Meet Matthew Phillips from San Diego

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Phillips.

Matthew, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My journey starts with learning piano at a very young age. This gave me a foundation in music theory. It was somewhere in junior high school I discovered the electric guitar. My Uncle Ralph put a Fender Stratocaster in my hand and I was forever enthralled by its sound. I grew up listening and learning from guitar players like Buddy Guy, Albert King, B.B king, SRV, Prince, and my all time favorite Eric Clapton. I began playing in the church and slowly worked my way into a touring guitarist. It was somewhere in this time period, I began to grow tired of playing for other people, I created my own band and tried that for a time.

As a band, we had a little hype going but nothing ever seemed to stick. It was a year and a half ago I started my career as a solo artist. That was the pivotal moment that everything fell into place. Building my personal brand felt very simple. It was solely up to me to make things happen. Only having to rely on myself really made me focus on pursuing my dream without needing the permission of others. We had some incredible opportunities fairly quickly including a sold out show at the House of Blues in downtown San Diego. Right after that show, we were given the opportunity to play at the Musicbox in Little Italy. It was at this time, I started to focus on building my social media presence and content. Instagram seemed to be the platform that I gravitated to the most. I would trend in the top posts on the hashtag San Diego regularly.

I noticed a fellow multi-instrumentalist Elise Trouw who would also trend. One day, I reached out and asked if she wanted to collaborate. We covered Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls one of my biggest inspirations. This indirectly put me on a call with an artist relations rep at Fender (My dream guitar company). Soon after this, I contacted Bslade, a 3-time Grammy-nominated recording artist. He was the only one I felt that Prince would approve to cover his anthem “Purple Rain”. We released the Tribute on the one year anniversary of his passing at it went viral in the guitar world. The shows started to get bigger and bigger and then one day, we get the call from KAABOO. KAABOO is a 3 day Music Festival with the biggest names in Music coming to play in front of 150,000 people throughout the weekend. The headliners included The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink, Muse, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. To have my name on the same page/bill as Tom Petty to this day still feels like a dream. It was an incredible experience and something I will never forget. I am very blessed to live out my dream daily and work with the best companies. I am currently in Australia on tour. Getting to travel the world and play my music is something words cannot describe. The passion comes out in my playing and when I am on stage. My hope is to inspire others to chase their dreams. At the end of the day, the only person stopping you is you.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
With any success comes hate. I get a lot of hateful DMs and just cruel messages.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Matthew Phillips – what should we know?
I am a multi-instrumentalist, but I am primarily known as a singer and guitarist. I have learned that the relationships and friendships formed in the music industry are what matters most. The people that support what I do inspire me and move me to create. A personal brand and consistent image are essential. Creating video in 2018 is absolutely crucial. I love creating content that tells a story.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My uncle Ralph was the first person to put a guitar in my hand. My parents for believing in me and investing thousands and thousands of dollars into music lessons. Jerrell Ayran for being the best producer in the world and working with me to make my musical visions a reality. Dusty Lane for being such a mentor in how to navigate the industry and steer me in the right direction. Adam Graham for always rocking with me on the drums. Merissa Cooper for always having my back in monitor world and triggering tracks at every live performance ive ever played. Chris Ruel for all he has done to up my content to the next level. He also makes me sound incredible regularly sitting in as my front of house engineer. Josh Watson my guitar tech for always keeping my guitars ready. Christopher Leyva for being like a big brother to me in helping navigate my way throughout the music industry. Every single person that has ever been apart of my journey. I have so much love for anyone who has decided to join me on this adventure. Without the people that come to my shows, that follow me on social media, none of this would be possible. All the Glory to God.

Contact Info:

• Website: MatthewPhillipsMusic.com
• Email: Contact@matthewphillipsmusic.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/mattsmusicofficial
• Facebook: Facebook.com/theelevation

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