give to someone who wants to follow a similar passion, or is maybe facing similar obstacles to what you've faced?
My motto is “Chase Dreams Responsibly.” When I was younger, I really wanted to pursue a career in music and entertainment. I did not have the luxury of being able to really focus on my dreams as a primary source of income, being faced with my obligation to take care of my mom and sister after my father passed away. I used to look around at most of my friends who were actors or music artists and most of them were broke. I do feel that there is an “all in” mindset you do have to have when pursuing a dream, but you have to be responsible. You cannot just hope that one day you will wake up and be a “Rock Star.” It usually does not just happen overnight and it usually is a very low probability that you will reach the level of success to have the type of lifestyle most people relate with being a music superstar. As soon as I graduated college, I went right into banking and never looked back. I always wanted to make sure that I looked at banking as my career and music as my creative hobby with upside. I got the best of both worlds; I got to create financial stability as well as chase my dreams. I found that it takes the pressure off having to be forced to create music to try and pay bills. I am now President of a large independent bank and create and oversee billions of dollars of mortgage production annually. Now I have money to also fuel my music career, and it gets expensive to compete with the big Artists and Labels!
What's next on the horizon for you? Do you have any shows coming up? Plans for your next album?
I am currently working on finishing my next follow up single to “Promise For Keeps.” I plan to release three more singles this year and also finish my album.
Finally, how can people find you online?
https://www.facebook.com/matthewbschultz
https://twitter.com/mschultz33
http://www.reverbnation.com/matthewschultzofficial
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Sd3zmzvPHUeBp7jWxIGfP
https://instagram.com/matthewbschultz/