The end of the masquerade
Abbotsford Christian rock singer Matthew David is releasing his first album called Masquerade.
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Updated: November 16, 2009 8:36 PM
It took Christian singer Matthew David more than a decade to overcome his sense of self-loathing and hatred after discovering he was gay at age 13.
Growing up deeply embedded in Abbotsford’s Christian community, David was profoundly ashamed of who he was.
What he didn’t want to admit to himself, he certainly wasn’t going to confess to his family, friends and church.
From an early age, he’d learned being gay was “wrong,” and he was convinced those important to him wouldn’t love him the way he was.
Burdened with his secret and convinced he was going to hell, he tried to pray his homosexuality away.
Depressed and sleepless, he toyed with the idea of suicide, all the while trying to hide the fact anything was wrong.
Now, at age 27, David is launching his debut album Masquerade, and making no apologies for being both homosexual and a committed Christian.
As a gay Christian artist, David hopes his music will reach out to both sides of the “great divide,” while he serves as an example of a person with a foot in both camps, and someone reconciled with his faith and sexuality.
Despite the “clobber passages” in the Bible touted by those who favour a literalist interpretation, Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, David notes.
The turning point in shedding his own shame occurred when the singer became aware of statistics indicating a gay teen in the U.S. commits suicide every five hours, and for every successful suicide, 20 other youth make the attempt to kill themselves.
“My music is about reaching out to young people or gay teens who are going through that now, or to the other people who make them feel they don’t have any hope,” he says.
David, who starting singing in church choirs at the age of four, went on after high school to study voice and theatre in London for a couple of years.
His music career was temporarily put on hold when he returned to Vancouver and took a job in the financial industry.
Successful but miserable, last fall he decided to follow his love for music.
When considering how to market himself, David thought about presenting himself as straight or bisexual, or just simply avoiding the issue of his sexuality altogether.
But he felt his music wouldn’t ring true.
“I realized I had to put myself out there with as much honesty and integrity as possible, or I’d have no hope of really reaching anybody.”
While David sees the need to address his sexuality and faith in his first album, he doesn’t see them defining his career. He anticipates his music will change and grow over time, as he does.
He describes his six new songs as pop ballads with hints of rock and gospel undertones.
The album’s debut single Masquerade encompasses the entire theme of the project; the end of hiding and the start of living truthfully.
David is also particularly excited about the track Revolution which sees him collaborating with Levi Kreis, the established American vocalist and pianist and a trail blazer in writing music that touches on the themes of homosexuality and faith.
The album’s CD release party is taking place Nov. 26 in Vancouver, but David also hopes to schedule several shows in Abbotsford where he still resides – despite the fact he may still face some ostracism in the Christian community.
“The easiest thing to to is run away. You have a better opportunity to change things from the inside rather than the outside.
“There is so much hurt between the two communities, especially for those shut out of the Christian community, there’s a lot of healing to be done.”
For more information or to listen to David's music visit www.matthew-david.com.
