SHEILA GUNN REID ｜ Matt Brevner： Recording artist and Rebel video journalist says there's “More Of Us”
Episode Stats
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Summary
Matt Brevner is a Juno Award Nominee and was nominated for a Much Music Video Award, and he joins me tonight to talk about his new single, More of Us, a song about the lack of conservative content in Hollywood and pop culture.
Transcript
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Oh hey Rebels, it's me, Sheila Gunn-Reed, and you're listening to a free audio-only recording
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of my weekly Wednesday night show, The Gunn Show, and I say this every single week, but
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let me remind you, this is the internet, so you can listen or watch whenever you feel
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like that's the convenience of not being tied to terrestrial radio.
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Now tonight my guest is someone I think you already know, it's my Vancouver-based colleague
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Matt Brevner, he's a videographer with us, but what you might not know is that he is
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a Juno Award nominated recording star, he's also been nominated for a Much Music Video
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Award, and he joins me tonight to talk about his new single, More of Us.
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Now if you like listening to the show, then I promise you're going to love watching it,
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but in order to watch, you need to be a subscriber to Rebel News Plus, that's what we call our
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Have conservatives walked off the battlefield of the culture war? Not entirely. I'm Sheila
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Gunn-Reed and you're watching The Gunn Show. Change politics, change culture, as conservatives
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often say, but we say that a lot. We don't actually do all that much about it. With the exception of
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our friends at the Daily Wire, there are really not a lot of conservatives producing movies and
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music, especially the big-budget Hollywood kind of movies with actual stars in them. It's why I'm
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such a fan of Ghostbusters, the really, really old one. It feels like that was the last time that a
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pro-small business, anti-professional student, anti-municipal government, anti-environmental
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protection agency movie was ever made, and it was perfect. But that movie's coming up on like 40 years
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old. I'm dating myself here. But now part of the problem of the lack of conservative content in
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Hollywood and in pop culture is the cancel culture enforced in the industry. Matt Brevner is a
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Vancouver-based recording artist. He was nominated for a Much Music Video Award. He was also nominated
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for a Juno, and then he was canceled just like that for being a Christian. The music industry's loss,
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however, was our gain. Matt joined Rebel News as the expert videographer working with Drea Humphrey,
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and he's done some incredible work in front of the camera reporting too. Matt's been covering
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the normal people being harmed by the government's overreaction to the coronavirus from the very
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beginning. And he's also covered the division harming society that's being stoked by politicians
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and the media every day. And so he did what he does. He wrote a song about it. It's called
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More of Us, because there's more of us than them, people who feel our way. And it encourages
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people not to feel alone, maybe tune out the mainstream media for a minute and come together
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in person. The song also encourages people who are waking up on the other side of the lockdown
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argument to reach out across the aisle. And it encourages us on our side to show a little
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grace if they do. Joining me tonight to discuss why he wrote More of Us and what he's working
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on next is Canadian music sensation, no matter what the mainstream media says. Matt Brevner.
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I can't help but look around and feel like things are getting out of hand.
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We've been told to trust the science, but the science just doesn't make sense.
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They say it isn't mandatory, but they also say you jab or you drop.
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But if it doesn't stop the spread, it makes it feel like this is just a facade.
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What about the healthcare workers? What about the frontline nurses?
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How quickly we forget that they were working 18 hours a day.
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What about informed consent? What about due diligence?
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It seems a country that I used to call home is surely slipping away.
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I can't help but look around and feel like minds are slowly starting to change.
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Cause even if you're triple vaccinated, know that segregation isn't the way.
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Freedom is a choice and it's available to all if we choose.
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But first things first, we gotta turn off the news.
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How quickly we forget that they were working 18 hours a day.
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It seems the country that I used to call home is surely slipping away.
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If you're late to the party, there's plenty room at the table.
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I'm calling on every single man, woman, child of the able.
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Cause where there's perfect love, there ain't no shame.
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Heavenly Father, show me what I don't understand yet.
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I got my marching orders, I don't fully know the plan yet.
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Hold on to my Bible before bed, no it ain't been yet.
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Did you know the makers of the vaccine make the Xanax?
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I would never lean on corporations for morality.
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Cause they put their profits over people for their salaries.
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Know they wanna make you bend the knee for your normality.
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I know you're feeling all alone, but in reality, there's way more of us than them.
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So joining me now from his studio, I guess, in Vancouver is my friend and colleague
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Um, I think your music is sort of taking the internet a little bit by storm as much as the
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mainstream media kind of wants to ignore what's happening.
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But first, what prompted you to write and record this song?
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Well, I, it's kind of interesting that you asked that because during my, my, my career
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with Rebel News so far, I really tried to make a focus on, cause I had a career before that
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I really wanted to do my best to honor the subjects that we were filming, honor the stories
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we were covering and do my best to really work with Drea and put together, you know,
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So I kind of took a step back and over the last year, I've been really let down by the
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lack of, of artists, um, speaking up on behalf of what's happening in our country and in our
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I understand people are kind of afraid to do that, but the arts needs to be, you know,
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the frontline of, of the voice of, of rebellion and social justice movements.
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And ironically enough, over the past couple of years, they've been very loud and very
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vocal when it, when it's convenient and, you know, there's corporate bucks behind it,
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but when it's not convenient and your reputation or your job is on the line, it seems that fearless
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Um, I've been having a lot of conversations with friends of mine that are, um, maybe on the
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further left side of the spectrum, but we remained relationship.
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And, uh, and, uh, a sense of normality and staying cordial through all of this, the business.
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Um, but I've noticed people are just starting to kind of change their minds, especially with
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the latest restrictions over, over the Christmas holiday, where people kind of just feel like
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they did everything that they were supposed to do.
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And it still wasn't enough, um, with lockdowns and closures and not being able to, you know,
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So I just felt like, I just felt inspired to write a song.
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And as soon as we wrote it or I wrote it, I reached out to a friend, uh, B Dice, who
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Um, and I was like, man, we need to shoot a video.
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And then, you know, basically two weeks later it was out.
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No, I think it's really, I think it's really beautiful for all your skills to come together.
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Um, and you could draw on that well of experience over the last year, telling the story of the
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normal people who are so impacted by these lockdowns.
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We hear all the time from the fancy TV doctors and we hear from the politicians and, but especially
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for you, Andrea, the work you do in Vancouver is you're just talking about the normal people,
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the forgotten people, the people who live with the consequences of these big decisions.
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And not only are their lives being ruined and their relationships with their families being
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destroyed, but then their politicians and the media are calling them names and, and, um,
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stoking fear and division and hatred towards them.
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Um, yeah, they're being absolutely demonized from the top down.
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Um, basically, you know, our, our, our top government officials are inciting violence
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against people who for legitimate reasons, uh, choose or are not physically even able
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Um, and it's disgusting and it's, it's, it's shameful.
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And I think, you know, a lot of people, most people in society, they have faith in their
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institutions, whether that be the government or big media or what have you.
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Um, so they're just kind of doing what they're told and, and they don't all have the time
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I mean, we're in the news, it's literally our job to be informed.
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Um, so it's, it's, it's unfortunate, you know, there needs to be some accountability to
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And when the loudest voices in our world are, you know, screaming, you're going to
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It's like, how can you not be susceptible to that sort of rhetoric?
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You know, what I like about your song is, well, a lot of things, but in particular, um, the
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message of anti-division, you see the problem as division.
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Um, and so the, for me, the message of the song is, look, you know, you might have been
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an early adopter of the fear rhetoric and, and division, but it's okay for you to wake
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up and realize that you were wrong and come on over to our side.
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And I hate to use our side, their side, but come on over here.
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We don't care how you came to believing in freedom, but get here.
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And I mean, maybe this will resonate with some people.
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Maybe it won't resonate with some people, but I'm a, I'm a Christian.
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I'm a, I'm a believer of the, of the teachings of Jesus Christ and he doesn't discriminate.
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It's like, if they're not for us or if they're not against us, they're for us.
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So, and everyone has a checkered past, everyone falls short of the, of the, of the glory of
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And I think with something like, there's no room for pride or ego when you're trying to
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And again, it's, it's, it can be a bit of fear on both sides, justified, completely justified,
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And it just deepens the trenches of, of division.
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So there needs to be some grace and some humility and some patience for one another, um, regardless
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of your, of your understandings and your ideology so that we can actually have a peaceful discourse
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and not just like throw grenades at one another because things will never change if, if that
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So, um, now I wanted to ask you, I, I've sort of been watching the YouTube comments on your
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video and, uh, the response overwhelming, like 99 point.
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I don't actually think that I've seen a bad comment left.
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I haven't looked in a couple of days, but the response from your fans, tell me about it.
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Yeah, it's, it's been strange because it's mostly been new people.
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I think, um, leading up to this release, just because of, you know, the, the work we've
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been doing journalistically, uh, the truth can be polarized.
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So there's a lot of folks, maybe from, uh, liberal minded folks from the music industry
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that have kind of written me off or said heinous things about me in the past, but those voices
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are definitely being silenced because I think what this song is doing is it's, uh, creating
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an opportunity for people who feel disenfranchised or marginalized to be like, oh, wait, like,
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There's actually, you know, tens of thousands, millions of people that are going, not only
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think what I think, but are going through exactly what I'm going through right now.
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And I've received thousands of messages from nurses and doctors and, and professionals
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that have been fired, fired and, and, uh, demonized and whatever.
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And it's just like, yeah, it's giving people hope, which is just such a blessing.
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And it's far beyond anything that I expected or, or could have hoped for.
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Well, and as a mom, uh, with a 12 year old, I was really happy that, um, you know, it's,
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Cause it's something that you, I feel comfortable letting my daughter listen to and, and learn
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And I noticed that other parents in the YouTube comments felt the same way.
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And again, one of those things where you're not alone, you know, there are other parents
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who are desperately looking for music that you, you, you know, the, you see your kids
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singing along to and you're like, no, no, no, you can't sing about that.
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But she doesn't even understand what the words mean.
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Um, I'm so glad that there's none of that in, in your song, obviously.
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I mean, music is a, it's a vessel, um, and it really, it resonates with the spirit.
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And even if you go back thousands and thousands of years across different, uh, ethnic groups,
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different tribes, different ideologies, music was always such a powerful binder for theology
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So we have to really be careful about the music that we allow into our brains, even if it seems
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innocent, even if it seems like it's just party music or it's just whatever it's, there's
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some very grotesque, uh, messaging in contemporary pop culture, contemporary music, even just pop
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music generally going back to, you know, 50, 60 years, it's usually about either, you know,
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So to be able to, you know, counter that with, with, with some positive messaging in a package
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that's maybe familiar to people, um, I think that's, that's what I'm trying to do.
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And if, if it resonates with people, whether it's, you know, 10 people or a million people,
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What about your former, and I guess current, because you are recording, you're a recording
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What is the response from people within the industry?
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People you used to be colleagues with or, or, or no longer who are sort of part of when
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There's been a few people that have DM'd me and reached out kind of saying, Hey, I've
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been following everything you've been doing for the past year and a half and speaking
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You're really courageous, which is like, I, I appreciate that, but it also, to me, I don't
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really see it as being brave because we're courageous because it takes a lot of courage
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to just take it on the chin and deal with things the way they are.
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Because if we don't speak up, like the, the fabric of our country is being completely ripped
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apart and destroyed, maybe beyond repair, unless we all speak up and it doesn't have
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It's just having stern conversations out of love with people that we care about.
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Like we have this passive aggressive PC undertone and everything we do in Canada relationally.
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And I think it's really one of the reasons why Canada is really struggling right now throughout
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the pandemic and all the issues that are arising from it, because we're afraid to have conversations
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Anyway, sorry, that's, that's a bit of a rant, but I have received some, some nice messages.
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I think because the, the, the reception of this has been so overwhelmingly positive and global.
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I think a lot of people that maybe did me dirty or I've had not so nice things to say about
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I was going to say, I think that's probably the best you can hope for.
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Now, um, you, I think I saw this trend for quite a few days at 13, but 12, I think you
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Um, but that's still pretty, that's what I'm saying.
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I think you're probably the number one song Canadian artist for sure.
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So you would think that that might be something that, um, music journalists, um, entertainment
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journalists in this country might be interested in this independent artist with his, um, you
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He's filmed all the footage in the documentary or most of the, or in the video, or at least
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What a great story that you trended all the way at, uh, number 11, but they don't seem
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I mean, surprisingly, I haven't even had even people, even guys that have supported me in
00:20:51.540
my whole career, like small publications haven't, it's been crickets.
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Um, but they're afraid they're either afraid or they think that this message is dangerous.
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And the only reason why they would think that a message of unity and Hey, like maybe don't
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demonize people who are being, you know, fired for their choices.
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Like the only reason why that message is dangerous is because it puts a crack in the narrative and
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So, yeah, I mean, this is just, again, just pointing out the hypocrisy of, of, of the media
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zeitgeist and, and big corporate news and whatever else.
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And it's, it's nothing new, but it's still unfortunate because I mean, it's one thing
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if a song is, is trending with a label behind it, where you have access to everything, you
00:21:35.040
have a big marketing budget, but I mean, this song has been blocked on basically every, every
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So it's really just come from, you know, the help of, of, of our, of our supporters.
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Um, a few, uh, like Tom McDonald shared the song, uh, Zuby shared the song and luckily
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a dark horse podcast shared the song, but it's really just been going through like by
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Um, and it's interesting because yeah, like Google blocked all the ads, Facebook blocked
00:22:06.020
So it's literally just like, Hey, check this out.
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So it's, it's like a real grassroots movement and still crickets when it comes to, comes to
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It's kind of fun to see, to see that, um, the people as much as, you know, the, the powers
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of big tech are trying to suppress the will of the people, the people are still speaking.
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Um, so much so that you trended at number 11, which is such an incredible accomplishment
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given what you're up against with big tech censorship, but the lack of resources by which
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You think any reasonable entertainment journalist in Canada would be like, holy heck, look at
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I think it's, it can be a, uh, encouraging thing though for our viewers, because the only
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reason why this message has been able to get out there so far is because you guys have been
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sharing it because you care about it because it resonated with you because you wanted people
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So there's this misnomer that, oh, I'm just one person.
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You have a voice, you know, you, you can do a lot.
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And if we make enough noise, people can't ignore us.
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You know, the song was wedged between the weekend and Disney.
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Like we're talking billions of dollars of, of access between those two, those two institutions.
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So it's just, it, it really starts to put a crack in like the veneer of the, the big tech
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We just have to stand up for what we believe in and, and, and rep the things that we love
00:23:54.200
Well, I think the success of the song is a testament to the accuracy of the message
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in the song in that, um, you know, you're the message of the song is that you're not
00:24:04.880
And if you, if you're finally realizing that you were maybe wrong about this issue, it's
00:24:11.240
Um, and that's sort of what's happening with how well the song is doing.
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People aren't alone and there are more of us than them.
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And that's why the song is doing so well, because there are more of us than them that care about
00:24:33.920
And if they do, I mean, it's been populated in so many different channels, uploading it
00:24:40.020
There's multiple uploads on BitChute, multiple uploads on Rumble, which aren't mine.
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I have no idea about who uploaded them or, or, yeah, I couldn't tell you, but I don't
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even care about that because I just want, I want the message to get out.
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I'm hoping that this, you know, just invokes conversation.
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Um, it's not about garnering all the views into one video so that my ego can get hyperinflated.
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So, yeah, I think, um, we just have to use the tools at our disposal, even though the
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messages like ours are being blocked, whether that means, you know, we get a content strike
00:25:12.680
or we can't get a mortgage or we can't have access to our banks or whatever it is.
00:25:17.540
There's always going to be a way around it because it's, it's this, like I was, I was
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speaking with, with Ezra, I mentioned we're in a cultural hegemony right now where 1% of
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the population has the loudest voice and they claim to represent the 99%.
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They only, they only represent themselves, but the 99% is afraid and we haven't realized
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So now I don't want to take up too much more of your time because this is the middle of
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a work day and you're working on, you're working on one of Dre's videos.
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How do you build on this success and what's the next project?
00:25:57.780
Um, there's going to be some pretty exciting announcements coming in the next few weeks.
00:26:08.160
And clearly, you know, it's, it's interesting because I had, I had fully put down music.
00:26:13.000
Like after what I went through and, and taking the job with Rebel, I'm like, okay, I'm entering
00:26:19.540
So I'm going to focus on journalism, but I feel like God's restored that for me and
00:26:26.500
So I'm, I'm ready to go pretty hard on the music stuff.
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I'm lining up some collaborations with some artists that I think our fans and our viewers
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will really know and love, which is crazy, but nothing ready for announcements yet, but
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just know I'm working, I'm working hard and I'm going to keep promoting the song and
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Hopefully hop on some podcasts, do some more press and keep spreading the message.
00:26:49.720
And you're doing all of this while working more than full time for us with Drea in Vancouver.
00:27:01.940
Matt, one last thing for people who don't know, how can they find your work and how can
00:27:10.100
Well, if you go to brevener.com, it's a landing page I set up and it has access to, you know,
00:27:20.120
And also there's a link to the song, which is available for download.
00:27:27.020
They're saying there was a mix up with distribution.
00:27:29.720
So the song currently isn't on Spotify or Apple or any of the mainstream streaming sites.
00:27:35.100
They're saying it could take as much as, as two business weeks.
00:27:39.420
So if you want to get the song, if you go to bandcamp.com or brevener.bandcamp.com, which
00:27:44.280
you can redirect through brevener.com, you can download the song for free, you know, or
00:27:49.280
if you feel like chipping in a penny, a dollar or whatever else, you can also download the
00:27:56.140
And that money basically goes straight to me and trying to, to market this, the song
00:28:00.020
and do more press and, and some alternative marketing.
00:28:03.180
And so, yeah, well, I hope you don't get too successful and then leave us, but I also hope
00:28:10.620
that, you know, that if, if you do, your voice is used to amplify, um, the stories of normal
00:28:17.520
people, which is exactly what you're doing for us.
00:28:24.100
And we're, regardless of where this, this ride takes me, it's been, you guys have encouraged
00:28:38.420
Okay, Matt, uh, thank you so much for taking the time.
00:28:41.040
Um, I don't want to take you away from your regular job.
00:28:49.620
I don't even really know who said it first, but it was constantly reinforced by Andrew
00:29:04.740
Breitbart before his passing that politics are indeed downstream of culture, as in to
00:29:12.460
We first need to change the culture instead of completely tuning out of it, which is something
00:29:19.200
And I think Matt's music is one step in the right direction of re-normalizing being normal
00:29:26.580
Now, if you'd like to support Matt's work, I'll include a link to his website and to
00:29:29.700
his band camp in the description of the video today.
00:29:36.080
As always, I'll see everybody back here in the same time and the same place next week.
00:29:41.040
And remember, don't let the government tell you that you've had too much to think.