Today we’d like to introduce you to Gideon Klein.
Hi Gideon , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a musical family and started playing bass when I was six years old. A year later I got a cello for Christmas and also began playing electric guitar that year. Fast forward to high school, I was performing at local churches, venues, and bars – basically anyplace that would let me play. At thirteen years old I briefly formed a band with my siblings and one of my best friends, Sam Hunter. Sam eventually left the band and my dad joined for a while. In 2009, I attended Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, and that’s when I discovered my love for classical music. I started attending UT Knoxville as a cello performance major but eventually switched to composition and theory. After graduating college in 2014 I jumped straight into being a full time touring musician. My first big touring gig was with the band Delta Rae, and that Christmas I toured with Jewel as well. After a few years, the thrill of touring wore off for me and I started diving into the studio scene. In 2020, I had a good balance of studio work on the weekdays and touring with Rodney Atkins on the weekends. Once covid hit and touring wasn’t happening, I had the opportunity to make studio music my full time job. Not only has studio music been great because I can stay in town more, but it also gave me the chance to reconnect with my childhood friend, Sam Hunter, and form a band with him and my brother called Skeleton Crew. Most importantly, I met my wife through a Nashville-based string quartet I joined back in 2018 called La Vie Quartet.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I believe every great musician struggles with self-doubt. I certainly have had unsatisfactory tour experiences or studio experiences that I, at the time, thought might ruin my reputation. Career or musical stagnancy has always been a deep fear of mine, and I definitely grew from those uncomfortable or tough professional experiences. I believe my past struggles helped shape me into the musician I am today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
People know me as the guy that plays any instrument with strings. Guitar, cello, and bass are my primary instruments but I get called in to play pedal steel and dobro quite a bit as well. I currently tour with Colbie Caillat on those two instruments. My job varies day to day but the average day consists of me recording a track or two (guitars, fiddle, banjo, vocals, cello, bass, etc.) from my home studio before heading out to either a three, six, or nine hour session day. About once a week, I’m recording string tracks with just my wife (who is a violinist) and I. I work a lot as a string quartet arranger, and arranging music is definitely a passion and skill of mine. One of my favorite projects was recording strings for an EP Maggie Miles released a few years ago called, “Water in My Hands.” That album consists of Maggie, singing and playing piano, and myself on all the strings, and that’s it (Austin Stanley did an incredible job mixing as well). I have been fortunate to record on a lot of beautiful albums, but that album always sticks out to me as one of the most brilliant projects I’ve gotten to be a part of.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I believe it is so important to focus on the relationships you have around you and to constantly grow in your abilities. The money will always come, especially if the work is good. but relationships and work ethic should always come first in my opinion.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giderplayer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gideonklein6835
