Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Steinmann
Hi Cody, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in the Milwaukee Area and moved to Minneapolis in 2017. I’m a late bloomer in a lot of ways, I didn’t start seriously practicing and playing till I was almost 19. I had a difficult upbringing and I’ve honestly always felt 10 steps behind my peers, in a lot of ways, because of it. When I did decided to play jazz music and invest in being an artist who makes original music is when a lot of things changed for me. I feel music has opened so many doors in my life, I can’t really express my gratitude in words. I did study music in college for 6 years. 4 years at Milwaukee Area Technical College, 2 years at University of Wisconsin Parkside. I studied intensively with Solomon Parham, Russ Johnson, Jesse Catalino Montijo, JD Allen, Steve Peplin, and James Crowley. I’ve also taken lessons with Scott Hesse, Aaron Gardner, Ari Honig, Johannes Weidenmueller, and Pete McCann. I released my first album under my producer name C0D3 7 in September of 2019. I’ve since released 4 singles and an EP as C0D3 7 in collaboration with Javier Santiago. My work as a jazz musician is released under my name, Cody Steinmann. I have an album out with a band I formed when I first moved to Minneapolis called Sightless Quartet Live. I later released 6 singles with my current trio featuring Chris Bates and Abinnet Berhanu. Then on Dec. 5th, 2024 an album entitled Confined Spaces. I’ve also released 4 singles from an EP I produced called “Barely Anyone Calls Me So I Just Stay At Home And Make My Own Damn Music”. The 5th single “My Own Damn Music” will drop on March 7th 2025. I’ve recorded or performed with Ben Williams, JD Allen, Solomon Parham, Russ Johnson, Chris Bates Abinnet Berhanu, Javier Santiago, De’sean Jones, Max Gerl, Nic Cacioppo, Anthony Fung, JT Bates, Bryan Murray, Kevin Washington, Art Haynes, and many more. In 2023 a stray bullet penetrated the condo I live at with my girlfriend, we both narrowly missed taking a bullet to the head. I’ve since recorded an album about the experience that doesn’t have a set release date yet.
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?
Not always, I’ve struggled with CPTSD since I was a kid and I grew up in a low income household. I’ve struggled with drug use and various other dependencies in the past. I’ve been abused physically, emotionally, and sexually. There are a lot of ways in which these things have impacted my life. I’ve had to come up with certain boundaries in order to keep myself safe.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an artist, I’m a jazz musician to some, something else to others. I don’t know honestly, I don’t really think about it much. I work as an educator and performer. I specialize in guitar, improvisation, and composition. I also teach and play piano, bass, and ukulele. I practice a lot, I actually really enjoy the practice itself. It keeps me sane. I compose and produce a lot as well. Jazz88kbemfm reffered to me as “one of the most prolific guitarists in the Twin Cities”. I don’t really know what I’d say I’m most proud of, I try to stay away from pride. I think what sets me apart from others is my life experience, authenticity, generosity, and genuine love for the craft.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the standard of living, I love the grant funding available to artists, I love how beautiful it is. I enjoy the world class level of musicianship that can be found among the areas musicians. I love the history and vision for artists here paved by prince. I dislike the current lack of investment in the cities artists making original music. We need less cover bands and more groups making original music. We need more press coverage of the artists in town making that music and support for them in our local communities. I love the audience here willing to pay covers to see original music by bands they’ve never heard before, but we still need more of that. I dislike the attitude that a 20min or less drive from St. Paul to Minneapolis is long and not worth making the drive to see an artist someone enjoys.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://codysteinmann.bandcamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steinmann.cody/saved/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codysteinmannC0D37/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqFh1ATaAaNTpyeBEgamJRA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Z2g0IVgqtAkTWOiK1SzUt?si=E2KQQoFDTj-pQd3-2fB_sw
