Meet Todd Morse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Morse.

Todd, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, I’m a father, a husband and a vegan. I’ve been a “professional” musician for about 23 years. I started out in New York City in 1994 with the band H2O. We toured the world then in 2000, I moved to Los Angeles and joined a band with actress/singer Juliette Lewis. Juliette And The Licks had me circling the globe once again for five solid years and in 2009 I joined The Offspring as a touring guitarist and backing vocalist. 2019 has been a big year with the birth of my second daughter Ruby plus I moved to the bass guitar with The Offspring and I released my very first solo record “Late Bloomer” I did it completely independently.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth is not a word I would use. I’ve had to crash on couches in both New York City and Los Angeles at different points. The highs and lows have been extreme. It’s funny how music can possess someone enough to withstand rejection and to persevere through extreme financial insecurity! I have seen quite a few great players walk up to that line. Where you have to take that last risky step. That’s the moment you truly know if music is your “career” choice.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I operate under the brand “Artist Perspective Entertainment” but really it’s just me doing everything. I decided, since I have already experienced the traditional route, I would eliminate the middlemen (and women) and create a small business around my solo record. So I built my own website in order to communicate directly with folks who buy my music. I email every single fan and reply to everyone who writes to me. It’s so refreshing as I have felt like I was living behind a curtain for most of my career.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I remember two things vividly. One is pulling carrots out of my grandma’s garden and eating them with the dirt still on them. I now have no fear of eating dirt which has carried my a long way in the music biz! The other is my first guitar given to me by my father who passed away when I was six.

To this day, I’m not sure why, but at five years old I begged him for a guitar. I couldn’t even tell you where I’d even see one before. This is how I know that I didn’t get into rock n roll just to meet girls. I was five. I still had GI Joes. I didn’t care about girls yet! Really though, I have no idea what struck me but I needed that guitar and one morning I woke up and there it was on the end of my bed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.toddmorse.com
• Email: info@toddmorse.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/toddsplanet
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/toddsplanet
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/toddsplanet

Image Credit:
Danielle Hardy, Tamea, Joel Flora

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.