105: How Steve Grand Raised $300K on Kickstarter by Embracing His Sexuality

A few months ago, Steve Grand was introduced to me by my cousin Derek Warren who suggested that I have Steve on the show. After diving into Steve’s background and his massive influence on millions of people embracing their sexuality, I was mesmerized by Steve’s focus, drive, and dedication to helping others create the life they truly love. Naturally, my head exploded when I found out he had one of the top three most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time, raising over $300k to support the production of his album.

My cousin Derek is a phenomenal writer and a long time fan of Steve and everything he stands for. You should check his blog out here where he writes about his experience living with Asperger’s. Derek is also openly gay and proud, and I thought it would be awesome (and a honor) to have him write the introduction and post for Steve’s show-notes.  He is a much better writer than me! woot woot.

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Show-notes by Derek Warren

Steve Grand is an independent singer/songwriter from the Chicago suburb of Lemont, Illinois. I have seen him perform twice, both times were in the city of Pittsburgh. I instantly knew that he has tremendous potential in the music world. I knew it from when he greeted the crowd, to when he took the final bow. His passion for music began at the ripe age of 4. Below, he describes his memory of riding in the car with his father, listening to some of his favorite bands.

“Listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys, he saw how a song could transport someone through time and space to a moment in the past. He could tell you what shirt he was wearing, the name of the girl he was dating, and what the weather was like,” he says of his dad’s musical reminiscences. “That’s what first sparked my interest in songwriting. It was the first time I encountered music’s unique ability to provide a temporary escape from reality.”

When he was four or five, he saw Schroeder, Charlie Brown’s piano playing friend tickling the ivories, and became obsessed. He wanted a piano so badly, that he made them, dozens of models of them, out of campaign posters, crayon, tape and glue, most of them bigger than the tiny, future musician. “I thought it was so cool to be able to make sounds and play a song just using your fingers,” says Steve.

His parents got the hint and bought him an old, beat-up, upright piano. After a lifetime of piano lessons, Steve became an accomplished singer and songwriter, playing in school bands, and later, performing in churches and jamming at jazz venues around town. He penned heartfelt tales of heartache and romance, longing and love, living out his childhood dream and making music with his fingers.”

Being openly gay and a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, the mainstream music world has yet to embrace Steve’s intention to cross the societal boundaries between gay and straight. Such boundaries came to light when he was in the eighth grade. Growing up in a Catholic family, his parents struggled to come to terms with his sexuality. I came out after I graduated from high school. I questioned it throughout all of my four years, but I never found the confidence to face the truth and reveal it to anyone. His debut single “All American Boy” gave me the ability to recognize and express a feeling, one that is so familiar to so many gay people. It is that feeling of unrequited love (towards a straight man) and knowing that love will never be true. The self-funded and produced music video has a very American feel with country roads, whiskey, hot men, the American flag and a campfire.

His debut album “All American Boy” was released in March of 2014. Funding was obtained via Kickstarter and it became one of the most funded album projects for an independent artist. Each one it’s different in its feel and lyrical content, but they all reflect the passion that is so eloquently expressed in the title track. The title track, along with the toe tapper “Stay” and the up tempo “Run” are my personal favorites. To promote the album, Steve continues to perform at Pride festivals around the world. This is a true testament to his desire of helping people feel loved and that their voices deserve to be heard!

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Thanks to Derek and Steve!

Creative Influences

• The Rolling Stones
• The Beatles

To defeat Godzilla with his talents…

• “Find common ground with him and make him chill out.”

Advice…

• It is amazing to be able to make a difference.
• Try to reach within yourself to put out something compelling and people will respond to that.
• The internet can be harsh; the people can be harsh.

Interview Links

• Steve’s Website
• Steve’s Facebook Account
• Steve’s Twitter Handle
• Steve Grand’s Instagram