One Man makes his own World-Wide stage in his own closet...

Tom Kiesche is the Closet Singer.
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After not singing for more than a decade, Tom was coerced at a party to sing “Ol’ Man River.” The reaction by those listening was so great, that several of his friends, including the accompanist, made him promise that he’d start singing again. He would, but with one condition… He would sing again for the enjoyment, love, and passion of it. He had stopped singing while living in New York because he had lost all the fun of it. It had become a way to possibly pay rent, and all his well-meaning coaches, teachers, directors... bullied, pushed, or manipulated him into singing what THEY thought he should sing, how THEY thought he should sing…



The first baby step back was finding an affordable vocal coach. One that would not only adhere to very simple perimeters of never saying things like “you shouldn’t sing that song,” or “don’t do it that way,” but also a coach that would encourage individual artistry, expression and creativity.

A few coachings later Tom improvised an ending to “I Won’t Send Roses,” which sent his coach into a laughing fit. He convinced Tom that they should record a version of it, and send it to a misogynistic radio talk show host who was popular at the time. They did. It was recorded in his coach’s studio, with a fan running, a fish tank bubbling, and a clock ticking, with every 15 minutes translating into money coming out of Tom’s checking account. Tick tick tick.

After the audio was recorded Tom asked two friends if they would act in a video for it, and soon after, it was put online for all to see. For the next song, “The Best Is Yet To Come,” Tom decided to save money, and have less stress, by using a music track he built with his coach, and by using a microphone he had purchased years earlier, in the quietest place he could find in his own apartment… His closet. 

It wasn’t until several videos later that Tom appeared, and around that time that he realized he was literally turning into a closet singer.

The rest is history. It’s rough, it’s raw, it’s low-fi. It’s ever evolving. One mic. One closet. No rules. Just fun.