We recently had the chance to connect with Todd Kessler and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Todd, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Are you walking a path—or wandering?
This question is the perfect way to begin our conversation since my new song, “Lost Or Found” is about the struggle between these two approaches to living the life of an artist. In many ways I have been on a very clear, set path since I began playing music professionally. I always knew this was the path I would take and although I had to find my own way, especially early on, I was committed to keep going. I always imagined my artistic career as a staircase but between each step was a lot of little steps, and it’s those little steps that make room for wandering. So much of pursuing life as an artist is committing to and accepting the unknown. Because there is no prescribed end to a career as an artist there is no finish line to work towards, and in that way the big steps on the staircase are not prescribed either, but rather moments along the way to fully realize my artistic voice and potential.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Todd Kessler, I’m a Singer/Songwriter and Recording Artist in the Chicago area. I’ve been putting out records for 20 years an am currently in the middle of an album release cycle right now, with my new single “Lost Or Found” coming out on October 28th. This is the fourth single from my upcoming album, “Here Is All We Have”, which I was lucky enough to record in Ireland with some of my favorite musicians. This is album was mostly written during Covid and although it tackles some heavy topics, the over arching theme is self discovery and the acceptance of one’s space and time.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
In the context of music, since that’s where my mind is at, my earliest memory of feeling powerful was my senior year of high school. My band was the opening act in the second half of the school variety show and since we were coming out of the intermission, we began behind the curtain. As we played the first notes of our performance, the iconic guitar riff of Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny”, the curtain rose to what felt like thunderous applause. The power of what it means to command a stage became clear in that moment, and that is a feeling I’ve taken along with me throughout my career.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I think if an artist claims they’ve never almost given up they are lying to you. Of course, there were many times in the past 20 years where it felt like the next logical move was to give up, but really it was never actually an option for me. I know that if my professional music career were to ever come to an end, I would still make music because creators need to create. My new song “Lost Or Found” is very much about the idea, “what is a musician who can’t play music?”, a question that was heavy on my mind during Covid when I wrote most of this record. And spoiler alert, a musician who can’t go out and play music for people is still a musician because it’s in the process of making music that makes a musician, not whether they have a product to sell or a concert to perform.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. I like to keep a healthy balance on how much I put my personal life on display in conjunction with my professional life, but in anything I put out, you will see my true self. Sometimes goofy, sometimes serious, but always honest.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I am one of those lucky people who can honestly say that I am doing what I was born to do. To make music and create moments and memories with people through my voice is something I do not take for granted. That doesn’t mean there aren’t aspects to my life that may fall more into the bucket of “doing what I’m told to do” but those things are more aligned with what it means to just be a human being navigating the world. When it comes to my philosophy of living a fulfilled life, leading with those elements that align with what I was born to do always take precedence to the other things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://toddkesslermusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddkessler/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/toddkesslermusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/toddkessler
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/toddkessler
- Other: https://toddkessler.komi.io/
Image Credits
Cory Dewald
Kobi Swissa
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