As part of our Music And Masons series, here is a page about Matt Hoyles, a Vancouver based musician who is a member of a Masonic Lodge in Vancouver, B.C.

First, here are some videos of Matt Hoyles:

Matt Hoyles gave us this comment about his music and Freemasonry:

“For me Freemasonry is a chance to do good, and be more than myself. As a musician, I strive to convey morals through the story of my music, and hope that maybe 1% of people will pick up on it and choose to learn; but as a Mason, I am able to ensure that good is done through the will of the lodge, and a much larger body of good men. I appreciate that just as a musician may make friends more easily with other musicians through jamming and meeting at gigs, a Mason can begin a fraternal friendship with the knowledge that a Brother will accept him; much the same as members of a band, we come together to create harmony through our work.

I rarely write about Freemasonry directly, and as you well know, there is much that cannot be written, but I do my best to represent the craft in the way I convey my music; As do others, in fact I have have met many fellow Masonic musicians, merely through a mutual recognition of certain lyrical tendencies or in the case of one ‘travelling man’ from LA, a guitar strap emblazoned with ‘low 12’ and another with ‘widows son’. Although I tend more towards subtlety, here are the lyrics to my song ‘Blood and Bone’ which, to any Mason, is just about as subtle as a wailing guitar solo:

The muscle, bone, and sinews hewn
Upon this frame like straw and sticks
Rebuild myself brick by brick
So I can stand tall

Torn apart from outside in
I build myself back up again
Craft myself, a better man
So I can stand true

Might as well have been deaf, dumb, and blind
Can’t hear, can’t speak, can’t read or write
Might as well be deaf, dumb, and blind
‘Til I got knocked on the head, stood up and saw the light

I have seen, I have seen the light
I have seen, I have seen the light
I have seen, I have seen the light
The architect, built me to stand upright

There’s no wisdom in a wicker man
But no wise man will burn away
Cause eons after I decay
My bones will stand tall

We stand under the watchful eye
Of builder, architect, and scribe
The way in which we live our lives
Will ever shine true

Might as well have been deaf, dumb, and blind
Can’t hear, can’t speak, can’t read or write
Might as well be deaf, dumb, and blind
‘Til I got knocked on the head, stood up and saw the light

I have seen, I have seen the light
I have seen, I have seen the light
I have seen, I have seen the light
In the darkest day, and the blackest night

When you’re standing at the pearly gates
And Peter asks to see your hands
Will you roll the dice of fate
Or will you live to know where it lands

You know it’s not too late
To pick yourself up and stand
Cause brother, make no mistake
It’s you who decides to be damned
This guitar, it may be red
But it washed the blood from my hands

I have seen, I have seen the light
I have seen, I have seen the light
I have seen, I have seen the light
The architect, built me to stand upright ”

We asked Matt Hoyles about a recording of Blood and Bone but he has not released a recording or a video of it yet. We will put a link on this page when he does. In the meantime, Matt Hoyles says he performs Blood and Bone at his concerts so, if you’re interested, check his website for his concert schedule.

You can find more information about Matt Hoyles on these links:

 

Here are some more Matt Hoyles videos:

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