“You pour your heart and soul and all your money into your music and to actually make money with that one song could take years. I would say the hardest thing is to keep your motivation and confidence. After sending so many submissions to every place you can think of and not getting picked, you start second guessing yourself. So I remind myself every day that this is what I love to do, and no matter what happens, I made this music that I love and am proud of and if someone else likes it, that’s just a bonus.” – @kathleen_kelli

Listen to the interview
Episode #308 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/03/23/episode-308-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax

GETTING TO KNOW KELLI KATHLEEN
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio

Music business…
Being so new to the music business I guess my strongest feeling towards it would be that it’s hard. It’s really hard. You pour your heart and soul and all your money into your music and to actually make money with that one song could take years. I would say the hardest thing is to keep your motivation and confidence. After sending so many submissions to every place you can think of and not getting picked, you start second guessing yourself. So I remind myself every day that this is what I love to do, and no matter what happens, I made this music that I love and am proud of and if someone else likes it, that’s just a bonus.

Social media…
I love social media. What I love most about it is how much everybody else loves it too. It’s such a simple way to share things, it’s so easy to do, and most everyone is on it. It’s one of the first things people look at in the morning, when they are going to the bathroom(it’s true) and any time they are waiting in line or are have a spare moment. It’s the quickest way to get information out there to a large mass of people. My biggest challenge has been finding new things to say about the same songs and videos I have posted hundreds of times, or getting those posts to new people.

Singles vs an album…
I have a biased look on singles. The very first single I released was basically a demo version of my song Roses Fall and it wasn’t very good. It didn’t sell very well to anyone other than my family who loved it because they love me. I had a much better reception of the fully produced album when I released it a year later.

I would love to have 5 minutes alone with….
I would love to have a private chat with Garth Brooks. I have listened to his music ever since I can remember. He was the soundtrack to my childhood and is still the soundtrack to my every Christmas and his career and music inspire me. His songs always feel so heartfelt and meaningful and when he sings and talks you can imagine yourself sitting with him by a fire singing as though he was someone you knew your entire life and not a famous performer. With just his music and lyrics he makes you feel comfortable and at home.

Do you find that there is to much emphasis on being current and trendy…
I feel like I struck it rich here in Boise. In popular music I do feel like there is too much emphasis on being trendy and doing what everyone else is doing, but in our local music scene, there is room here for the classics, the unique, and the weird as long as it is something you created and expresses who you are.

I am most afraid of…
In life? Letting people down.
In music? Letting people down. There are so many who love me and my music and want to see me succeed, I want that too, but more than I want it for myself I want it for them. I want to be everything they believe I can be, everything they believe that I am.

My personal definition of success is..
In the lowest point of my life thus far, I picked myself up off the ground and decided to quit sitting around and making excuses and to work towards recording an album. I had already written songs, all I needed was the money to make it happen. I spent the next year scrimping, saving, and planning. When that year was nearly up, I finally went in and made it happen and released my album in January 2016. In doing so, I forced myself to deal with and heal my broken heart, to face that I really did want to pursue music, however impractical it seemed, and had achieved something that until the moment I saw that first CD, I honestly couldn’t believe was actually happening. Until I felt like I had nothing to lose, I didn’t have the guts to try, to open myself up to the world and share something attached to my soul. In doing that I found a strength I never knew I had.
My over all goal for my life & career is…
My main goal in life is to be a wife and mother. I am aware at how old fashioned that sounds, but it’s true. Until then, and even after my goal is to create beautiful things like music, art, and fashion, sending little pieces of me out into the world, spreading hope and love and kindness, in whatever form possible.

3 Ways that I challenge myself …
1) I challenge myself by learning new things: new equipment, new instruments, marketing skills, and words, all things that will help me when writing and creating new songs.

2)sharing my music. When telling someone that you sing, that you have a cd, or try to show them one of your pieces, it’s very vulnerable and I feel awkward when I am there as they listen. I am working on being better at that, being so proud of my work that I can’t even fathom being embarrassed to share it with everyone who comes along.

3) supporting other local artists: when you are trying to further your career it takes a lot of time, especially when you also work another job, but who better to share your music with than other local artists, and how can I expect them to support me if I don’t support them? I am trying to go to as many local shows as possible to support and connect with other talented artists here in my community.

I guess you could say I got my start in music from my family…
From a very young age they ingrained in me a love of music and singing. My uncle has been writing music for as long as I can remember and inspired and encouraged me to follow my heart into music.

Ghosts…
I wrote this song in 2013. I had been visiting with a fellow songwriter and friend about my aspirations and goals for songwriting. At this point I had only written one serious song and I wanted the next one to really mean something. As I was driving home I was contemplating the people that come and go in our lives that teach us things and inspire us to be better people. In particular I thought of my childhood best friend Audrey who passed away when we were 14 years old. The “ghost of (our) relationship” is with me always and I try to live my life in a way that would make her proud. As I was driving and thinking of her, the song started to form in my mind. I remember I had to pull over and start writing it down. I had 2 verses and the chorus by the time I finished the 10 minute drive home. Buy the Music: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kellikathleen

Like every artist I…
like to think of my music as unique. I play the acoustic guitar and my writing style stems from my upbringing of country music, but I love so many styles of music that I couldn’t just pick one. Knowing that with an acoustic instrument, my vocals and my lyrics style, that I would gravitate toward country music, I deliberately chose a music producer that would help me go in a different direction. That would bring new and different ideas to the table, and help me incorporate the other moods and styles that I love so much. Until this last year, my only dream was to produce an album, now that we have accomplished that it is time to take the next step. I am booking shows, and getting my music out there for as many people as I can, in hopes that I can inspire more people to open their hearts, sing, dance, and hope for better days.

I live in Boise, Idaho…
Compared to cities like New York and LA, it is rather small, but it is beautiful and thriving and a wonderful place for music. Boise is a city full of small town love, great sports teams “Go Broncos!”, and we love to throw parties and enjoy the company of our neighbors. Downtown is full of venues, bars, and coffee shops for all genres of music. There is a local concert or 5 going on every weekend, and at least 3 music festivals every summer. The Boise Music Festival, Treefort Music Festival, and the Mountain Home Country Music Festival. My personal favorite place to perform would be The District Coffee house, but my all-time favorite thing to do here in Boise is to dance. To go along with our great music scene we also have a huge dancing scene. I enjoy spending my evenings at Heirloom Dance Studio downtown and the yearly Vintage dance festival Boise City Swing is one of my favorite weekends of the year!

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