'Whether I Accomplish All That Or Not Is Not the Point': An Interview

Editorial Supplement: The views found herein belong solely to the person(s) expressing them. General Narrator does not endorse, believe in, or understand the opinions offered by the interviewee, and, because of mitigating circumstances, was unable to proof the interviewer’s questions in advance to their being asked.  

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My guest has been referred to as, “Who?”, “Never Heard of Him.”, and “I think I Read A Romance Novel with a Character By that Name.” He prefers the term "Artist." Regardless, I was excited to speak with him. Our conversation, however, was somewhat out of the ordinary for me insofar as preparation is concerned. Normally, I conduct extensive research, familiarize myself with the vast body of my interviewee’s work. Yet I couldn’t find even one remotely interesting or relevant thing this person has accomplished within the last two and half decades. Still, I was surprised to learn that he has an obvious knack for going on, at length, about himself despite the fact that he has yet to produce anything of note. In that sense, I was struck by the man’s resiliency, unwavering optimism, and, of course, that fantastic beard. Join me, won’t you, for my interview with Matthew Cabe.

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Matthew Cabe: You celebrated your 30th birthday recently, didn’t you?

Matthew Cabe: I did, yeah. July 14th. Bastille Day in France, uh, incidentally. 

Matthew Cabe: And do you feel changed in any noticeable way?

Matthew Cabe: Before the big day, I guess… I guess I didn’t think I would feel, uh, different, you know, but. Well. See, here’s the thing. Um, 30 isn’t necessarily the issue. 29 seems to be much more of a—a thing. At least from my perspective. 

Matthew Cabe: How so?

Matthew Cabe: I think it’s the expectation. If—if—if you’re like me, uh, you can’t even enjoy 29 really because you spend the entirety of that year thinking about the fact that you’re basically 30. Really, 28 is probably the—the real last year of your 20s. In that sense. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve, uh, gone on Facebook recently, or—or watched a Mumford and Sons music video, and just—just really felt too old for it all, I guess.

Matthew Cabe: But you’re not old in the traditional sense.

Matthew Cabe: No, no. I know that. I mean, uh. Look. Am I really “old”? No. Not comparatively, anyway. It’s a—a—a, uh, a milestone for sure when it comes to, like, numbers and length and all that. But—but. You’re right. I’m not old. I. Um. I think the one thing it does make you do though is—you sort of end up taking stock. Evaluate an entire decade that has gone by to—to, like, map your accomplishments. 

Matthew Cabe: Well, let’s talk about that actually.

Matthew Cabe: Okay, great.

Matthew Cabe: Because, based on everything I found, there doesn’t seem to be much to map, as you put it.

Matthew Cabe: [Sighs] I think… Hm. I think on the surface, uh, that’s probably true. But… I mean we all do things. Um. I bought a computer recently, for example. I also just got some new shoes.

Matthew Cabe: What kind?

Matthew Cabe: Van’s.

Matthew Cabe: Classic?

Matthew Cabe: Ha ha, is there any other worth buying?

Matthew Cabe: Point taken. Well, let me pose this in a different way. Lena Dunham. Taylor Swift. 

Matthew Cabe: Uh huh.

Matthew Cabe: Benh Zeitlin. He’s 31 now, but he wrote and directed his first feature-length film at 27, I think.

Matthew Cabe: Co-wrote. Sure.

Matthew Cabe: I could go on, but the point is there’s three examples of people well under 30 who’ve accomplished much more than you. Taylor Swift has nearly 42 million Twitter followers. Dunham has 1.6 million. You, comparatively, have 35.

Matthew Cabe: Well. I mean, yeah. That—that’s true. But, uh, I think you—you have to look at—at two things there. With Twitter. Number One: I just don’t get it. The whole microblog thing. I know it’s important. I get that it connects a lot of people and ideas and news instantaneously. Um. I—I think people like the constraints of it. But—but. I—I still don’t understand it, if I’m being honest. With that said, and this is Number Two, I do think I have the wittiest, like, Twitter bio or—or whatever you want to call it. 

Matthew Cabe: Remind me what your’s is.

Matthew Cabe: It’s, heh, it’s, “Publisher’s Note: What follows is the abridged version of the author’s life and times.”

Matthew Cabe: I see.

Matthew Cabe: Ha ha ha ha, right? It’s funny because it—it basically sums up everyone’s Twitter. You know?

Matthew Cabe: Right, but despite that, your Twitter account remains, to put it bluntly, a barren wasteland in terms of page views, followers, posts, etc. 

Matthew Cabe: Well, look. I said already that I’m not really a—a Twitter person. If I was forced to pick right now, I’d probably say I’m more of an Instagram person, per se. I’ve got over 120 followers on there, which I think is—is—is pretty substantial for someone who hasn’t really made a name for himself yet. 

Matthew Cabe: But why haven’t you is the question.

Matthew Cabe: Honestly, uh, I think it comes down to content. I mean, the—the—those people you mentioned. Lena, uh, Dunham. She created one of the most popular shows currently running on television. 

Matthew Cabe: Girls.

Matthew Cabe: Right. And—and. So, of course an accomplishment of that magnitude will render more fans than, say, the average person on like Twitter or something.

Matthew Cabe: But you don’t consider yourself an “average person,” correct?

Matthew Cabe: Well. Hm. I—I—I. No, I don’t. But, um. Nobody does really. We all live in our heads. And—and in—up in there. Well. We’re pretty much the most important person, and think that the world sort of revolves around only us. It’s very easy to—to—to feel like a celebrity in that sense. 

Matthew Cabe: But in reality?

Matthew Cabe: In reality. It’s—it’s probably… it’s probably a little different, I guess. For most of us. But listen. The content is there. On Instagram. The videos, for example. I really see them as 21st century short films in a way. That’s why I always post them in black and white. There’s a—a gravitas there, you know. And—and—and if I’m really being honest I would say that, unlike Ms. Dunham, my artistic output is more of an acquired taste, you know? 

Matthew Cabe: How so?

Matthew Cabe: I just, uh, I tend to think I have a very particular world view. More so than other people. And—and that world view sort of, like, rears itself in my work for better or worse. But because this world view is particular, almost niche, you know, it’s—it’s not going to exactly appeal to everyone, which I think accounts for, uh, the lack of popularity. As you put it. And, listen, there are people out there who like me. Who think I’m funny. Maybe even hilarious. It’s those people for whom I create. They like my videos, my Facebook statuses. But… See. Um. I think David Lynch’s work as of late is a fair comparison insofar as he’s—he’s doing what he wants. He hasn’t made a feature-length film in almost a decade. But—but—but he’s made something like 15 short films that are very much about what he’s interested in. 

Matthew Cabe: But Lynch is able to make those short films now, rather than features, because he’s proven himself. You’re talking about a man who has a concrete artistic output that spans nearly 40 years. Do you really see that as a viable comparison?

Matthew Cabe: I—I. Um. [Clears throat] I’m simply saying that how David Lynch does it, now, despite the career, is a lot like how I do it. Whether I’m writing, Instagraming, whatever… I want to, you know, do it my way and that means that probably a very select number of people will “get” it or—or even like it. 

Matthew Cabe: A very select number.

Matthew Cabe: Well, sure. But the other thing you have to sort of remember is this—this thing isn’t my day job. I don’t make any money at this yet. So, as a result, I work full-time. And anything else in my—my life basically becomes kind of supplemental or secondary. In every way.

Matthew Cabe: And you’ve been working for this company for three years now, correct?

Matthew Cabe: Not Quite. September, uh, 7th will be three years. 

Matthew Cabe: And what do you do there.

Matthew Cabe: Gosh, what a question. Um. So many things, really. I mean, uh, work anywhere for three years and try to tell me you did only one task over and over that entire time. If you work at McDonald’s, for example, you—you—you aren’t just going to cook burgers. Chances are you’ll work the register, too. You’ll sweep up excess food that spills onto the floor. Wipe tables. Whatever. Do you see what I’m saying?

Matthew Cabe: A person acquires a job, and, depending on the day and experience level, he’s pulled in many different directions that ultimately make him more well-rounded.

Matthew Cabe: Exactly! That’s exactly right. So, like, in—in my case. Um. When I started with my company, I was responsible for de-palletizing boxes and pushing them thru an X-Ray machine. Then, once that was finished, I had to re-palletize those boxes. Then there was the shrink-wrapping. And—and—and it wasn’t just me. This isn’t, like some sort of one man show. See. There was a group of us. We had a supervisor. A manager. But the thing is this. I—I didn’t just do that. I labeled the boxes. Moved them from one spot to another with a forklift. I’ve even “dimmed” them, which is when you—you measure all the, uh, sides of the boxes and sort of update what’s called “The System” with those dimensions. 

Matthew Cabe: That is fascinating.

Matthew Cabe: Yeah. Oh! And—and, ha ha. And sometimes the shippers of the boxes, right? Sometimes they—they write their own dimensions and weights on documents and things like that. And so when we, uh, reweigh or check the dimensions with our—our tape measures, they’re just like way off, ha ha. It’s pretty… pretty crazy.

Matthew Cabe: Do you find it difficult to balance those two aspects of your life? By that, I mean your work life and your creative or artistic life. Because it seems to me that the two would conflict.

Matthew Cabe: It was tougher at first, I think. But. You know, over time. Over time, everything starts to—to—to blend together. What I mean is—is the work, because it takes up such a vast majority of effort and thought and all that, tends to bleed into the creative process. They—they sort of… They sort of end up becoming two parts of the same entity.

Matthew Cabe: And do you envy other artists who are able to focus solely on their art? Artists who don’t have to work, like you do, to make ends meet, and who make actual money from their art.

Matthew Cabe: I try not to envy anyone. We’re all just living our lives, you know? Like you—you mentioned before those people who have “done more than me” at or around the same age. I—I—I just can’t really afford to think about it that way. I think. Hm. I think everyone sort of has their moment. Especially in this day and age. And, in our society, there’s this—this pressure forced upon us to succeed at a very young age. Those who do are labeled “geniuses” and “voices of a generation” and “visionaries.” Those who don’t somehow… the perception is they somehow, uh, missed the boat or something. But I don’t see it that way. 

Matthew Cabe: How do you see it then?

Matthew Cabe: I, uh, I see it, basically, like there is a lot of time left, in general, and there are popular and important people in the spotlight now. But—but eventually they'll give way to other people. And those new people aren’t… they’re not always young and fresh or whatever. There are countless examples of artists who never saw a great deal of popularity or cultural relevance until much later in their lives.

Matthew Cabe: Or until after they were dead. 

Matthew Cabe: Right. Totally. And so—so—so I’m okay with waiting.

Matthew Cabe: But doesn’t that mean that you have to trust time will always be there for you, which is not a guarantee at all?

Matthew Cabe: Sure. Um. Sure it does. But—but, you know, look at any great artist. At some point they had to take a huge risk. And I think… I think the—the whole patience and time thing, you know, and the whole possibly dying before I do anything substantial or of value is the—the—the risk I have to take in order to achieve my goals.    

Matthew Cabe: Speaking of which, what would you say is your main goal for the future? Your ultimate hope moving forward now that you’re nearly a week into this new decade in your life.

Matthew Cabe: That’s a tough question, heh.

Matthew Cabe: [Smiling] I still expect you to answer.

Matthew Cabe: No, no, I know. Ha ha. [Slaps my knee] I’ll answer it. I’m, uh, just trying to process what you’re asking, I guess… You know, I—I—I think I’d like to. Hm. I’d like to… eventually be more up to speed.

Matthew Cabe: In what way?

Matthew Cabe: Well. Um. In every way. I think I’ve—I’ve always been a little behind the eight ball, so to speak. So, uh, I’d love for this decade in my life to be the—the one in which I sort of catch up and, hopefully, get more culturally in tune. For example, you know, I—I—I still haven’t watched Breaking Bad. I’d like to do that. I started Game of Thrones recently. My hope is to catch up before the next season starts. I mean, geez, I could show you my—my—my Netflix que. It’s filled with movies and shows that I probably should have seen by now, you know? But—but it’s like how do you keep up? I think. Um. I think I want to get really adept at hashtagging, too. It would be great to—to—to start a hashtag trend. Um. I’ve noticed a lot of my Facebook friends are getting married. It would be great to attend some of those weddings or maybe even, like, get married. I think it would be great to just… to just be on par with everything out there. To be at the forefront, you know. Or, uh, near it. To post a video I find on YouTube right before it goes viral.

Matthew Cabe: That can be tricky to accomplish.

Matthew Cabe: God, tell me about it. All of this requires a good deal of—of—of foresight and just—just a lot of luck, actually. But, you know, I’m hopeful. I think… I think I’m finally at an age where I feel grown up enough and ready to—to sort of meet these challenges head on. And—and—and whether I accomplish all that or not, you know, is not the point. Because, uh, the fact that I’ve finally reached a moment in my life where I can say I’m ready to—to try is… well, it’s very exciting.