We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Farren and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We are living in an unprecedented era for content: so many people are creating, working, and sharing so much art that the market feels oversaturated and impossible to break into. With that in-mind, it’s really hard to feel set apart. So, I’ve been following two guidelines to make sure I don’t get discouraged by the competition: one, I make sure to share everything I do. There are world-changing songs, paintings and stories that will never be seen because the artist didn’t have the courage to release it, and I want to ensure that I never fall into that trap. Two, I make sure every single thing I make is made for someone specific. This might keep my art from reaching the widest audience imaginable, but if I keep a person in mind while I work, it encourages me to persevere and to make consistent creative decisions to ensure that it best connects with the individual it is being made for. I used to create work for myself, but I realized that there are already others who are doing that for me. It feels far more worthwhile to write songs for those who have never had one written for them, create paintings for those who want to see something specific, and tell stories for those who I know will enjoy them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
With everything that I’ve been working on lately, it’s become really hard to adventure and enjoy myself, so it’s become even more difficult to give that experience to someone else. I know it’s pretty selfish, but if I were to have someone relying on me to show them a good time, I’d try to get us into a situation that neither of us have been to before. I don’t know if there’s any joy quite like experiencing something for the first time, so for that perfect week, we’d go to a movie theater we’ve never been to before to see a movie we’ve never seen; maybe the Cinemarama Dome when it finally opens again? We’d go to a restaurant we’ve never been to before but always wanted to try; I’ve been jonesing to check out the Korean Fusion place down the street. I’d love to get a Guinness at the Largo, see whatever Aquarium is good and near LA, and I’ve never been to the Getty Villa but I live less than the 30 minutes away. Maybe this is an invitation to hang out, but it’s important to know that the plan is ‘there is no plan’ and the itinerary is non-existent.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I absolutely think that I wouldn’t be anything without the support of the people who have run their own risk by working with me. There’s a whole host of people who have put large amounts of their time, effort, and money into helping my work come to life, but the person I currently owe the most to is by far Royal Dean. He’s an incredibly talented musician, producer, and composer, and he’s created some of my favorite work. He’s filled out several of my short films, orchestrated my entire first feature film “The Haunting of Hype House” (now in Film Festivals) but he’s also been helping me bring some of the songs that I’ve written to life. I truly feel like he believes in me, and he donates an astounding amount of his time to help me finalize my work so that it might finally reach the audience that it’s being made for. I wouldn’t be half as successful without his support, and so I really do owe so much of what I’ve accomplished to him.

Website: mattfarren.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjfarren/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-farren-a21b5b148/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MJFarrren

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.farren.77

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMwGLsoeNwzDzOPofS2DvQ

Other: My first feature film’s website: thehohh.com My IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9672098/ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mjfarren My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2p8MsOC10QfF9gChdQeQIF

Image Credits
Mason Charles, The Headshot Truck, Jess Fernandez

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