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SXSW preview: Matt Morris
If any single word summed up Matt Morris, it’d probably have to be ‘honest.’ If any two did the trick, they’d be ‘honest’ and ‘affable’ — much to my own relief.
Ten minutes into my interview with the 30-year-old Denver singer-songwriter, I imply that Morris has spent the better part of his life on the periphery of celebrity. As a member of the cast of ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ from 1991 to 1995, he toured the country and performed in front of millions. He kept in touch with former Mousketeers Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, co-writing songs with both, including Kelly Clarkson’s hit ‘Miss Independent.’ Even Morris’ dad, Gary, was a successful, gold-certified country artist in the ’80s, with whom Morris made his singing debut on-stage as a child.
Still, I’m immediately conscious that I might have made a faux pas employing the word ‘periphery,’ as if to demean Morris’ own work. With an amiable chuckle, Morris cuts me off before I can backtrack.
‘It’s OK to say I was on the periphery of celebrity,’ Morris says. ‘To be honest, that’s completely accurate.’
Maybe so, but that’s certainly not the case anymore. Since releasing sophomore album ‘When Everything Breaks Open’ in January — co-produced by longtime friend and creative partner Timberlake and Austin’s own Charlie Sexton — Morris has played ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ and ‘The Late Show with David Letterman.’ And his performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ with Timberlake and Sexton on the Hope for Haiti telethon reached an audience of millions — the program drew an estimated 83 millions viewers — and topped the iTunes singles chart.
For Morris, the most tangible sign of all that added success is pretty simple: he’s started selling out shows.
‘That’s the one way I know that things are different. We just sold out a show. That was unexpected for me. Everybody around me was around me was all “You didn’t think was going to happen?” and I was like “I’ve never done it before!” ’ said Morris. ‘That was amazing. To see that many people in a room was evidence that something had changed.’
A self-motivated performer and writer since childhood — auditioning for ‘The Mickey Mouse Club,’ he says, was entirely his own idea — Morris is particularly well-qualified to deal with the rigors of musical success. He watched his childhood friends become cultural icons in their teens, even as Morris labored in relative obscurity, releasing an independent album, ‘UnSpoken,’ in 2003.
That changed after Timberlake encouraged Morris to make a concerted effort to get his music — a brand of easy-going, blue-eyed soul — in front of more people. Timberlake signed Morris to his own label, Tenman Records, and found a seemingly unlikely co-producer: Austin’s Sexton. ‘When Everything Breaks Open’ was recorded largely at Public Hi-Fi, the Tarrytown studio founded by Spoon’s Jim Eno. Though the Timberlake/Sexton pairing might seem oddball, Morris says they share similar instincts, and Sexton brought a needed touch of roots-rock sensibility to Timberlake’s glossy production.
‘Charlie is an alchemist, you know? The man’s a bit of magic. He just makes things come into being where you didn’t think there was something. He could take a trash can and make it sound brilliant,’ Morris says. ‘He’s not the kind of producer that goes “I’m gonna make you into this or turn you into this.” He’s not a hit machine kind of guy. He’s what making records is really supposed to be like.’
Which goes back to that aforementioned ‘honesty’ quality — Morris credits his recent success to his openness, and wears his heart quite visibly on his sleeve in his songwriting. Seven years after releasing ‘UnSpoken,’ the openly gay Morris — he married boyfriend Sean Michael Morris during the brief period same-sex couples were able to do so in California — has a higher level of confidence and comfort that’s resonating with his fan base.
‘When I made my independent record I was still piecing together who I was. Now I’m married, I have a family, I’m out. And all of those things, that for some young artists could seem like a hindrance to their success, actually made me stronger,’ Morris says. ‘Making a decision to be out and not make a huge deal out of it, deciding to walk with integrity instead of being secretive about myself — that gave me some freedom to get on stage and be myself and not feel like I had to pretend to be a different guy or artist. And the more natural I am the more it seems to work.’
10 p.m. Saturday, Central Presbyterian Church, 200 E. Eighth St.
If you like Matt Morris, check out:
1. Tom Brosseau
2. OK Sweetheart
3. Dan Dyer
4. Kona
5. Raul Malo
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