Get To Know Them
Questions answered by Matt Bishop, lead singer, and only 1/7th of Hey Marseilles:
Tell us about your first concert experience:
My first formative connection to music came as a preteen in the context of Christian pop rock. Randy Stonehill, a luminary in contemporary Christian songwriterdom, was my first concert, at a small community church in suburban Seattle. My Dad and I cut short a weekend camping trip and rushed to catch his live renditions of “American Fast Food” and “Shut De Do.” Historically important tunes in the Christian pop scene.
If you couldn’t be a musician, what would you be doing instead?
I was an English major in college because I very much enjoy the power of language and the variety of ways it can be manipulated to affect ways of perceiving and being. I was also pretty involved in student service jobs. So I would probably be combining those interests and working toward a job in higher education whereby I could help others take on the challenge of expression. Postmodern lit professor? Writing center director? Hard to say.
If you could collaborate with one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Claude Debussy was a revolutionary composer who turned European conservatories on their heads at the tail end of the 19th century. As a band, we have had more than one conversation about how we would love to dig up his old bones and show him the future/present: Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Philip Glass, Phil Collins, Andrew Bird, Lil Wayne. We would drink beers, and he could help us nail down a bridge or two.
If you became President, what is the first action you would take?
Implementation of universal health coverage. It’s a shame that the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world not to have guaranteed access to health care. And while I’m fortunate to have my own coverage, artists and musicians are particularly vulnerable to the challenges of the system currently in place. I have a number of friends whose songs would be heard no more if they weren’t fortunate to continue in good health.
What social cause is closest to your heart?
Equitable access to education. My day job keeps me working with a variety of individuals who have encountered different roadblocks in their educational pursuits. I firmly believe education is a communal responsibility, the benefits of which cannot be underestimated with regard to all facets of how we measure our success as a nation.
What does the right to vote mean to you?
It means we have a voice and a reason to be engaged and knowledgeable about the goings-on in our communities, whether local, national, or international. It underlines the reality that our nation is a community, and as individuals we have a responsibility to engage others and understand how we can collectively improve the well-being of all.
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