Alex Kasznel shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Alex, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
The Board of Directors recently won the “Best Pop Punk Band” award at the Punk Rock Night awards in Indy. That was meaningful, mainly because that’s a community we care a lot about, so to be recognized as having contributed something to that community was significant.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Alex Kasznel and I play in a band called the Board of Directors. We produce a music festival every year called the Company Picnic that brings bands we’ve met on the road together on the same stage to help them grow a fanbase in the Cincy-Dayton area. It’s equally challenging and rewarding to curate that lineup each year, but I’m really proud of the show that comes out of that.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
That would have to be my grandpa Jack. He was always very hardworking and entrepreneurial, but above all was a caretaker. He put a lot of work into looking after the people in his community, and he didn’t make a big deal about it. He just did it because it was the right thing to do. I do my best to emulate that quality in my own life. I think all the men in my family look up to him in that way.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Sure, and I think that’s more common than people let on. Not to harp on social media, but it’s definitely a distortion of reality to open your phone and see only the best parts of everyone’s life. Specifically as a band, it’s easy to forget that everybody who’s spending that much time in a van is struggling on some level, and lots of people get burnt out and just don’t talk about it; you only see their high notes. There’s definitely a balance line you have to toe between pushing yourself to do better and completely losing sight of why you loved it in the first place.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
Given the pace at which the music industry changes anymore, I’m almost inclined to say that there’s no difference between those two. But then again I guess it’s similar to the process of evolution; lots of small changes happen that ultimately lead to some divergence of character in the long run. File sharing gave way to digital downloads, and then to streaming. In the last 20 years or so, there have been a lot of rapid changes in format, so much so that it feels like trying to hit a moving target when you promote your music. If you zoom out though, you can see this polarization happening: People who want physical media have more opportunity to collect it than ever before, and they’re willing to buy music in dead formats just so they can OWN it, you know? On the other hand, people who never cared about physical media don’t have any reason to engage with it anymore. So trends like that seem like the foundational shifts, whereas the preference for one digital platform or another is a lot more transient.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I guess on some level you’re always chasing a ghost when you’re in a band, at least I feel that way. I can remember years ago thinking “If I can just make one record and go on one tour, I’ll be satisfied.” But here we are years later with a bunch of records and tours under our belt, and all I’m thinking about is, “Okay, how do we go bigger? How do we get to new cities and countries? How do we get our music into the hands of the people who might dig what we do?” So it is a rat race with yourself on some level, and for the sake of your mental health it’s important to be aware of that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://akandthebod.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexkasznel_andthebod/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/alexkasznel_andthebod/
- Youtube: Alex Kasznel & the Board of Directors – YouTube
Image Credits
Andrew Stewart for tribe74 Photography
