We recently connected with Brandon Kellum and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned from my parents is the value of hard work and persistence. Not only that, but doing so without hesitancy or complaint. Both my mother and father lived fairly hard lives doing whatever they needed to just to get by. Despite any challenges or setbacks including the medical issues they had later in life, I never once heard them complain. It was always “how do we get through this and make it work”. I aspire to have that same mindset.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I played my show in 2001 and now two decades later, I’m still playing music in my band American Standards. I’m trying to pick back up with my charity work through Heart Shaped Canvas and also popping in to DJ at the occasional emo night. I’m most proud of the people I’ve met and relationships I’ve built throughout the community over the last 20 years.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I feel like a lot of people are like me and just want to try everything. I think that’s a good way to approach life in order to find out what you like but I’ve come to the personal realization that it has to be balanced with actually sticking to it and pushing through any obstacles or lulls along the way. If American Standards would have called it quits every time we had a set back, I would have robbed myself of all the people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had along the way.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
On a personal level, the goal is to experience as much as I can and to connect with as many people as I can along the way. I feel like doing so helps you learn, grow and appreciate what you have.

For the band it’s always been about getting people to think about things differently. It’s easy to look at something on the surface and make a quick assumption. In my opinion, those broad stokes prevent us from understanding the more nuanced reality.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fanlink.to/americanstandards
• Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/AmericanStandards
• Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/AmericanStandards
• Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/AmericanStndrds
• Youtube: http://www.YouTube.com/AmericanStandardsAZ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6umD0mkxpmhNFEn5AgPAhp?si=15kSEA22Tj61rWhy0BAVbA

Image Credits
Jacob Reynolds Brett Peterson