What makes Matt Mathews run? Fans of the Alabama social media star might be asking themselves that question right now, as Mathews — an undeniable Energizer Bunny in the entertainment world — adds one more item to his resume.

The Birmingham native, 32, became a viral sensation during the coronavirus pandemic, making people chuckle with his “farm chores” videos about life in Jefferson County. Fussing at his animals in a colorful (and often profane) fashion, wearing a bathrobe while cuddling the chickens or feeding the pigs, moaning “I hate it here!” — when you know he actually adores the place — Mathews quickly earned a devoted following that has grown by the millions.

Ambitious by nature, Mathews quickly parlayed his social media fame into a career as a stand-up comedian, selling out shows around the country and even a few dates overseas. He’s filmed a comedy special, starred in a YouTube reality series, hosted a podcast and written a memoir. He’s also a successful businessman, via a photography studio that specializes in boudoir portraits and a mega-popular product line of candles, T-shirts, tote bags, aprons, mugs and more.

“I’m always so terrified that I’ll be poor again,“ Mathews said in an interview with AL.com. ”I’m always so terrified that one day I will not have money, and I will be back to living in the projects. I’ll be back to eating mayonnaise sandwiches. I’ll be back to sugar water. I will be back to growing up in Bessemer, Alabama, with an alcoholic mom. And that is the most terrifying thing in the world to me. I work so much, and I push myself so much, because I’m always terrified that if I don’t, I’ll be poor again.”

That seems unlikely, as his overall career path continues its upward climb. But Mathews, always candid in conversation, doesn’t shy away from talking about his past and its impact on his decisions and feelings. In fact, a tough childhood was a key motivator for his latest project: an album of country-folk songs that are partly autobiographical in nature.

Mathews wrote or co-wrote all nine tunes on his self-titled record, set for release in May on his independent label. (The exact date is TBA.) Two of his songs, “Joke’s on Me” and “What a War, are streaming now, and Mathews has a concert scheduled for May 15 at the WorkPlay theater in Birmingham’s Southside.

AL.com sat down with Mathews on a recent weekday to talk about his move into the music industry, which apparently exhilarates and frightens him in equal measure. Of course, we had to find out how his beloved critters are doing, and get an update on the 105-acre ranch that recently became his home base and rural refuge in Alabama. Here’s what Mathews said.

(The interview below has been edited for length and clarity.)

You’re a social media star and standup comedian. Now you’re working on a music career. Why music? Why now?

Matt Mathews: You know, comedy was never what I wanted to do. It was never my first passion. It just kind of fell into my lap, and it happened, and now it’s the love of my life. I love comedy. It is absolutely the most fun thing to me, and I absolutely love doing it.

But music is what I always loved, you know, that was my first passion. I remember as a kid, I would literally perform for my teddy bears on my bed, and I would be like, “Birmingham, Alabama!” Music was always what I wanted to do. I always wanted to be a singer, but I never thought I was good enough. So I never gave myself the opportunity to do music.

Once I got into comedy, I never thought that I would kind of go back to music, especially when my comedy was doing so well. I don’t have a reason to go to music. I’m doing very well, with my career, with my shows I’m doing, you know, everything is great.

But I started performing two songs in this show, and they’re just fun. I do a ballad of “My Neck, My Back.” It’s not like they’re parody songs; they’re just fun songs and the crowd just loved them. And so I was like: “You know what? I really want to do music again.” I love music and I really want to give this a shot.

READ: ‘It’s been a whirlwind’: Alabama social media superstar on his ‘insane’ year and newfound success

A famous friend influenced your decision, too, right?

My friend is singer Jewel, and I went to perform with her in Rogers, Arkansas, in the fall of last year. I performed with her and she was like, “Matt, you have to start pursuing music.” And I was like, “I’m too scared.” And she was like, “You just have to give it a shot. You don’t have to have the goal to be the next No. 1 platinum record-selling artist or anything, but you just have to do it for yourself.”

So I was like: “You know what? I will.” She hooked me up with her producer and we started. I’ve been writing songs since I was a kid, so I just started recording and working on the album. I decided that now I’m at a place, where in my career I can afford to do something else that I love, and kind of have a passion project.

Tell us about the two songs you’ve been doing in the comedy shows.

I do a ballad of “My Neck, My Back” by Khia and then I also do a song, it’s from “The Little Mermaid,” “Part of Your World.” I do that, but I say I want to be where the sugar daddies are. And I talk about how, growing up, I had this dream of being a sugar baby. And now that I messed around out here on tour so much, now I’m a sugar daddy. So I took that “I want to be a part of your world” into “I want to be a sugar baby,” and I made it into this song.

How do you know Jewel?

Jewel and I became friends from social media. She found me on the Internet and followed me. And when she followed me, I about had a stroke, because I’ve always loved her. She’s been my idol like since I was a kid. Like, I’ve been obsessed with her — just her music, her songwriting and her voice. Everything about her is just incredible. When she followed me, I was like, oh, my gosh, this is crazy. And we just started talking, and we clicked, and we got along really, really well.

She was like, “I’m performing in Rogers, Arkansas. Why don’t you come and sing with me?” And I was like, what? So we got on my tour bus at, like, 10 o’clock at night. We drove to Rogers, Arkansas, and we did a show with her, and it was incredible. I sang with her. We yodeled and we did one of her songs that she’s never released. So it was real fun.

You have a tour bus? Please tell us you don’t have a private plane.

Yeah, I have a bus. No private planes. That’s the next goal. Because I’m real tired of flying on Delta, because they stay upside down. So I’m like, we gotta get a plane. But those are real expensive.

Is the tour bus fancy, with a bedroom and a shower, and all the other perks?

We’ve got six bunks for the crew, and then my bed is in the back. I have a bathroom and a shower and all that. It’s actually Kellie Pickler’s old bus. There’s an ice maker on the bus that was actually Kellie’s ice maker from when she worked at Sonic, because it makes the crushed ice. She wanted that on her bus, so she put that on there. We haven’t done any changes to it, so it kind of just looks how she did it. We love it. It’s very comfy. It makes traveling much easier.

What’s the one thing you need to have on the bus?

For me? A bathroom. I hate being at venues and getting ready at the venues. I hate that. I want to have my own space. So as soon as I get on the bus Thursday night, I put all of my clothes in the closet and (it’s) just like I’m living there. I pack everything, and being able to have my own closet, have my own bathroom, my own shower, my own space … So I can just get ready. You know, these venues are nasty (backstage). I don’t want to get ready in these 1920 theaters that have mold in their showers.

I kind of got to the point where I was like, “If I’m going to be touring this much” … people don’t realize how much it takes out of you. It’s exhausting. I’m in a new place every night, and I spend maybe one to two days a week at home, so I have to be comfortable. And I finally got to the point where I was like, “I’m not gonna keep being miserable, and not getting any sleep and any rest to save money,” you know?

I’m gonna spend the money and be comfortable, and be able to sleep in between shows, and now I can take my dogs. That’s really important to me. I don’t have to leave my dogs every weekend. I get to go to a city and walk around the city with my dogs. They’re both seniors, and spending all the time with them is super important.

Anyone who’s followed your career knows you’re a self-starter. You set a goal; you achieve it. Do you want to do all the things?

I get bored, you know. I get bored and I can’t just do one thing. Somebody messaged me the other day and was like, “Oh, my God, now you’re coming out with an album. How much more money do you need.” And I’m like, “I’m not doing it for money.”

I’m not writing music or recording this record to make money. I’m doing this because it’s something that I love, and music is therapy to me, and it’s something that I enjoy. I’m doing it because I enjoy it for myself.

I get (comments like), “Oh, my gosh, what is he gonna do next?” Or “Oh, my gosh, he can do everything.” Or I get the rude, “Why? You don’t have to do that.” And it’s not a money thing. It’s more of a thing for myself — do this for yourself. Do this for younger Matt, because you always wanted to do this. Fulfill the dream that you had as a kid, and if it blows up, great. But if it doesn’t, that’s fine, too.

And Jewel says, “Do it.”

And Jewel says, “Do it.” So when Jewel tells you to do something, you do it.

When you were at kid at home, were you singing into the mirror with a hairbrush?

Oh, yeah. I had the karaoke machines. My dad used to take me to a redneck bar on Tuesday nights, and I would sing karaoke every Tuesday. It was in Lakeview, the Lakeview country club. All these redneck old people would come in every Tuesday to start hearing me sing, and it became, like, a thing.

I would go in, and I would sing at this redneck bar. And people were like, “Why is this kid in the bar?” But it’s because my dad would take me, and I would go and it became a thing. Ever since I was a kid, music was what I loved.

Tell us about some of the songs you used to sing as a kid.

I’ve always been a very big fan of all genres of music, but country music was the biggest thing, that was a very much of a storytelling thing. And it kind of goes back to my comedy. My comedy is also very storytelling. My dad and I grew up singing “A Country Boy Can Survive.”

He would take the first verse, and I would take the second. And it’s always been our song. We would always sing that together. My mom would always listen to Martina McBride, so I grew up on Martina McBride and listening to “Independence Day” and “Broken Wing.” That’s the stuff I would sing at karaoke.

You recently found an old notebook filled with songs you wrote during childhood. Tell us about that.

When we were moving, I found my old notebook and it had all of the songs that I had written since I was a kid. There’s songs in there that I wrote, like, when I was maybe 7 or 8. I would write them while my mom, my biological mom, was drunk. I would write these heavy songs for a 7- or 8-year-old.

And it’s just crazy because, I would write these songs and I’m like, “Damn, you was going through it as an 8-year-old.” Everybody knows my story now. I grew up in the projects with an alcoholic mom. Life was not easy, but to be able to write those songs as a young kid … that’s pretty big.

What were you writing about as a kid?

All kinds of things. I would write about my parents fighting, or I would write about my mom being drunk all the time — really heavy stuff for a young kid. I think that’s the fun part about comedy, though — I get to make other people laugh and heal from my trauma, but with music, I get to heal myself, you know, so it’s a very different thing with music and comedy. And I’m giving people two totally different sides of me.

You recently put out two singles, “Joke’s On Me” and “What a War.” Why release both at the same time?

They’re very different. I wrote “What a War” as part of a relationship where I was just like, “I don’t know if this is working. Is this working? Is it not working? If it’s not working, then what are we fighting so hard about? What are we fighting to keep? This is literally just a war that we’re going back and forth with.” It’s a “where do we go from here” kind of thing.

“Joke’s On Me” was kind of like a revenge song. OK, yeah, I was dumb because you love-bombed me, and told me all these things that I wanted to hear, and made me think that I was just the most, the best thing ever. And then you just dipped. So it was joke’s on me because I allowed you to keep doing that. But joke’s on you because I came out on top.

I really wanted to do like a slower ballad and then more up-tempo song. Those were two of the first ones that we wrote for the album. And I was like, “We’ve got to drop both of these at the same time.”

You wrote or co-wrote all of the songs for your debut album. Tell us about the ones we haven’t heard yet.

There’s a song about my mom that passed away; I wrote a song about her. There’s some love and heartbreak songs in there. I wrote a song for North Carolina when Hurricane Helene happened, and people were destroyed. That really affected me more than I thought it would — seeing those people struggle so much and lose everything, and nobody was helping them.

I donated a lot of money and I did things like that, but I was like, “What can I do?” I wrote this song, and I wanted to record it while all that was happening, and then take all the money and donate it. But we just never got around to it, because I was touring so much. But I wrote that song. It’s called “Together,” and it’s on the album. I think this album is just… there’s something for everybody on it, so many different things.

How many songs will be on your debut album?

It’s nine total on the album. We have “Joke’s on Me” and “What a War” that are out now. We have “Together,” which is the song that I wrote about North Carolina. We have “The Ones You Leave Behind,” “People Doing Time,” “Game I’ll Never Win.”

“Broken Phone “is just a fun song. It’s so funny, because I never thought I would record that song. I wrote “Broken Phone” when I lived in a trailer park in Bessemer, Alabama. I was going to the clubs getting drunk every weekend as, like, a 19-, 20-year-old kid. This is another reason I don’t drink, obviously, because my biological mom was an alcoholic. … I would go out, and I would get drunk and I would want to fight, you know.

It’s about getting drunk, and going out, and getting in a fight, and you end up with a broken phone and a busted lip. It’s just a fun country song. Everybody always loved it, but this is not my favorite song. It’s not meaningful. It’s just a stupid song, and watch it be a freaking hit.

When do you have time to write songs? What’s the process like for you?

I’ll hear something and get an idea, and I’ll write a line and I’ll sing the line on my phone, in my voice memos and I’ll finish it later. Typically I’ll just hear something, or I’ll see something that gives me an idea. Or if I have an idea about something, I’ll just come up with a melody in my head — I’ll just come up with just one little line of something — and then I’ll finish it.

I heard a song by Willow Avalon — I’m obsessed with her right now; she’s so talented — the song’s called “Damned,” and she talks about the “I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t” kind of thing. And it just sparked this idea. I wrote a song about my siblings who were drug addicts. I wrote it in 10 minutes, and I just absolutely fell in love with it. We haven’t recorded it or anything.

And you have your own label?

I did all this independent. Thankfully, I’m in a place where I can afford to do it myself. And doing it myself, I get to keep all of the freedom. I don’t have to listen to a label. I can do everything exactly how I want to do it. And that was actually Jewel’s No. 1 recommendation to me. She was like, “If I can tell you anything, stay independent. With the way things are now with your following, and you being able to do it, you don’t need a label.” And I’m like, “OK, we’ll listen to you.” She’s been through it.

Rank your musical skills for us as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. What are you best at?

Singer, songwriter, guitarist. I think that’s it. I’m a very mediocre guitarist. I’m not an incredible guitarist, by any means. I can write music and I can play, you know, the chords that I need to play. But I’m not shredding out there or anything like that.

In the past, you said it’s scary to move into the music world. Do you still feel that way?

Yeah, for sure. It’s very raw, and it’s very intimidating. It’s funny because you would think it’d be the opposite. As a comedian, I’m on stage with nobody but me, and I have to hold that audience of 3,000-4,000 people every show. With a band, I have all these people with me, but music, to me is more vulnerable. And it’s like, you can tell me I’m not funny all day long — we know I am, whatever. You tell me I can’t sing and it might hurt my feelings a little bit,

So it’s very much more vulnerable to me than comedy. And you’re giving all these pieces (of yourself) that are real things and they’re heavy things. You’re really putting your full self out there for people to hear.

READ: How an Alabama man became a TikTok star with funny farm videos (‘I hate it here!‘)

Do your fans want the serious Matt Mathews?

I don’t know. That’s a great question, because I’ve worried about that. I’m like, “What if people don’t take my music seriously?” Or what if they say, “We want to see you do comedy. We don’t care to hear you sing.” Thankfully, everything has been very positive. I don’t think I’ve seen a single bad comment about the music. People have loved it so far.

I just hope that people take the other side of me, and realize that people have so many different parts of who they are. People aren’t one-dimensional. I’m not just the funny comedian. There are also serious sides of me. I have loved, and I have lost, and I have had heartbreak. So I hope that people love that side as much as they love the funny side.

What made you decide to do a concert at WorkPlay?

I’m not doing it to make money. I’m donating all the money that we make from tickets sales to the Animal League of Birmingham. I just want people to hear the record, and I want to be able to help animal shelters. That’s really important to me.

And honestly, I don’t even know if it’s gonna sell out. … This is music. It’s not comedy. People don’t know me as a musician. They know me as a comedian, and they may be like, “I don’t give a damn to hear that.” I think that there are people who are are gonna be like, “Oh, we’re going just because we love and support you.”

But I don’t know. I’m very nervous. I’m like, “What if it doesn’t sell out and we have to cancel it?” It’s 500-something seats. I haven’t played a venue that small in a long time. This could humble me quick. We’ll see. (Note: Tickets for Mathews’ show sold out after his interview with AL.com.)

WorkPlay actually reached out to me, and they’ve been asking me to come perform there for a long time. I was like, “You know what? Let’s just go to the WorkPlay.” Let’s do it there. It’s not big. It’s intimate. It’ll be a good place to get the music out, and just kind of have fun performing the music live. And it’s just a really historic and iconic venue for music in Birmingham.

Why did you pick the Animal League of Birmingham as a beneficiary?

Because they help a lot of other smaller shelters that need help. They kind of are an umbrella for a lot of local animal shelters that aren’t funded enough or don’t have enough resources. So I figured if we can donate everything to them, then they can help out more. And I love animals way more than I love people.

Do you see yourself as a country artist?

I don’t know. I don’t know that I’m going to be welcomed, because No. 1: I’m a stand-up comic. No. 2: I’m an openly gay guy in the South. And No. 3: I’m not wholesome. I cuss and I say what everybody wants to say, but they’re too scared to say it.

I just don’t know that I’m gonna fit into the country music scene. I don’t know that they’re gonna welcome me with open arms. But I also feel like I’ve never really fit in anywhere that I’ve been. I don’t really fit in with the comedy crowd, either. I don’t have a bunch of friends that are comedians. I’m not hanging out with a bunch of comedians. I’m not really in the scene. But baby, I’m out here doing my thing and selling out shows. So that’s all I care about.

At the end of the day. I don’t really give a damn about being friends with people. I’m just gonna go home, anyways. I’m not gonna hang out with you. So there are a few friends that I have that I love, and that I will hang out with, but I’m not trying to be friends with everybody or get everybody’s approval.

Is there a concert tour in the works, after the WorkPlay show?

Not right now. I’m never going to say never, because every time I say never. it always bites me in the butt. So I’m not gonna say never. But it is not currently a part of the plan.

What does your husband, Rob Killgore, think about adding music to your busy agenda?

He supports anything that I do. He thinks I’m an absolute psychopath. He’s like, “Are you ever gonna get tired?”

You recently moved to a ranch in Jefferson County that covers more than 100 acres. And you have a new house. Who’s decorating?

I’ve been living on Amazon and Wayfair for the last two weeks. I’ve been just really, really on there shopping. I’m doing it mostly by myself, which is hard because I don’t have time. It’s a slow process. We are living there now. We finally got everything kind of put away.

Let’s talk animals. How many do you have at the ranch, and what kinds?

Four horses. The one-and-only Wookie (a donkey). We have two dogs, two cats. Two pigs, Winston and Winnie. I think I have 20 chickens right now, but I just put 20 more in the incubator, so I’m about to have some grandbabies. And we have six goats.

I did get two turkeys, but I gave them away because they got on my damn nerves. They were so obnoxious. They never shut up. And they started beating up my chickens. And I was like, “No, y’all gotta go.” So I got rid of them.

Do you have a favorite chicken right now? You said you wouldn’t get so attached to the chickens anymore, after the death of your beloved Fluffy.

I do have two twin chickens, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Mary-Kate is probably my favorite right now. I have a Dolly Parton, too.

Do you have roosters?

I have two roosters. Roo Roo is my main rooster. I’ve had him for years. The other one doesn’t have a name; he doesn’t really have much personality. I name chickens off their personality, you know, or how they look. I still have Left Eye. She’s still kicking. She’s an OG. Let’s see, who else? I’ve still got Blackie Chan.

Have you thought about combining music with the farm chores? Will we see you singing to Wookie in a video?

I actually thought about that today. I was like, “I should just go sit in the pasture and play a song and play it for Wookie.” Because he loves when I sing to him. He’s obsessed with me. He’s my baby, for sure.

If you go: Matt Mathews is set to perform at the WorkPlay theater in Birmingham on May 15 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at the venue, 500 23rd St. South. General admission tickets, priced at $15, are sold out.