Matthew West

• Genre: Alternative Christian Contemporary
• Hometown: Chicago
• Matthew West Website

About

When Matthew West didn't get the baseball scholarship he had his eye on, he put down the bat, picked up a guitar, and decided to pursue a major in music Millikin University. By graduation, he had a multi-campus following, including some prayerful supporters who surprised him by covering a sizable price tag to send him to the Gospel Music Association's "Seminar in the Rockies." There, he attracted the attention of a Nashville mover and shaker, who set him on the course of his chosen path. Although convinced this was what he was meant to do, West still suffered some trials, like writing his first hits for other artists (Rachael Lampa, Sara Groves, Salvador, etc.) and putting his hand through a window, which almost curbed the guitar playing permanently. The happy ending came with the debut of the appropriately titled Happy. Label execs had tried to narrow his focus for the album's sake, but West insisted that mixing it up was his style, so he laid it all down in wax — acoustic, guitar pop and alt rock akin to Matchbox Twenty (check out the single "More" and title track). For all West's subtle eclecticism, those two tracks left the impression they were most 'him' and pretty much indicated where he was headed.

- Amy Bartlett