Today we’d like to introduce you to Kai Brewster.
Hi Kai, I’m so excited to have you on the platform. Before we ask about your work life, you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Well, it’s been an odd road for sure. I started officially in music at 6, playing the viola in my elementary school. From about 6 to 16, that’s the only instrument I played. I changed schools and wound up at an arts middle school where I fell in love with theater and was convinced that’s what I would do with my life, so I started singing there. I was a social but anxious little fella. By the time I got to high school, I had realized that having an instrument in my hand or a shared goal of an end product helped me feel (relatively) comfortable in my skin, so I dove into whatever I could., and I loved it all. I loved making things; I loved the safety of expressing myself through music or playing another person and finding ways to make them real, and more than anything, I loved the people I met. By the time I was getting out of high school, I was in bands and orchestras playing bass, piano, a tiny bit of guitar, viola, violin, and cello, as well as helping direct some of the choirs and orchestras at my high school, all while doing plays and musicals year-round, gigging as a bassist, and preparing to head off to school to study Opera Performance and Choral Conducting. It didn’t go as planned. I dropped out after two and a half-ish years and have been in Minneapolis ever since, trying to figure out what sort of artist I want to be. I’ve been fortunate enough to work as a musician, actor, musical director, writer, producer, and touring guitar tech in the 11ish years I’ve been here; I have at least 11 more in me.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Relative to how these industries treat people, it’s been smooth enough! It’s probably no surprise that one is afforded a lot of trust when they’re a tall white dude, but sure, there’s been plenty of heartbreak on the road, you name it. Firing, friends and bandmates dying, mental breakdowns and dark, nights of the soul, maxed out credit cards, and weeks and weeks of thinking, “You know what, what if my *real* passion is accounting?” I think it’s part of the gig, though, to take those hardships, failures, deaths, firings, and breakups (of all kinds) and put them through whatever alchemy it is that turns them into pieces of hope or joy or catharsis for myself and other people. You don’t get that as a CPA, or I’ll speak for myself there. Get in the comments, accountants.
Thanks for sharing that. You could tell us more about your work.
Honestly, after all this time, I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me! I can only speak to what I’m proud of: getting to do what I love and helping cultivate a fantastic crew of people to do it with. I’m immensely pleased to have already played some small role in making Minneapolis music what it feels like success to me and to still be in it, learning and growing after eleven years.
What matters most to you? Why?
Dang! Hitting me with the big stuff. I like that. I think there have been times in my life when it was about being the best at what I do, or making enough money, or being in the most incredible band or project or whatever, but what keeps me going is here’s a cheeseball answer for you, but it’s the joy. That word gets a bad rap. The joy I’m trying to mine for is the stuff separate from our happiness, pain, or struggle, and what have you? I think, or I hope, that’s a universal experience where art connects to us in a way that either amplifies our happiness, lifts us out of our current circumstances, and shows us the other side. Creating a space where that’s possible when I play for five thousand people or just the sound techs is the gold standard. I’m on the right track as long as I keep that straight.
Contact Info:
- Website: pleaseclapmgmt.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/kaibrewster
Image Credits
Nick Greseth, Adam Nantz
