We were lucky to catch up with Todd Kessler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Todd, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

My first paid gig was in 2003 (maybe 2004?) at a bar called Moxie in the heart of Wrigleyville in Chicago. The details are fuzzy 20 years on but I think the guy that booked me hosted an open mic night I had gone to and offered me the gig. I enlisted the help of my friend’s brother Eric to play bass and suffice it to say we were both very green. I had a band in high school but aside from a few jam sessions and one open mic with a failed band in college, I hadn’t performed with another musician in years, and Eric was basically the same. We rehearsed a few times, trudging through covers and some originals, and were feeling good considering we crammed learning two hours of music in only a couple of rehearsals. At this point I’ve played 100’s of gigs so I don’t really remember a lot of details from this one but I remember packing the place, and I definitely remember the feeling of getting paid to play music, even though it couldn’t have been more than $100.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a singer/songwriter and recording artist based in the Chicago area and have been playing music professionally for 20 years. I’ve known I wanted to be a musician since I was a kid and began writing songs and recording my music shortly after picking up the guitar when I was 12. I began performing regularly in high school and continued throughout college. On trips home from college I would record demos in my friends dorm room in the city and eventually recorded a demo in a professional studio as a college senior, and the day after graduation I was in the recording studio again, beginning work on what would become my first album. From then on I’ve continued to record albums and play gigs all over the country.

At it’s core, I’m a storyteller, and I always try to ground my stories in our shared humanity. I strive to write my songs in a way so that anyone who listens can connect to the message in a way that is unique to them.

If there’s something that I’m most proud of it’s that I’ve never quit. This business is hard on it’s best days and although there have been many wins in my career, each win is accompanied by countless losses. Success in music is a long game and I’m proud I’ve stayed in it and have succeeded in a meaningful way.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Aside from the fact that just being a professional musician is basically one giant act of resilience in itself, sometimes you don’t get the gig, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again down the road. This example is sort of that, but supersized. In the early years of my career, American Idol premiered and as a singer I would get asked if I was going to ever try out, but I didn’t connect with the vibe of the show so I never really gave it a second thought. Other shows came and went but I didn’t pay much attention until 2011 when The Voice came on. Initially I didn’t watch the show but a couple of my friends urged me to watch, they said the contestants were able to play instruments and that I would love it. That definitely piqued my interest so I watched the final episode of season 1 and thought it was great and had a very different feel than the other shows. Auditions were announced for season 2 and they were coming to Chicago, so fast forward a couple of months and there I was at Navy Pier, lined up in the cattle call, waiting my turn. From getting in line to my audition was four hours, and compared to what I heard the audition was like for American Idol, that was speedy. When it was my turn I was brought in to a room with 10 other people and one by one we sang a cappella. I sang “We All Fall In Love Sometimes”, by Elton John but in the style of the Jeff Buckley cover version of the song. I figured it was obscure enough that if I messed up no one would know, but it also fit in my range really well so it felt good to sing it. In my room I was one of two to get a call back, a little red slip of paper with an address and instructions to prepare two more songs, but this time with accompaniment. I was ecstatic and basically told everyone I knew, ha. That turned out to not be the best tactic as the call back didn’t go as planned. That being said I watched season 2 of the show and really fell in love with it, so when auditions came to Chicago for season 3 I was lined up again, though this time I didn’t tell anyone I was auditioning. As luck would have it I got the callback again and a few days later was at the audition, but my luck ran out as I had a terrible cold. Cough drops and Dayquil were my savior that day as I was able to garner the strength to make it through to the next stage of the audition, the screen test. They basically interview you on camera, get some of your story, and from there you wait. It must have been a month or two when I got the call that I had made it to the final round, the executive auditions, happening in LA in front of the producers of the show and the executives of the network. At that point I had to tell my family about the audition as I’d be in LA for a week, so off I went. That week is a blur but I felt good about my audition and was told we’d hear in a week or so. And a week or so later I got the call that I was going to the Blind Auditions for season 3 of The Voice. Many other moments of resilience came up during the filming of the show and of course in my career since then, but this is very clear cut example of when you go for what you want, it doesn’t matter how many tries it takes to get there, what matters is what you do when you get there.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding thing about being an artist is the ability to connect with so many people and so many different kinds of people. Because of the variety of gigs I get to play and the work I do, I interact with different groups of people almost every day. It’s amazing how music can change a moment and bring people together, in times of happiness and tragedy, the language of music is universal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.toddkesslermusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toddkessler/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddkesslermusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/toddkessler

Image Credits
Brian Cregan, Chelsea Ross, Rachel Winslow, Shervin Lainez