Matt Hobbs was a working musician and the "house band" for an improv theater in Atlanta. Then the pandemic hit in 2020. With live performance on hold and life getting boring, he looked for musical inspiration at home. Luckily, his two adorable chihuahuas, Lenny and Mar-Pup, delivered. On a whim, he began writing short and ridiculous songs from the dogs' perspective and posting them on Instagram. The creative exercise got laughs from family, friends, and a small community of pet owners looking for fun at a dark time. In an effort to improve his skills, he wrote hundreds of these "Puppy Songs" while waiting to get back on stage. Then, TikTok happened. Puppy Songs exploded across the Internet, and Matt realized he was onto something. Some of his biggest hits, like "Cheese Tax," "Air Jail," and "Where the Heck Is Mom?" have been streamed nearly 100 million times across platforms. This week, Matt Hobbs joins Matt Silverman (2 Matts!) to talk about the craft of songwriting, what inspires him to make new videos, how social media is changing music, and turning Internet virality into a sustainable music career. PLUS: Ancient puppy trivia and an EXCLUSIVE announcement about Hobbs' upcoming project. Follow Puppy Songs: https://www.youtube.com/@UCp5Ytwj_TkbbfztidjFtXrw https://www.instagram.com/PuppySongs/ https://www.tiktok.com/@puppysongs This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! [email protected] (NOICE) Follow me: 🐤https://twitter.com/Matt_Silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices