Meet Matt Marquez | Songwriter, Beatboxer & Digital Marketer

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

Hi Matt, what makes you happy? Why?
Simply put, my people — my family and friends — are who bring me the most joy. They’re the ones who inspire me, keep me grounded, and influence both my art and my holistic outlook on life, so having the privilege to witness their respective journeys, share their burdens, and celebrate their wins is what makes me happier more than anything else.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

My coworkers and LinkedIn network know me from my digital marketing day job in entertainment content and advertising asset development and global distribution. Outside of that, I perform and travel as a beatboxer with The Filharmonic, a SoCal-based a cappella group of Filipino-Americans, and Filosophy, their broader collective of Filipino-American singers.

Beyond both of these, though, I take the most pride in being a songwriter; this next part is a bit of a ramble, but I promise to tie it all back somehow.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been surrounded by music. As a baby, my folks raised me on a healthy diet of 80s pop, 90s R&B, and soft rock. In grade school, I sang in choir and was “encouraged” to take piano lessons. In my teens, I discovered my aptitude for drums and guitar via my school’s jazz program and my cousins’ church bands, which altogether led to me exploring songwriting.

Learning how to write worship songs for Jesus led to writing cringe love songs for high school crushes, dovetailing into writing try-hard emo songs. After realizing how terrible ALL of those were (apologies to my “reviewers” and “intended recipients”), I studied music theory to reset my fundamentals. Thankfully, this helped me figure out how to write decent material — songs that I had fun playing AND that my friends and family genuinely enjoyed. Once I moved to LA for college, I took on anything and everything that enabled me to be a better songwriter: creating and recording songs for a handful of student-produced musicals, composing arrangements for my undergrad a cappella group, and playing local shows with my solo material.

However, all my songwriting halted abruptly once I finished school and started working. At the time, I attributed the pause to both delayed burnout from churning out material non-stop for 6+ years and falling into the corporate rhythm. I’ve come to acknowledge, though, that my break from songwriting stemmed from losing my sense of artistic purpose. Most of my songs before this point were fueled by some sort of external objective, whether it was for a show, a recording, or a similar deadline. Without such parameters to guide me, I realized my difficulty with being vulnerable enough to properly express my authentic self and create for my own sake.

This brings me to where I am today (where I’m attempting to tie this tangent back into a cohesive narrative). To hold myself artistically accountable and memorialize the songs I never recorded, I’m creating again under a pen name, Friends + Family. On one hand, it’s a recommitment to myself and to my art. On the other hand, it’s a project that honors both the inspiration and core audience for my work — my friends and family *wink wink*.

If there’s something tangible from this mish-mosh of a passage that I can leave you with, I both encourage you to stay creative and challenge you to reignite a passion you may have lost over the years. From the dual vantage point of a corporate professional and a live performer, falling in love again with how to create for me has been the most rewarding venture of my life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Full transparency, I’m answering this on an empty stomach, so here are my top 5 food and drink go-tos:

– Grab some coffee (and a bag or two of coffee beans) at Distrito Coffee in San Pedro — an awesome, Colombian-owned space highlighting the best of Latin American coffee culture.

– Because I’m also a bread baker at heart, stop by Colossus Bakery in Long Beach/San Pedro for some delicious sourdough, flaky pastries, and high-quality pantry staples you might be running low on.

– Jinsol Gukbap might be Koreatown’s most slept-on food spot for feel-good stews, suyuk, and Korean cold noodles. Can confirm both the 3rd Street and 8th Street locations are solid.

– Pop some bottles and dig into some pork belly lechon at Lasita, my favorite Filipino rotisserie & natural wine bar in the heart of Chinatown.

– Treat yourself to the short rib plate (and everything else on the menu) at Majordomo. Hands down, David Chang’s LA establishment is one of my favorite restaurants in the city, and it’s a wonderful spot to pause and have worthwhile downtime with your loved ones/homies over some incredible food and drinks.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

So many people to extend my gratitude to in so little time, but challenge accepted:

Mom, Dad, Allison, and Sebastian for their endless love and for allowing me to roast them as much as they roast me.

My other brothers Mark, Lucas, Joseph, and David for their love. And for being the recipients of ~90% of my IG spam.

My cousin Ariel for nominating me for this in the first place and for trusting me to be her wedding coordinator.

The homegirl Janine for always being available as my voice of reason after all these years. And for introducing me to TWICE.

The one and only Janna Macatangay for jumpstarting my career; I’m forever indebted to you and could never thank you enough for everything.

Ate Suze, Alana, Hesed, Jennica, Kailyn, and Mariana for being the authentic, talented, and inspiring role models you all are.

My longest-running musical partners — Arend, Diko, and Niko — for always giving me the safe space to fumble around and translate my hodge-podge of thoughts and feelings into music and lyrics.

And shoutout to Mr. Worldwide Handsome — Kim Seokjin.

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

Other: Friends + Family on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/49JdO9O

Image Credits
Glenn Clancy, Kellie Kwon, Michelle Lapitan