Tony Scott: 0:13

Welcome to The Jay Franze Show, a behind-the-curtain look at the entertainment industry, with insights you can't pay for and stories you've never heard. Now here's your host, Jay Franze.

Jay Franze: 0:42

Well, hello, hello, hello and welcome to the show. I am Jay Franze and this is your backstage pass to the entertainment industry. This week we get to talk with an amazing new country artist. We get to talk with Matt Oakley. We'll talk to him about his influences, his writing process and we'll discuss his marketing strategies. Now, matt is an amazing new talent and I can't wait to talk with him tonight. So if you would like to join in comment or fire off any questions, please head over to jfranzycom. Now let's get started. Matt sir, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you doing? I am absolutely fantastic. Thank you, if you don't mind, why don't you just start by telling us about your influences?

Matt Oakley: 1:27

Yeah for sure. So I mean, if we want to date it back to just what made me love country music and kind of get into it, would be everyone asked me what band or what artist, and the one that I keep repeating that I kind of grew up on would be Rascal Flatts. We went to a bunch of Rascal Flatts concerts. We listened to a bunch of their songs and there was something wholesome about it that carried on like throughout my life where it was like I put on those songs and I could kind of get a feel for it.

Matt Oakley: 1:52

And ultimately, when I got into songwriting and recording, I wanted to be able to translate certain things that have happened in my life and tell a story the same way they did. And so I'd say that's the earliest influence I can go back to and it's been the biggest one these days A lot of Riley Green, cody Johnson, that like real heartfelt storytelling songwriting. That that's always hit me the strongest, and so I figured if I'm going to make something to talk about my life, it might hit the audience the strongest.

Jay Franze: 2:20

So you mentioned storytelling. Does that mean you feel storytelling is essential to your writing process?

Matt Oakley: 2:26

Yeah, I'd say that's the strongest part to him. Early on, when I got into it and I was like just first starting out it was a bunch of nonsense. It was like, okay, this rhymes and this kind of has a decent melody to it. Let's just put it over some instrument and it'll sound good and it'll do good minutes.

Matt Oakley: 2:41

But you learn over time that what grabs you and what keeps people coming back over and over is like they and whatever emotion they can invoke from whether it's your voice or whether it's your melody or whether it's your writing, and I've just I dove fully in the writing aspect of it. I don't think I'm the greatest singer of all time, but I I do think I can hold my own when it comes to let's sit down and let's let's create a song that people can either relate to or follow along, almost as if you got. You got them for three or four minutes, tell them a story that they can come back to or get parts of and come back to you later, and I think that's the coolest aspect of it all. So, yeah, I'd say storytelling is the strongest part.

Jay Franze: 3:17

Well, that's interesting. You say it that way. Storytelling is a key part of country music, but listening to music, I thought you had a great voice, and I think you also have a great way of telling a story, thank you. So do you feel as if your storytelling is stronger than your voice?

Matt Oakley: 3:35

then I'd say these days it's come a long way and it's only been a couple of years since I really dove into it. But I'd say these days they kind of go hand in hand. I like where I'm at with both of them. I say the I'm not the greatest singer of all time because you got like the Michael Jackson's of the world that can hit these crazy notes that.

Matt Oakley: 3:52

I've never dreamed of hitting, but the one thing that I've gotten a lot from a lot of the people down in or up in Nashville would be like the uniqueness and the grit to it. And so I've just played into that and I've tried to take the compliments and the unique compliments and create my own sound. And I think that I don't try and put it in a box of ranking myself or how my voice sounds. I just this is the song I made. This is how I sung it. I hope people like it.

Jay Franze: 4:18

I don't think country music would really benefit from a range of a like a Michael Jackson. Yeah, I mean if you look at artists like Kenny Chesney, I mean he has a very limited range but he has great songs and a great way of he has a way of making use of the talent range that he has. So I like, I like what he does with this stuff so early on. What was the pivotal moment that got you into country music enough to want to consider it a career?

Matt Oakley: 4:47

So I'd say, when quarantine hit, I was just at home and I you can see the guitar I got hanging up on my wall I got another one over here there's paul there all self-taught on all of them and it's been one of those things. That's during quarantine we had this piano in our living room and I never took lessons but I learned like the basic chords, the c's, the f's the e's, the d's, the one, the fours and fives there you go enough to write a little progression and come up with just my own little melodies.

Matt Oakley: 5:17

and once again it was quarantine. I had a bunch of time on my hands and I posted a few snippets and some covers on tiktok and people started showing love and showing support and then a bunch of my buddies were like why don't you try making some songs and putting them out there and see what happens? Ended up doing that and over time it evolved into its thing and it's just. I mean my life and my story lends itself to country music. My voice, it suits it the best and, like I said, with the storytelling being such a large part, it just it found its way into some Nashville studios and I'm super grateful for it. And we here now and I will say here's another good thing and here's a testament to what just kind of being on your own path and doing things your own way.

Matt Oakley: 5:59

If I wasn't subject to being in one spot, you know you couldn't go out, you couldn't go see your buddies. There was a lot less um, I'd say like breaking into. If you don't know anything about music, you don't know how to play an instrument, you're sitting there there like, oh, this may not be the cool thing to do, but it was quarantine. I was like this is fun, let me I'm just dive into it. And it got to a point where I was like I'll throw a video out there too. It's not going to hurt anybody. But I might not have gone down that road if I wasn't you to figure out. This is what I wanted to do, and it's snowballed into this great thing, so I'm super grateful for it.

Jay Franze: 6:36

No, that's incredible that it happened for you like that, and it's incredible that happened so fast. I mean, if you think about it. The quarantine wasn't all that long ago, right? I mean, it was only a couple of years ago. So for you to make so much progress in just a short period of time is incredible. So do you feel like your style that you're creating is unique because of that?

Matt Oakley: 6:58

I'd say so because it's.

Matt Oakley: 7:01

I guess I get what you're saying when you say it doesn't feel like too long ago, but when you're doing it every day it feels like okay, a couple of years of doing this stuff.

Matt Oakley: 7:10

But I've said this, this a lot you think you've got it down until another year goes by and you learn a whole bunch of stuff right, and then another year goes by and you meet a whole bunch of people and they teach you a bunch of stuff and they bring you in certain rooms and they bring you around certain people and it's like I think I'm still not years away from being the artist I want to be. I think I am the artist I want be now and I think that this album and this project I've been working on is who I'm supposed to be as an artist right now. But I think in a couple of years, once I learned, learned a couple of years more worth of information and meet a couple of years more people and connections and networks and that's the part that I don't ever want to take for granted is really being being in the seat for the journey and I've appreciated it so far. So, yeah, I think where it's taken me, it's the sound I want and it's I'm proud of it.

Jay Franze: 7:55

Well, you make a good point. So things change over time, and a year is a long period of time but in a span of a music career, a year is a very short period of time.

Jay Franze: 8:06

I mean you can take a look at, even like a Taylor Swift of all artists, that her career hasn't been around all that long. However, you know it's been a wrong. It's been over a decade and she's she's banned genres and she's each album is a whole different experience. So I can only imagine that when you say that you're putting this album together, by the time you're you're finished with it, that's's it'll probably be different. You know, yeah, from the start of it to the beat, to the end of it will be different, just like your. Your career up to this point is going over like a two-year period. Writing an album, putting that together, could take a couple years and that could be an entirely different point in your career yeah, 100% so the style.

Jay Franze: 8:50

Let's talk about the style a little bit. How would you classify your style?

Matt Oakley: 8:54

I'd say it's in that pocket of country rock, but it's not full rock, it's just, it's all live instrumentation, it's all get the whole band in the studio. A bunch of layers, 50, 60 layers of instruments, a bunch of guitars going really lively, drums, the BPMs are up there and so. So this project is very it's country as country, as country gets, but it's also got these hints of rock here and there and a lot of the choruses go up with some harmonies, which is very national. But it's the way that the the melodies are sung. I'm biased because I was a part of the writing process, but it's so unique in the sense of it's not country rock the way you think of country rock, we're like super in your face, it's just. It's so unique in the sense of it's not country rock the way you think of country rock, where, like super in your face, it's just it's country, with a lot of energy. It makes you feel a certain emotion, which I'm, which we're happy with.

Jay Franze: 9:42

It's got the backbeat of rock, but it doesn't have like the in your face guitars of rock.

Matt Oakley: 9:47

So there you go.

Jay Franze: 9:48

It's got a really cool feel to it and I think it's unique. I don't think it's like your typical modern country or modern country rock type genre. At this point it's got more of just a feel. So it takes us back the way country was a little while back, you know even like a George Strait type era.

Jay Franze: 10:08

I mean, he had a backbeat to it, but it wasn't in-your-face guitars. So I think it's definitely cool and it does have a rock and pop crossover to it, so it does have some modern influence to it that you wouldn't typically hear in country music, even if it isn't a non-traditional instrument. So do you purposely seek that type of style?

Matt Oakley: 10:32

I'd say so I'll give a big shout out here because he's played a massive process in making what.

Matt Oakley: 10:38

I want out of this project become what it is. His name's Phil Mosley and he's the. He's one of the producers on it and David Ray and these two guys. I came in and the first week of us working together we wrote four songs in like three days and we cut all of them that week, and which is like unheard of, yes, and we only wanted to leave that trip with two. And we went to david ray's house after writing over at warner uh, all week, and then we were like let's play through them and see which two we want. And then we were all just like let's cut them all, let's just let, let's not get rid of songs. And so it was like it's one of those things where I came to them and I said this is kind of the idea I have.

Matt Oakley: 11:19

I want to make country kind of like, and I love that. You said that kind of take country back to what it was, but in a modern way, and I didn't really know how to say that. But then you know, 12, 13 songs later, exactly what I wanted is what we have, and so there's something that's so beautiful about like a project coming together, and now we have this record that I can look back on the last 10 months and be like I walked in with just an idea of something I wanted and now we have it, and it's it's really cool to have. That is cool.

Jay Franze: 11:45

Let's take a quick step back just to keep everybody on the same page. You mentioned writing over at Warner. Warner is a publishing house in nashville, so who in the team has the publishing deal over at warner?

Matt Oakley: 11:59

so it's an independent project that we're doing. That we did with david ray and he has him. Him and mosley have a partnership with warner and so they have access to the rooms. I don't want to speak on their business, I'm not too in-depth on it, but we got linked up with David Ray, who had the connections at Warner, and so we wrote over at Warner Chapel down there in Music Row.

Jay Franze: 12:22

All right. So you said you wrote these songs and then they partnered with you to produce them. So what's the production style like for them?

Matt Oakley: 12:30

Yeah, so we go over. Most of it's been done over at ronnie's place and that studio is insane, it's it's got such a crazy vibe to it and we go in there, we chart them all out, we kind of talk about the vibe and then all the union players come in the control room and we kind of go over the idea and the vibe of the song. If we how rock and we want it to be, how how full, how much do we want the chorus to explode versus how much energy do we want the verses to have? And, like I said, when we're writing the songs, like me and phil and david or whoever may be in the room as we're writing them, I'm kind of giving them the vibe and then I kind of hand it over to phil because he knows these guys and he works with these guys every month, every week, and so he he kind of got the verbiage down and I don't I never liked to step on toes ever and so it's like I told him what, what we wanted.

Matt Oakley: 13:15

We wrote an entire song too. We spent hours doing it. I trust that the version that we get to them and I'm also willing to speak up, and so I'll say the production process. When everyone's in that control room, you got like people who just are so talented in what they do it's like it, it and what they do it's like it's. It's going to be good regardless of what's said, but I appreciate the openness of the ability to give my two cents when I can.

Jay Franze: 13:37

So again, you mentioned Ronnie's place. Do you mean Black River Entertainment over by Soundstage?

Matt Oakley: 13:42

I believe, yeah, I believe, that's where it is.

Jay Franze: 13:44

Yeah, so it's right off Music Row.

Matt Oakley: 13:47

Yep.

Jay Franze: 13:48

So you mentioned having a team of people in the room and that's your traditional Nashville way, right? You have a team of musicians that come in and you record live, which is the benefit of being in Nashville and, like you said, it's fast moving. It's exciting. You walk in with the writers, you hand a chart over to the musicians, they go in the room and three and a half minutes later you have a song which is absolutely amazing and it's crazy to watch it.

Matt Oakley: 14:15

To watch it and not be like a trained musician. You're like these are the most talented people I've ever seen at work and when, when you watch people do what they're clearly meant to do, there's something so like fulfilling about. It's like good for them, good for us, good for everyone involved.

Jay Franze: 14:27

It's cool well, let's talk about the team a bit. I don't know if you remember everybody's name, but do you remember who engineered it?

Matt Oakley: 14:35

Yeah, so Mike Stanowitz, I think it is, who engineered it. Mosey was production. David Ray was production. There's so many names and one thing that I will say about myself is I'm bad at names but flying in there a bunch. But I will say that I mean everyone's played their part in it. But I'd say those first three have had a big hand in the overall vibe, versus one instrument at a time. These guys are. We're kind of all sitting there being like where do we want to take this? Does it feel too fast and feel too slow? Do we want to go half step up, half step down? We kind of we fight through that with those three and I'd say we've kind of gotten a good, we've figured each other out a good bit so do you remember who had the session lead?

Matt Oakley: 15:18

oh, that's, that's, that's Phil Mosley so Phil was the lead then.

Jay Franze: 15:22

Yeah, okay, was he playing guitar as well?

Matt Oakley: 15:26

no, so he plays all the scratch guitar like he'll, he'll, he does. He does go in studio for some people and play it, but he sits in the control room and talks back and forth to all the guys, but he charts it all out and we write the guitar together first and then take that in, play them that idea and have it all charted out and go from there and then he communicates all that. It's crazy, it's like robotic the way that they do it. Oh yeah.

Jay Franze: 15:49

It's like a system and it's so fast, like you said.

Matt Oakley: 15:51

Yeah, they've got it down yeah it is, it's super fast.

Jay Franze: 15:54

I mean, I've worked there for 20 years and the one thing I learned, if nothing else is, time is money, and it's somebody else's money, so you got to move fast. So you're not living in Nashville, so how often do you go to Nashville?

Matt Oakley: 16:11

So I'm not living in Nashville yet. I moved there in July. Not far, so, no, not far at all, about two months and it'll be about a couple months away from us dropping the record, hopefully. So just getting my feet wet down there. And I'd say over the last year I try to get up there once every two months or so. I mean I'd say each time we go in there max session, unless we're doing double blocks, we're working on two to three songs a block. I'll go up there two days to write and then one day with the union guys and we get it all done. And so I'd say over the last year I've been up there six, seven times so it averages about.

Jay Franze: 16:55

So you're up in Nashville six, seven times. You say you're going to move there in July. Do you know what area of town you're moving to?

Matt Oakley: 17:00

Yeah, I'm going to live right over in Music Road, right by the roundabout.

Jay Franze: 17:06

Not to give out my location, number 42 on the third floor. Yeah, give out my unit number while I't know why I'm talking, but that's pretty cool. That's a cool area of town. I mean, if you're going to pick a spot to live, especially as a young guy that's the place to be right there, walking distance to Dumumbrian and the local clubs, whether you're on Dumumbrian or if you go towards Winners and Losers and stuff.

Matt Oakley: 17:30

There was one on Dumumbrian and we were like that might be a little too loud. I was trying to catch some sleep and we got Tin Roof playing a lot of music and so they shut her down.

Jay Franze: 17:40

So you found your location in Nashville. You're going to be moving up there soon. Do you have showcases or anything lined up?

Matt Oakley: 17:48

So we were supposed to do this Southeast run-through last fall. But then and so this is actually a great backstory on the project when we went to Nashville the first time, the goal, like I said, the goal was just to get a song or two, to have the singles and go from there. And then when we wrote four, we were like, let's keep it going. And Mosley and D Ray, we all hopped on a call and we're like let's, let's plan out some rights and get some rights on the book. And then it turned into us making an album. We ended up pushing off the southeast run and we just focused fully on getting this thing done and tracked out and recorded, mixed and mastered and we're finally there. And so we're at the point where we're dropping some singles every few weeks and shows.

Matt Oakley: 18:27

As far as getting out there and playing playing a festival here in two weeks Patriots Fest over in Aurora that should be fun. It's a big military awareness music festival and that'll be good. Last year I played some festivals as well CCMF we're hoping to get back up there. It's super running up, super close to it, but we're trying to get in on the one day we have available. But as far as, like singular showcases, we're probably going to wait until we have some more of this Nashville stuff out. That's the plan at least. I mean, if things pop off real quick, then we'll just go out there playing on release. But we'll see how it goes. I know the goal is to, once I'm down there and situated and we have a few songs out to start playing and more for to put out into the world then. But as of right now, I don't have too many dates locked in no-transcript all.

Jay Franze: 19:43

Let's start with the songwriting piece. You mentioned having some rights and getting together and doing some of these things. So what's that process like within your team?

Matt Oakley: 19:52

So I've got two guys that I brought into it with me. When I say into it, I refer to the Nashville thing, cause, like you said, the team that that we've got linked up with there is big a blessing, as it could be in this Cause it's.

Matt Oakley: 20:05

I don't want to ever say it's. I don't ever want to say steps were skipped. It was just met the right people at the right time. And so it's like it's. We have this project that we all believe in and we kind of want to protect it. We don't want to just go out there playing it left and right and the songs aren't even out and we don't know when they're coming out.

Matt Oakley: 20:20

And and so I walked into it with two, two good buddies of mine who I've been writing a lot of my songs with, justin and dylan, and they sat in those first couple sessions with us and we all really hit it off and it became one of those things where it's like why don't we just keep writing as a group, like these group rights are working and we're getting involved.

Matt Oakley: 20:40

And so it's you've got these guys who in Nashville, who are seasoned as it gets and have their records that have gone crazy and done crazy numbers, and you got these kids walking in with their little song ideas and it's turned into something way bigger than we thought. We normally walk in and everyone takes a slice of humble pie, throws out their song ideas, we pick the best one and we run with it. We try and it's really hard not to think about it too hard, if that makes sense. It's like if it comes to us that day, it does. If it doesn't, on to another idea, we're never going to force it. I think when you start forcing stuff just for the sake of it, that's where you get those songs that don't feel fully cohesive.

Jay Franze: 21:20

Well, you know the benefit of that right. So you've got these veteran songwriters and people who've got these hit songs and publishing deals and the traditional natural stuff under their belt so they can guide you in the traditional way. But then you get the group of young guys who are coming in. They've got a fresh perspective and then when you put those two things together, your chocolate and your peanut butter, there you end up with these songs that are popular and structured the way they're supposed to be structured, but they have a new flavor to them. So that goes back to having those songs that have a little bit of a vibe to them, that take you back in a modern way. I don't think you're going to get that without that type of collaboration. So is there any unique moments or anything that stand out to you?

Jay Franze: 22:01

is you know, collaborating with this team.

Matt Oakley: 22:05

Yeah, I'd say, just like what you said, like in my mind I thought we were going to walk into it and it was going to be them saying we have these ideas, which one do you like? And then they pretty much write it and we go from there.

Matt Oakley: 22:18

I was like almost nervous in a way. I'd only had songs out for about a year and a half before walking into this room and it wasn't that. It was what do you have? And then they would, they played some guitar and they're like, okay, like riff some melodies, and then see what we land on. Let's see where your voice sits. And they, they put it, them being the ones who have done it forever.

Matt Oakley: 22:39

Putting it on me and on us was like okay, I wanted to kind of not prove myself, but like I wanted to feel like I belonged, and they gave me the opportunity to do that. And then we just hit the ground running like that. And then from then, if they had an idea they threw out, they would throw it at me and be like all right, sing it, let's see how it sounds. And I'd do it and go back and forth. And so, very quickly and very organically, I learned their style and they learned my style and my voice.

Matt Oakley: 23:04

And my thing and I think that's at no point was like oh no, like I don't, I don't want to get into it, I don't want to you. I just as far in as I could have gone in that first session. I was like I'm just going to try and be myself and act like I've known these guys for years and we've written a million songs even though we hadn't. But I'd say that first, that first week with them, it stands out in the in the collaboration way, because it was like they were there to make good songs and we came there to make the best songs we have made, and that's what ended up happening and I'm super happy about it.

Jay Franze: 23:33

Well, that's a good point. You talk about going in there and almost having to prove yourself, and I absolutely understand it as a young guy. Going into a room with seasoned professionals, you do kind of have to prove yourself, but when you do that, you go into that room. How much imposter syndrome did you actually have?

Matt Oakley: 23:52

A decent amount. I wouldn't say imposter syndrome, but it was more like I knew I had something in me to give. I just hope it came out right. It was like I hope this is one of my good days type thing, and so maybe the nerves were hitting me where it's like what if I do mess up? And what if they think that I'm a fraud or they think I'm not that good or they become not that invested, and I was like the only way that will happen is if I hold back and I try and fabricate this perfect idea, this perfect melody. I was like whatever I think I went into it with, like if I'm good enough, it'll show, If I'm not, it'll show, and so I kind of just try to be really open about it.

Jay Franze: 24:37

But the imposter syndrome was a little bit there where it was like I'm, I'm bound to have a bad day. I hope today's not one of them. Right, well, I mean the nerves. Obviously you fought your way through them, but was it at a point where you were wondering how am I going to perform, how am I going to sing this right now?

Matt Oakley: 24:47

Yeah. So I a lot of my songs. I have a very I carry a very low tone in them and I we were kind of talking about that michael jackson, super high I don't have some crazy high register but we were in there and I was singing and I was going up in certain parts but not staying up there as far as range goes, and david actually was like sing it, just Just no guitar, just sing it. And I was like I can't and he was like yes, you can. He's like I heard you do it in a few notes, just do it. I was like I really can't. And then he was like then just scream it, don't even sing it, just scream it.

Matt Oakley: 25:22

And then I did it real loud and I was like it didn't sound like a perfect take, but like a perfect take, but it was like the notes were there. So maybe if I just dull it back and in that moment they kind of they helped me walk into it. So I'd say I was a little nervous to go out of my range but they kind of pulled it out of me. And so I think that's where they've probably seen that with a bunch of new artists who are more green vocally and haven't really done the whole. I know where my voice really is or really isn't, and I didn't know, and so a lot of the songs explode in a way they wouldn't have if that moment didn't happen. But I'll say I was a little shy to really attack it vocally and they pulled it out of me.

Jay Franze: 26:00

Well, that's a mark of a good producer, right there somebody who knows what the limitations are and knows just how far we can push something. So, during that time of being pushed're writing these songs, you said 12 of them, right? So yeah, you're writing 12 songs and you're being pushed to your limits, so do you have any? You know any particular song that you can tell us about that you were pushed to your limits and how it turned out?

Matt Oakley: 26:24

yeah. So there's a song we got uh it actually this is crazy. So the song that I'm talking about, I don't think we're putting it on the project. So I'm fine telling you about it because it it's such a different vibe and there's a different one that is on the project called fire and water, that because of this song that we started with, I felt comfortable to then go up on the chorus of this next song, which ended up making the album. So it's a good testament to show like especially and the first song that I'm talking about is a great song and we love it it just doesn't fit the same vibe and you get it. You know you want your record to feel cohesive and so we were like this is better as a standalone. We'll keep that for later and it's it's way different as far as my register goes, but it the vocal me reaching for a higher octave inspired this one we got called fire and water. That's going to be on the album and very similarly I, we, we started writing and this was a different.

Matt Oakley: 27:25

This was like two months after we wrote that first one and uh, we were kind of mowing over ideas and they're like what if we went up, like like really reach for it? And I was like I can't, I can't do it? And they were like you said this last time. And then we went in the studio and you did it and they're like, just do it, turn your brain off and just do it. And I did it and it's become like everyone's favorite song, and so it that goes to show like if you're starting to make music, you can't be scared of either not sounding perfect or creating a bad. So just do it, throw it at the wall. And if it, if it doesn't sound good, then throw it away. But you're not going to know until you put it out there. That's what I've realized. And so, yeah, fire and water is a good example of that.

Jay Franze: 28:02

Well, you have to experiment, right? You have to throw it out there and see what you can do exactly. So you wrote these 12 songs and you're developing, you know, opinions based on your performances, which is great. So, out of the 12 songs, has any one of those songs?

Matt Oakley: 28:33

not necessarily gravitated to be the title track, I think. So I don't want to give away the title, but I will give away what? Because, like I said, we're months away from it but it talks about my journey to get to this point and we. It's a real deep cut and it's really heartfelt and it's just about all these shows that I've played and like doing these little dive bars or even if it's running up and doing karaoke with your buddies. It's like the love for music that I always had and then kind of taking that turn into committing to it it being.

Matt Oakley: 29:04

This whole song is about it being what I thought it was going to be and what I wanted it to be.

Matt Oakley: 29:09

It's almost like pulling back the curtain and once I got behind that curtain and wasn't on the other side of it, I thought, like you always hear, like people talking about how being famous sucks or being in the entertainment industry sucks, and like you think you love it, but there's all this stuff that comes with it. I've gotten on behind the curtain and I've loved every second of it. Like I get to meet really cool people, I get to write songs with my friends, I get to travel across the states and sing into a microphone for strangers and go out there and share a drink and share a laugh and share a story and share my songs, and it's like I can never imagine a world in which that isn't the most fun thing to do. And so there's a song that I'd say it's gonna end up being the title tracks of that. So, whether it's six or nine months or however long from now, it that one encapsulates me and my journey as an artist the most so let's take the step back.

Jay Franze: 30:04

You're performing for people, you can travel around, you're getting to do all these things, you're developing a following of people and you can see that it's clear in your social media that you're developing a nice large following. So what are you hoping that the following or the listeners get out of your music?

Matt Oakley: 30:24

I'd say authenticity. I try and and authenticity not in a way that pertains to me, but just when they put on a song, they can listen to it and know that there's. There's nothing like I'd say. The biggest thing that I want to give off is just Like the genuine aspect of how everyone should live their life or should want to live their life. There's nothing like braggadocious about the songs. There's nothing in the songs where it's like I'm trying to be too cool for my own blood, or there's nothing. There's nothing.

Matt Oakley: 30:54

I'm not trying to paint a picture of somebody. I'm not, and I want that to be translated, whether it's a post on social media, like you said, or if someone goes and plays one of my songs, I want the story and my image and my posts and interviews and I want everything that I am to be authentic and translate and just put it out there because, like I said earlier, people are either going to like it or they're not. There's not an artist, there's not a song, there's not a person that everybody loves or everybody hates. There's two sides to every coin, and so I just figured the best way to get an authentic read on how people feel about it is just be authentic myself, and so I'd say, in one word, summing it up uh, authenticity would be what I want to give out.

Jay Franze: 31:36

Well, that's something that takes people their entire career to realize. So for you to understand that at the beginning of your career is probably a great thing. But the other thing you mentioned in there was what you've seen in the entertainment industry so far that you get to see behind the scenes. You get to do all these things. So what are some of the things that you've seen behind the scenes that the normal person doesn't typically get to see?

Matt Oakley: 31:59

A lot of ego, not like, not in a purposeful way. I think ego swallows people up a good bit and I think when I was younger I had a very strong one. I thought I deserved things. And I thought and I'm talking years ago but if I put myself back in that mindset, if I had stayed in that mindset of feeling like I deserve things I really didn't or I was better than I actually was I never would have gotten into rooms not ready for conversations I probably thought I was ready for.

Matt Oakley: 32:31

And so I'd say ego and getting ahead of your skis is the most detrimental thing you can do. And obviously it's the number one thing that comes with people in the entertainment industry is people think they're all egotistical, but the ones who seem genuine usually are. You can't fabricate that in a way like you got cameras on you all the time or you're doing shows and you're meeting people or whatever it may be. And so, yeah, I'd say I left my ego at the door a long time ago and I'd say the second I started doing that everything that I have has come from a sense of gratitude and I'm really appreciative of everyone who's taken the time to be like this. This kid's got something, let's figure it out. And we've kind of all figured it out together.

Jay Franze: 33:14

All right. So you're in these publishing houses, you're in these major studios, these rooms where people have written some of the best songs in the world, these studios where the best of the best come together to record those songs, and you've got that team of people behind you and you're putting together songs, you're putting together videos, you're playing shows. So, with all that that you've seen going on now, behind the scenes, before it gets to the public, what's been your favorite moment?

Matt Oakley: 33:43

That's such a tough question. You're not going to like my answer, but I've talked about the journey, of it being the coolest part and it really is everything Like I don't. I don't ever look back at one moment and be like that was the cool moment. It's all been cool. It's all been so like. I'm never going to be the guy that's like, act like.

Tony Scott: 34:03

I've been here before, I haven't. I'm green.

Matt Oakley: 34:06

I didn't know what I didn't know and I walked into these rooms and you know the people that I walked into the rooms with.

Matt Oakley: 34:11

They had no ego either. It was like everything I wanted to be. They were too, and so it's like the entire journey from the second that that happened until now it's been I'd say, the last 12 months. The aspect of going to Nashville writing these songs, watching those band guys play them, like we talked about taking my buddies with me, who I've written plenty of bad songs with, and then writing the best songs we have, Like that's another aspect of it. So, traveling, doing the shows, I could not tell you what my favorite part is. I really just I look at it as one whole thing that I'm lucky that I get to do.

Jay Franze: 34:50

Oh, absolutely. I mean you're a lucky guy. I mean anybody who gets to this point is lucky, just to be involved in it. And I always said I just enjoyed working with the team. I didn't have to be the best person on that team, I just wanted to work with the team and be in the room with such great people and and witness the the great songs that we put together to just see them come to life. Another thing you just mentioned in there was that you're with these other artists and other people who are the same as you. So what are you hoping sets you apart from these other people?

Matt Oakley: 35:20

I don't. I don't sound like anybody. In the beginning I hated that. I was like I want to. I want to sound just like Morgan Wallen. I want to sound just like Morgan Wallen. I want to sound just like Luke Combs.

Matt Oakley: 35:31

And now what it really was always about was become a better singer, write your own songs and write them for Matt Oakley, and the goal should never be to sound like anyone else. And I heard that. But in the beginning it was still like no, but I want to Because that's what people like and I want people to like it. But I want to because that's what people like and I want people to like it. It's no, I want.

Matt Oakley: 35:53

I want to like it, and the only way I like it is if I sound like myself and it's the best version of a song that only I can sing and not only I can sing. Of course, people can cover it or people can sing it a different way, but I don't sound like anybody and I've been told that a lot and the music's been received really well, and so to watch it do what it's doing and knowing it doesn't sound like anybody else I think that's the one thing that in the beginning, I've tried to shy away from and I dove into it and it's been the best thing I've done. So I think just my tone and my voice and the uniqueness of it plays into the storytelling and I think I think the pairing kind of like we talked about when we started, the pairing of those two things will allow it to become its, become its own thing and have its own pocket in the country music scene.

Jay Franze: 36:38

Well, if you sounded like everybody else, you wouldn't be unique and you wouldn't stand out and there'd be no need to have you Labels wouldn't pay attention to you. Your team wouldn't necessarily want to work with you by having a unique sound that makes you desirable and, like you said, whether or not you know, everybody likes you and not everybody is going to like you yeah if you have a unique sound and a unique voice, you will be a magnet for those who want that type of sound, and that's the, the following you truly want to have.

Jay Franze: 37:05

Being so early in your career, being so young what kind of obstacles have come your way so far?

Matt Oakley: 37:15

I mean, there's always the self-inflicted ones Trying to be bigger than I was too quick, trying to microwave it. I think that set me back a little bit. It really took me tearing it down to the studs and really realizing why I was doing it. Realizing why I was doing it, I think really early on, so much effort was put into how can I get every single person and as many people as possible to listen and to like this song so that they share it.

Matt Oakley: 37:36

And it was like that's not what's fun about it, and you said something earlier in the interview where it's like you just love being part of the process and looking back at the songs you created, there's something that I've fallen in love with and that no one can take away from you, and that's the aspect of sitting down in a room with your best friends or songwriters or whoever it may be and creating something that literally didn't exist 30 minutes ago or an hour ago or two hours ago.

Matt Oakley: 38:11

You go and I hope I'm here for a long, long time and you never know, but the ability to take something that's inside of me or something that's happened to me, or something that's happened to my friends or our stories, and create this thing, this tangible thing people can listen to and put it out into the world. That is the coolest and that is the most like. It doesn't even make sense, that's even like. It's such it's so cool. To me it's like this thing didn't exist and now it does because we all sat down and poured into it, and so I don't even know what question you asked, but it led to that, and now I'm caught on that aspect of it that works.

Matt Oakley: 38:40

Apologies on that.

Jay Franze: 38:41

That's perfect. You talk about what you're leaving behind. So that's what people think of towards the end of their career when they're putting together you know, their legacy, what they're thinking about. As far as a legacy goes, I mean, obviously it's too soon in your career to be thinking about a legacy. But if you were to, to fast forward in in your mind what are you hoping that legacy would be?

Matt Oakley: 39:07

Someone I'd probably just say someone who's caring and cared about it enough to be honest and open and bring people into it. And I'm a very, very, very blessed person. I pray about it all the time and I'd love for that to be something that's associated with me when I go and I want people to know where I stand on that always, and it's got me me where I am now and I know it's going to take me to where I'm supposed to go. And I think bringing my friends into it with me and bringing my loved ones into it with me and doing it for all the right reasons is kind of what I would love to be remembered by and I'd love to have, whether it's five, six, seven, eight great records that have their own vibe. I think I'd love to leave behind multiple albums and, however big or however small it is, just be able to look back and be like, hey, we did that and we gave everything to it and this is what we're left with.

Jay Franze: 40:00

Well, yeah, I mean, I wouldn't limit yourself to five, six, seven, eight, let's go a little higher get some more out there. Let's get that george straight 11, 12, 15.

Jay Franze: 40:09

Let's move it up a little bit. Let's do it. So let's switch gears just a little bit, because we talked earlier about social media and your following is pretty large and you're starting to grow it. These days, social media plays such a huge part in somebody's success because labels and teams of people like yours. They want to work with somebody who's already laid the groundwork for a little bit of success and can show that they can develop a following. So what's your part in your social media?

Matt Oakley: 40:39

Yeah. So I will say this I'm not the biggest fan of it. It's obviously gotten to a point where you have to do it Right, and what I will say is there's no artist or comedian or entertainer of any kind who wakes up and is like I can't wait to post a TikTok today. I promise you they don't exist. It's one of those things where it's like I've got to do it because there's strangers out there and there's this resource that has the ability to get it to them. And whether a video does great or and this is Instagram and Facebook and X and tick talking, it's all of them.

Matt Oakley: 41:18

And I used to look at it way different. I was like I don't want to. I don't want to be that guy who's just posting left and right for a couple hundred views or a couple thousand views, but the only way that I've gotten to where I've gotten is to just keep posting, and there's been videos in the past that have led to thousands of same-day streams on Spotify, which is okay. I took a little video on my phone and put it out there, not thinking about it, and that translated to thousands of people playing my song. It's like it's a resource you can't take for granted, so I'd say it's played a big part in it. I don't, I don't love it, but it's.

Jay Franze: 41:55

It's important, for sure well, a couple things there, first of all. I mean, your whole thing was kicked off based on a video that you posted in social media yeah, true. So obviously the career was skyrocketed because of social media. And look how quickly you went in the first two to three years of your career just because of luck on social media, so obviously people connect with you, they resonate with you and you have to be there for them.

Jay Franze: 42:27

And then you mentioned Spotify. Like, oh yeah, we get a couple thousand streams based on a video we post. That's extreme for most people, but you've got millions of streams on Spotify. It's not just a couple thousand here or there, you know, I hope for a couple thousand here or there with stuff that I put together. You've got millions. So good for you. Congratulations on that. Thank you for you. Congratulations on that. Thank you.

Jay Franze: 42:53

Um, it's crazy, though. I understand nobody wants to be tied to social media, but, like you mentioned, it is a way for you to get something to a whole new group of people in an extremely fast way. You know, you can sit at home on the couch and record a quick message and it goes out to millions of people. In your case not my case it goes out to tens of people, but for you it goes out to millions of people and you get a whole new group of people paying attention to you for just spending a few minutes of time at home on a couch. And you know, and like I said, people resonate with you. So it is working and it does have to continue to be that way.

Jay Franze: 43:30

Whether we like it or not, that's the way the industry is running right now and it looks like, whether you like it or not, it's working for you. So congratulations, thank you. All right, sir. Well, let's again keep this moving. We talk about social media. What other I know? You work with a PR firm, but what other type of marketing do you do for your stuff?

Matt Oakley: 43:53

Yeah, so I don't. I don't run any of my own ads. My management team does that and they handle that for me, thankfully, cause I once again, I don't know what, I don't know I'd probably do something wrong and it's not our area of expertise.

Matt Oakley: 44:06

No, it's not, but but uh. So as far from what I understand, it's a lot of ads. It's there's just a standard. You know, try it, try and land some of the big apple or spotify playlists. A lot of that comes with, just like making good music and and having people like it organically first, like you said. So there's only so much you can do there. You can only pitch it and hope they like it. I'd say a lot of the, a lot of the tiktok stuff and a lot of the instagram stuff and we haven't there hasn't been.

Matt Oakley: 44:38

I haven't been a part of too many of the marketing calls. I'm just like if it's working, it's working. Um, so I don't. I don't claim to be some marketing expert. I think, like you said, it's just I try and do my part, post a video, talk and be authentic and then and then let the business people handle the business stuff. So that's kind of where I'm at with that.

Jay Franze: 44:57

Well, that's the reason for the PR companies is to make sure that they're handling things the way that the industry expects it to be handled. And I think you mentioned something very early on in this conversation and how you went very quickly and you feel like you may have skipped a few steps, but I don't think you skipped some steps. I think you accelerated it. I think what helps you do that is by choosing the right team of people to be involved with.

Jay Franze: 45:21

So by choosing a PR firm that knows what the industry expects and how to get your stuff out there the correct way. You don't have to experiment with that.

Jay Franze: 45:30

And that saves you hours and have to experiment with that, and that saves you hours and hours and hours of time. And people put years of time into trying to find out how to market themselves and trying to. If I could only get this or if I could only get that, I think you did it the right way by getting the right team of people involved. But another thing you just mentioned, too, was you go back to the social media and you try to get your posts out and things like that. Do you have anybody else that assists you with social media?

Matt Oakley: 45:56

uh, no, um, like as of yesterday, so I didn't have a facebook. I never, never, drank the kool-aid on the facebook. But well, you're old enough to be on facebook. Yeah, my manager came to me, was like you need one, and I was like I wouldn't know where to start. I don't know, like I don't know where it's at or where it's evolved or or how to use it, and so we do have someone who created me, just like one of those fan pages. I think I haven't even seen it yet. Um, but so that that goes to show and I might be blowing my cover here, but I, for those wondering, I don't run my Facebook. So if you see anything crazy on there, it wasn't me. But I stick to TikTok and Instagram and it's just easy. I can throw it up there. But I think, as of like two days ago, somebody from the management team is running my Facebook for me.

Jay Franze: 46:48

So yeah, so you get somebody helping you with Facebook. But, as far as the actual posts and all that type of stuff, that all comes from you. Yeah, are you taking the time to respond to comments and engage in the actual following, or with your following.

Matt Oakley: 47:05

Yeah, for sure, I try and make it as laid back as possible. Like I said, I'll never be too big to if someone's like oh my gosh, I love this song so much. I mean, I owe them a thank you.

Jay Franze: 47:17

I know it's still early in the career, right? I mean, we've mentioned that a couple of times. I don't want to think that you know everything at this stage, but from what you've experienced so far, what advice would you give to somebody who's looking to break into the industry?

Matt Oakley: 47:33

I kind of touched on it a little earlier, but I want to bring it back because I think it's so pivotal and I think everyone's so hard on themselves about everything whether it's how they look or how they sound or how they dress or how they're perceived or their reputation. It's like you got to let it all go. You have to let it all go, and it's like I didn't become confident enough to just be fully myself until I realized that you'll cringe more at yourself when you're trying to be somebody you're not. You'll hate the things that are done or said about you. I would rather somebody not like me because they don't like me instead of them not liking me because they don't like me, instead of them not liking me because they don't like a version of myself I was trying to pretend to be.

Matt Oakley: 48:13

So, whether it's your music or whether it's you as a person, just be you authentically 100% of the time. And, like I said, people are going to like you or they're not, and you'd much rather have them like you for you or not like you for you than some version you've created in your head that you're trying to play. So the authenticity will get you so much further as a person and as a musician, and you'll find your own sound as you go and you'll find the right people to be in your team and your corner and it'll all fall into place the way it should, as long as you're doing what you should be doing, that's just being who you're supposed to be.

Jay Franze: 48:43

Definitely wise beyond your years, sir. These are things that people learn at the end of their career, not at the beginning, so kudos to you.

Matt Oakley: 48:51

Thank you.

Jay Franze: 48:52

All right, sir. Well, we do this thing here we call Unsung Heroes, where we take the moment to shine light on somebody who's worked behind the scenes or somebody who supports you along the way. Do you have anybody you'd like to shine a little light on?

Matt Oakley: 49:01

Yeah, he's actually out in my living room sleeping out there. He visited me for golf. We got a song that released this weekend, so he came down for release weekend. He's going to be moving with me to Nashville and he's been writing on all my songs behind the scenes. I want to give a quick little humble shout out to Justin Elko. He's my best friend from college and we write a lot of my songs together and I brought him in to these Nashville rights with D-Ray and Mosley. So I give a shout out to all of them and I'm very appreciative of all the help that he's given me. And he knows it. We talk about it all the time, but I figured if you've got a segment for it, there you go.

Jay Franze: 49:33

A big thanks to Matt for taking the time to share his stories with us, and thank you for taking the time to hang with me here, as always. I really do appreciate it. If you know anyone that would enjoy this episode, please be sure to share it. You can do that and find the links to everything mentioned over at jayfranze. com/ episode 71. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you next week.

Tony Scott: 49:58

Thanks for listening to The Jay Franze Show. Make sure you visit us at jayfranz. com Follow, connect and say hello.