Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Kalmenson.
Hi Casey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am an LA native so I grew up around creatives both in my family and our network of friends. Music was always a focus in our house, mostly Musical Theatre and classical music, both my parents are obsessed with musicals. From there, I got into acting and singing simultaneously and learning the Piano (not by choice at first). I was your typical theatre nerd. School plays, musicals, choir, theatre camps in the summer. Storytelling was my first love in all of its forms. Fast forward, I went to college at USC and majored in Theatre, minored in music. After school I took a couple of years focusing on acting and touring doing regional theatre. Music and playing was always in the background of my heart, beating and inviting me back in. Out and about in LA, I started to connect with some producers and musicians who needed singers for various projects, through that I started to spend more and more time in studios and fell in love.
First just singing in sessions, then writing, and through it all I was always pretty curious about the production side of things. I am someone who has a taste for many things and gets bored easily just doing one. Doors started to open for me in music and I took that as a cue from the universe that my focus needed to shift from acting and theatrical pursuits to music and studio life. I landed a big sync with ESPN, writing the theme song for the Clippers their first year in LA. This initial win gave me the confidence to keep going after seeing what one song could potentially make and change for me. I kept writing and connecting with people in the industry in LA, got a little lost in the sauce for a while. Chasing co-writes but not really putting any of my own stuff out or getting any big cuts to make the songwriting take off at that time. I was teaching music part-time at a few different local schools, at one of them I met an engineer and we hit it off creatively. Started writing together and then had a batch songs we thought might be worth getting produced and releasing as a project.
We then snowballed the project to include a few other amazing local musicians, who we tracked that EP with. That little project had a single that went viral and blew up for a while. From that we toured, released more music, got back into licensing our music out, and used the project as a calling card to write and produce for other artists we loved. Over that whole period, I took a deeper interest in production and built on my skills, still building really. Thats where I am at today, with a catalogue of stuff I am super proud of, a network of collaborators I love, and a fresh curiosity to keep learning and working in production even more. The story and the song always taking the driver seat in everything, of course. Now I run a small indie label and studio out in Venice Beach.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No way. It’s been a ten years road of up and down. A lot of rejection, which makes the wins even sweeter. Regulating my self-confidence and continuing to motivate myself is a daily practice. One that takes just as much work as doing the actual work that music and production require.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a singer/writer/producer/small business owner. I front a band called Little Monarch, I release music as a solo entity, I produce for other artists, I have music featured in lots of TV shows and some movies, and I run a small studio in Venice beach. I am most proud of my network of friends and collaborators. Sincerely feel so lucky to have the crew that I have. I think what sets me apart is my curious state of mind all the time. I never pretend to know everything and am open to what the moment wants to present to me. I also have a really great ear for textures, vocal arranging, and lyrics that inspire hope.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Record labels becoming even more obsolete than they already are. Sound becoming more 4D. More and more artists producing their own work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 806 Woodlawn Avenue
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: caseykalmenson.com
- Instagram: @littlemonarchmusic @heycaseyk
Image Credits
Emmanuelle Pickett Kanya Iwana
