We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kayleigh KAnn. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kayleigh below.
Kayleigh , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I found my purpose through following that deeper sense inside of myself which told me music was always meant for me. My favorite part of life from my earliest memory was easy for me to identify because it was music, always music. Music was my favorite part of every single day. My mom told me when she would hold me in her arms as a baby, that she would watch the tv show sex and the city and when the theme song would come on I would be dancing. She said I would run to the T.V. when bear and the big blue house was on because I had to dance to that theme song too. I guess I should work on writing a theme song for a tv show haha. My relationship with God is tightly paired to my purpose in music. I remember when I was first saved, I was sitting in a stairwell with a Sunday school teacher who offered me the opportunity to connect with Yeshua. I remember when I said the words, how the sunlight came through the basement window right onto us, signifying to me that I had a special connection with God and with who I was always meant to be.
My favorite part of school was music class and as I got older it was all about choir. I was in the Chambers Choir where we would compete at the state level. I also took piano lessons for many years and received superior performance ratings at federation. My life revolved around music because it was the best thing to ever happen to me. It was the only part of my life that made my days feel like they were worth living when I was at my most angsty. Music has always been my favorite consequence free drug of choice. It has carried me through my darkest moments in this life. I truly love it so much and if it wasn’t an active part of my life I think my will to live would be low.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Wisher is my baby. I started this band in 2019 and when my original guitarist passed away in 2021, it reshaped my vision and helped me understand who I truly was inside. Since then, I have gotten sober and focused on my vision for what I want this music to be and how I want it to look. I finally found a strong committed group who loves each other and the music so much that they all work very hard to make this entire project work well without compromising any of our individuality which is tough because there is five of us. I feel very passionate about what we are working on right now. It seems like we have a firm grip on how to communicate properly as a group which is majority of the battle we fight. I mean the collective “we” in that sense too, because communication seems to be thwarted by our technological advancement in this current world. Our system in Wisher is fair and no one over powers each other. We know that the creative and the business side must coexist without damaging our relationships and because we all choose to communicate clearly to the best of our abilities, it makes for a strong alliance among the band members. I love all of them as if they were my family and every single fan and friend that joins in on what we are most passionate about adds a flavor of joy that is irreplaceable. Every single wisher on this crew makes the ship sail. We are metal heads and nerds. What else can I say? Savvy? Find a better mix, I dare ye.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
First of all, I want to say that any advice I give, is because of my own experience. Every single person’s journey is unique and I am all about trusting that part of you that never changes, the spark inside that animates you… Test my words with your own discernment. The three qualities, skills or areas of knowledge that were giving the most impact on my current journey are first and foremost my entire obsessive personality that is all about music/art all day every day. I am obsessed and unashamed of my ability to fixate on the things I love. I feel like having a clear passion and knowing who you are and why you are about it is very important to quality of life. Everyone has something that makes them want to stay when they want to give up the most. Life is worth living…
I would say being unashamed of being wrong is very important. I read an excellent book called Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin and it is the perfect example as to why it is more than okay to be wrong sometimes and to take ownership of any responsibility you had in a plan gone awry. I think more important than all of this is the love in your heart. How do you treat your relationships? Are you truly living a life of 1 corinthians 13 kind of love? Love is above all. Love is responsible and important to creation. You cannot make a precious creation without love. Is that three of the most important areas of knowledge people should have? Love, hope and faith but above all, love…
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Absolutely. I am a huge Avenged Sevenfold fan and I would love to open for them someday. I saw an interview where M Shadows got extremely existential and I love everything he was saying and how it aligned to the creation of such music that I adore. I feel like the art process for the music is just as important as the music itself, although all of it cannot be without the other so why don’t I just say that I live for all of it? The stories, the passion and the inspiration of my inspirations. I love to romanticize it all. I aspire to open for the band Kaleido someday. Christina Chriss has been a huge propelling influence on getting me to get serious about my pursuits with Wisher and we wouldn’t have this name without her influence. I started writing a song about Christina after I met her for the first time, she was such a muse, I wanted to call it wisher. The premise of the song is how do I do what you’re doing but like me? I want to be like you but like me. She’s amazing, I can’t say enough good things about her. Danny Elfman would be a wonderful person to collab with. I love what Emma Katherine from The Imagination Podcast is doing for trafficking and SRA survivors. I do not know how a collab with her would work just yet but I think something may be possible. She has a beautiful soul and I would love to help her achieve her goals and get more people saved and aware that they can do their own research and make a larger impact on this world outside of all the celebrity culture. Of course, as I said before, I love to fangirl, but there is a life deeper, more adventurous than the ones where we are constructed to follow. Only each individual person knows exactly what makes them tick and how they can use their talents and gifts to help the world. I feel like it is a no brainer to want to help uplift and empower the most vulnerable life on this earth and to not take for granted the life that people like me are allowed to live. I am so blessed and thankful to have a platform but I am not always right. I encourage people to attend to their relationship with God in order to truly discover who they are and what they are about. I am one of the lucky ones who just knew from a young age that I was meant to do art. Johnny Depp would be wonderful to collaborate with too on some song sometime. I have an entire backstory as to how Pirates Of The Caribbean shaped who I am today. It sounds like a joke or like I am exaggerating when I say this but I am so serious. When I was in 5th grade our school took us to see an orchestra performing Han Zimmer’s score from the Pirates movies and I fell into a deep obsession. Captain Jack Sparrow was always a character I aspired to be like along with Elizabeth Swan (Turner)…
I used to carry around a laminated picture of Johnny Depp wearing his Jack Sparrow garb in my wallet as a kid. I also got the Sparrow tattoo on my right forearm with a quote that says “follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness” by Allen Ginsberg. One of the best beatnik poets who was loved by Jim Morrison. Johnny actually did a voice over of some of Jim’s poetry which is where that connection and inspiration came from. I have so many more stories of influences in my life that it would take up an entire 100 pages to get into it. I do plan on writing some books someday. You’ll just have to follow along with my story to see how that goes.
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about me & my band Wisher.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wisher-band-official.com
- Instagram: @wisherbandofficial @kayleighkannofficial
- Twitter: WisherBandOffic
- Youtube: wisherbandofficial
Image Credits
1st personal photo by Vince Pultorak Hannah Coburn 1 and 2, Jessica Van Hoose 3, Hannah Coburn 4, Logan Brannigan 5 Thom Seling 5 & 6
