We were lucky to catch up with Jeshua Logsdon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeshua, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Since I was very young, I have always been a singer and performer whether on a jamboree stage, performing at a fair, singing the national anthem at a dirt track race, or the occasional school play/musical. In 2009, I got to participate in the Vocal Music discipline of Governor’s School for the Arts–and just a few years after, briefly attended Savannah College of Art and Design in their Performing Arts program. Life took a different turn after that and it seemed like all of my creative endeavors hit the pause button. Instead, I worked my way up the corporate ladder with Starbucks, ended up a store manager, and found that I had lost quite a bit of myself in the process. It wasn’t until I had received a phone call from a friend asking if I wanted to audition for a quartet that I even thought of jumping back into the arts. My wife, Kelsi, pushed me to take the leap–and I can’t thank her enough for that. I got accepted by the group, and in 2016-2017 I toured Austria, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany with The Stamps Quartet as part of Elvis das Musical.

It was a rollercoaster ride after that.
I came back home, joined a band or two, started teaching voice and piano, started sharing my tarot journey by providing tarot readings at SoulRebeLex Wellness Center, and then acquiring my own music studio in 2022–Unlocked Music Studios. So, to get back to the question, yes and no. I do wish that I had started my creative career sooner, but I wouldn’t want to trade any of the valuable experiences I gained getting there in the process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jeshua Logsdon! I am a wearer of many hats–a performer, musician, tarot reader, and business owner. I started my career journey back in 2017, after just getting back from a tour in Germany. I started teaching voice and piano with Jones Studio Music School, and ended up partnering with the owner in the face of the pandemic to help provide some administrative relief and shift the school to an online format. Then, in 2022, the school was sold to me and became Unlocked Music Studios (UMS)! The studio has several talented teachers on staff who are all actively performing musicians. We teach instruments such as Voice, Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Banjo, and Brass; as well as skills, like Songwriting, Music Theory, and Acting. UMS is driven to help you unlock your artistic potential by working hand-in-hand with teachers who are active in the disciplines they teach. We strive to create a fun, light-hearted environment that is welcoming to people of all ages and walks of life!

In that same vein, I also am the bassist and vocalist for the band Autonomous! We are an original/cover band that plays throughout central Kentucky. We consider ourselves “eclectic rock”, but are absolutely more genre-fluid than that description really provides. You can check out what we are doing on our website https://www.autonomous.band, find us on social media (@autonomous.band), and check out our latest album “We’re Gonna Be Just Fine” on most streaming platforms!

Finally, I am also a Tarot reader! I am the face of IntraTarot, and have been reading for well over over ten years now. I wouldn’t say that I am your typical “fortuneteller” type or interpreter–rather I clarify connecting points of the cards and allow the client to draw their own conclusions. If you’re looking for a medium or seer, that’s not me–I sit more firmly in the critical thinker/shadow worker mindset. I most commonly read for clients at SoulRebeLex Wellness Center in Lexington, KY, but occasionally do events at other venues around town, too. I also provide online readings to clients who are not able to make it out in-person to an event or who have a more demanding schedule. Recently, I have started to offer a Tarot 101 workshop where anyone can come to learn the history of Tarot and the basics of how to read the cards. Feel free to follow me on social media (@intratarot) or reach out via email at intratarot@gmail.com.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

First and foremost, go out and participate in arts! Take a class, take a workshop, go see that play, go listen to that local band. Showing up is a huge key to making sure that the arts can thrive in an economy that is slowly pushing them out. If you have the means, throw a little extra cash at the artist providing the service. When you live in a gig economy, like most artists, every little bit means a hell of a lot.

If you can’t be there financially, help promote! It is free to hit that share button on your social media accounts, and it could mean that so many more people get exposed to the artists that are trying so hard to get traction in the algorithms (which are also slowly pushing them out).

Finally, do not let businesses and politicians push the arts out of ANYTHING. The arts are valuable. They teach discipline, fine motor skills, deductive reasoning, empathy, acceptance, and so much more–but most importantly, they allow born artists to revel in a sense of belonging. When the arts are diminished, artists are the first to suffer. Don’t let a “bottom line” be the reason that someone out there completely gives up on their art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

You learn how to change, and do it well.

As an artist, you cannot become stagnant. You have to shift and pivot and ride every ripple in the water. You don’t always have the comfort of routine or consistency given to you, so you learn to create your own. You adapt to your chosen way of life, you learn the skills you need to succeed, you seek out opportunities, and say “yes” every chance you can. Artists get to live their life on their terms, but in order to do so they have to learn to accept change with grace and thankfulness. This invaluable skill is by far the most rewarding aspect of being a creative. I want every human to be able to experience the comfort that comes with learning to accept change with open arms.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.unlockedmusicstudios.com | https://www.autonomous.band
• Instagram: @unlockedmusicstudios | @autonomous.band | @intratarot
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/unlockedlex | https://facebook.com/intratarot | https://facebook.com/jlogsdon.music

Image Credits
Joe Meischke Jr (for any photos with a XIX watermark)