Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsie Mathews
Hi Kelsie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My parents met in theatre in college. My mom was an actress and my dad was a techie. She gave up acting to have a family and became a drama and English teacher instead, so I grew up on stage. Literally in my first acting gig at 3 weeks old.
I knew I wanted to be a performer and go to Hollywood since I was 3 years old. I would even make up my own plays and make my younger brother be in them, and put on shows for my family. Now I just get paid to do that for a living.
My mom’s family is a musical family as well, and my grandmother had a band with her 11 brothers and sisters, and would travel performing. When I was old enough, I would occasionally go with them and sing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. My grandmother taught me how to play the piano, and my mom taught me the flute. I learned the ukulele instead of the recorder in 4th grade, and then was on the drum line in high school. I just would pick up instruments and learn them really fast. My brothers and my father all played different instruments as well, so it was definitely a family affair. Music is just something that brought us together.
I started writing with poetry first though, and was published for a poem I wrote when I was 9, and then started transferring my poetry into lyrics, as I loved to sing as well, and it just kind of transpired from there.
In 2009, I wrote a song for a little boy who was fighting cancer (which he beat), and planned a fundraiser for him. The song was about not giving up and keeping strong. In 2017 my band recorded this song, “Keep Strong”, with my best friends Erin Stegeman Marrero and Peter Frintrup as my producers, along with one of my other songs, “Sweet Dreams”.
Erin had a vision for the music video for “Keep Strong”, which is a Celtic style song, to make the video about domestic violence and escaping, like an anthem to love yourself and never give up. I didn’t realize then, that she saw what I didn’t what I was living at the moment.
Two months before we shot the music video, my boyfriend of three years tried to end my life. I barely escaped, and I thank universe everyday I’m still here. So when we filmed the music video, emotions were very raw. Thank goodness our entire production team and cast were all my best friend circle, as they were able to encircle me during that process and make me comfortable. There is a fight scene in the video where you see me pulling away and walking out the door, my face was actually raw emotions where I almost broke in tears, as everything was so fresh. But thankfully it was a scene with a close friend, so I was able to pull through and he even made sure to communicate with me boundaries and comforts before we shot anything. Which resulted in a video that has connected with so many, and a song that so many turn to now as a survivor song for domestic violence survivors everywhere. And honestly, it’s the most beautiful thing. We made a positive out of something that was meant to destroy me. And given me a way to give back with my platform, and now help out other victims get the resources they need. A whole new purpose to this career I have, and a meaning over all, and I cherish that. I’m very grateful.
Alright, 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?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. I always tell people this career is a roller coaster, there’s highs, when you’re killing it, and lows where it’s so quiet that you wonder if you’ll ever work again.
With the music, I have gone through a few different band members over the years. But now I’ve partnered up with my producer Peter Frintrup, and we hire day players when we perform live. But we have a special bond when it comes to writing together, and are able to bounce ideas off of each other, and create some amazing songs so far and new ones coming soon that I’m excited about.
With acting it’s the same. Before the strikes, I was booked and busy, but then those happened, and then I was diagnosed with a severe medical condition that I’m fighting right now, which has placed a lot of acting to a pause. It seems like work is finally picking back up, so I’m hoping to return to set soon, even while I’m still battling this. But I always remind myself, for every 100 nos, there is 1 yes, and that’s all you need. And you can never lose if you never give up, which is the key in this line of work. So no matter what, I believe I will be back to it soon.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I wear a bunch of different hats in the entertainment industry. But I am most recognized for my acting and singing with my band Kelsie Mathews Band.
I am also a writer, producer, photographer, comedian, and dancer. The more you know, the more you work, so I love to create.
My most proud moment would probably be in 2013 I was able to go to Hawaii for a USO Tour and meet the wounded warriors so many of our troops with One Republic and Switchfoot. Meeting them and hearing their stories still sits with me strongly as my father was a disabled vet, and passed away from health issues caused from his injuries. So being able to meet these beautiful humans was a true treasure.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Covid-19 taught me to sit in the quiet and love myself more. I had been putting myself so much into my work beforehand that I ended up injured, and sidelined right before Covid hit. I felt like I was letting others down, and that I would never recover from that.
But then the world stopped. We all had to sit in the silence and pause. And it allowed me to heal from past traumas and refocus my vision for myself and my future. Once it was over and I was off of crutches, I was back to work nonstop but started placing my emotional wellbeing over everything else too, so that if something harmed my peace, I was able to choose me from then on, and walk away from toxic environments. And I think we all needed that moment during Covid to learn to sit in the silence more. It made us appreciate everything else even more so and prioritize ourselves. It’s crazy how it took a pandemic to slow the world down.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm4335116/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsiemathews/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelsieMathews
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kelsiemathewsband?si=xFGtSTpTpY4PyWqv
