We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicki Tedesco. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicki below.

Nicki, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

Believed in me. I have a few people in my life that think I can do whatever I put my mind to. While I know we always hear: “You can do anything you put your mind to”, and I logically know that and understand it, but sometimes my mind gets in the way. I start to think I don’t work hard enough or I’m not committed enough or I’m not (fill in the blank) enough. When I was really down in my life and was about to put out my last album (Heaven Is A Ghost Town) but I didn’t believe it needed a party or performance to back the release, a friend of mine was the biggest cheerleader. She would say it was: Brilliant. That I MUST celebrate the release because it’s a true work of art and she would not let it go unnoticed to the world. So I did. Through that, I have gotten so many fans that are my people, that love my music. All I needed was that little push of someone, outside of myself, that believed in me.

Nicki, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I loved music and performance at a young age, and once I jumped up on stage at a concert…(to kiss the singer of course)…and I looked out at all the lights and the audience and I heard the sound pumping, I was like: this is IT! This is where it’s at! There was nothing like it. I got a guitar that week, but it didn’t bring me a load of joy, then I picked up a bass! The bass…that first time I heard the thump of the low E…I was hooked! After practicing for hours and hours a day (because I was driven to), I played with many bands, but there was always the lack of songwriting. There would be one or two songwriters in the band, or we were playing covers. I either liked the songs or I didn’t. If I didn’t, I was miserable. I realized the magic is really with the songwriting. Learning how the bass works with the song, it takes into consideration the melody and the rhythm to them build a bridge and create fluid movement made me just start writing songs. It was just a next step after immersing myself in the song itself. I had to hone this craft for years. My goal was to write a song I would want to hear. Once I finally did that, I started putting out albums. I’m now working on my 4th album.
What I do with my clients is help them discover easy ways to put down their ideas and clear that hurdle of “I don’t know how” or “where do I start”.
What sets me apart from other musicians is that I’m completely independent, therefore I have no one to please or impress other than myself. As long as I would listen to the song over and over, then it passes the test. This means, I have no one telling me what kind of music to do, or making me push out music that might not be ready. Everything is on my terms. As you can imagine, this is also the downside. I have to create my own deadlines and if I fail to do so, nothing gets accomplished.
The thing that makes me the happiest about my music is that over time I have found fans that like my music as well, like-minded people with the same type of taste. I’m not trying to be anyone else or appease any type of listener. I’ve also learned to trust my instincts. I have had producers tell me, “this song should not go on the album, I just don’t get it”, and it turns out to be a fan favorite.
Because I sing, I can help anyone at any level, whether it’s finding your actual voice which is like a fingerprint. Because I am the engineer, I can teach people to engineer. Because I play bass and write songs, I can teach people that as well. So depending on someones goals, I can be helpful to them. If not to at least be an example of someone being exactly themselves, and no one else.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Someone told me once, you have to be willing to throw away projects. Sometimes I think if I have an idea and I don’t put it through to completion, that I’m somehow a failure. Then I think of what they said. Not everything has to become a song. It can just be an idea that goes nowhere. I have had to learn to not associate my success with the amount of income or streams that I have accumulated. At the same time, I have had to learn to not associate my success with myself as a person. I might not be successful at a particular project, but that doesn’t mean I am a personal failure.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When I see someone singing the lyrics to one of my songs, or dancing like no ones watching…to one of MY songs…I am floored, delighted and full of giggles. This is by far the coolest thing. It makes me know that my people have found my music. That is the best feeling in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nickitedesco.com
• Instagram: nickitedesco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickiTedescoMusic/
• Twitter: nickitedesco
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/nickitedesco
• All links: https://odesli.co/wrjb7swfjw3zg
• Bandcamp (buy music here): www.nickitedesco.bandcamp.com
• Twitch: www.twitch.tv/nickitedesco

Image Credits
Tour Bus Live, Tony Smith, Chris Hatounian