Meet Gray Whitney (graymattr) | Music Producer, Audio Engineer, Percussionist and Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gray Whitney (graymattr) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gray, why did you pursue a creative career?
I wanted to pursue an artistic career because I feel that this is my calling, and the primary reason I was put on this Earth! I still work a day job selling email marketing at Constant Contact, but I know with continued effort and dedication I will eventually be able to successfully turn graymattr into my full time job. I am about 8 years into this journey, and I’ve come way to far to ever consider the thought of throwing in the towel! Making music is my passion and I love the joy I am able to bring to others with my music.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart from others with my art is my broad style of electronic music production. I enjoy making all kinds of music with different styles and tempos, and tend to steer away from labeling music with genres. Genres have always felt very limiting to me, where I choose to think outside the box as best as I can.

To be honest, I am most excited about my dedication to my craft – I genuinely believe that most people would’ve given up by now and the fact that I’ve made it this far feels like a testament to how serious I am about music. Other than that, I am proud that I have released more than 35 tracks and have multiple local headlining shows under my belt, with over a million lifetime streams online and thousands of tickets sold to my concerts.

I still have a very long way to go professionally but even getting to this point has been a grind. There have been times where I’ve buried my head in my hands, wondering why thousands of hours of dedication to making music has only gotten me this far. Then I take a step back, realize how far I’ve come, appreciate the friends and fans I’ve made, and keep pushing myself.

Some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way are that it’s never to late to keep trying new things, treat everyone with respect and kindness (when they haven’t lost your trust), do your best in each moment, it’s okay to loose battles, just have the confidence and dedication to know you’ll win the war. I’ve also learned to write down my goals – in the words of the late great Joe Rogan, “write that sh*t down, get that sh*t done”.

I want the world to know that I have worked my face off to get to where I am at in my music career, spending time, money and resources to get here. I’ve sacrificed leisure time. I’ve sacrificed time with friends and family. I have even sacrificed my own mental well-being at times to see projects to the finish line. Making it as a musician has been everything but easy for me, but as I said earlier, I know my commitment, quality of music, and who I am as a person will be a recipe for success for the graymattr project over the long term.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
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. In your view what are some of the most fun, interesting, exciting people, places or things to check out?

Luckily my best friend lives in the area, shoutout Josh Moser, shout out Laborjack, but for my other amazing friends who live out of town our trip would look like:

A Red Rocks concert
Going to Horsetooth Reservoir (swimming and hiking, playing catch with my pup Reya in the water)
Crushing burgers and beer over at local hotspots
Rip my electric skateboards around
Go for a BBQ up at Picnic Rock (awesome spot on the Cache Le Poudre River)
Go on a photoshoot
Make some music, get my friend to do some ad-libs
Do a ghost tour of downtown Fort Collins
Go to the shooting range to plink off some rounds
Finish the trip with a Denver tour

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are lots of people I would like to shoutout:

My parents have played a pivotal role in my success as an artist. They have believed in me since day one and always push me to put my best foot forward in everything I do. I know that I have so far to go in my career as a musician, but they are extremely proud of the man I’ve become and a lot of that is due to their understanding, caring nature.

My best friend Josh has always been such a huge supporter of my work. He encourages me to write music, make connections, and is always the first person by my side when it comes to content creation. He believes in me top to bottom and I wouldn’t be in the same place without him.

My girlfriend Abbey has been an amazing woman to support me through tough times, and is consistently understanding if I need to work on music or go to a networking event instead of watching a movie/hanging out… She comes to all my shows and believes in me so much!

My fellow musician collegues like Autumn McCoy, Lánre, Ridence, and so many others are always pushing me to do my best.. We lift each other up and really encourage one another to be great.

My dear friends Michael Zotto and Jairo Cerna have been such an amazing asset to have in my corner. They come to every show and have believed in me since day one. I’d also like to give a massive shoutout to Dom Alarid, Ryan Miller, Chris Taylor, Austin Lux, Zoe Gray, Brennan Ulbert, Logan Quinette, Holden Whitney, Connor Kelly, Garritt Vreeland, Bryan Emig, Brandon Potiralla, Ian Murray, Nathan Bull, Taber Young, Troy Banagas, Terin Noonan, Rob Funkhouser, Stein Christiansen, Shamzi Alkaff, Blake Criag, and so many others who have helped me keep my chin up on this crazy journey!

My fanbase has been growing lately and the endless support I’ve gotten from them has been such a fuel to the fire for me. They buy my shirts, come to my shows, tell me my music rocks, and always have my back. If it wasn’t for them, none of my accomplishments thus far would’ve been possible!

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

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/graymattrmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graymattrmusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_SmlN6d4UtWCrslNx9QauQ

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/76EW4KBlpyDPsKH5cf9sWP?si=FyPNIYVzRKqYYu3bXJxx-Q Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@graymattr

Image Credits
Josh Moser