In an industry that chews up artists and spits them out, Howard “HK” Kessler has managed to stick around for a long time. His secret? He stays relevant by changing as the industry changes and, many times, by pushing it ahead.
Since he was a child, Kessler has risen each morning wanting to turn on the radio or put on some music. “That love and passion for it is what keeps me in it,” says Kessler, “It's also what drives my creativity and business ideas. When you’re that connected to it, it's just like breathing.”
Kessler breathes life into music in all its stages, from creation in the studio (producing, recording, editing, mastering and remixing), to overseeing the early careers of dance and rap acts like Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Coolio, Information Society, 808 State, De La Soul, RuPaul, and others during his tenure as an executive at Tommy Boy Records.
He’s worked on five Grammy Award winning projects and over 50 gold and platinum records. Kessler is also the producer/DJ/remixer behind the biggest selling dance compilation series in music history, MTV Party To Go volumes 1-6.
Known locally for bringing The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to town during the week of the 2008 Republican National Convention, managing the production of The Cities 97 Sampler, Macy's Glamorama, and the Prairie Home Companion movie premiere, Kessler makes an impact where ever he chooses to spend his time.
He and his wife undertook a great deal of research into where to live. They had their eye on Minneapolis, Atlanta or Austin—all great music and arts cities where his company could flourish. “Maple Grove had immediate appeal for us for several reasons,” explains Kessler, who moved to his new hometown in 1998. “We loved the house. We loved the neighborhood. You could see the shops and main street area that was in development was poised to explode. Maple Grove is just a fantastic town!”
Kessler’s business, HK Productions, is comfortably at home in Minnesota. It’s a full service music production, entertainment marketing, management and consulting firm, which seems apropos of Kessler’s level of all-around talent. Jerry Lembo, vice president of national promotions at Columbia Records, New York (and who continues to handle promotion for some of the biggest names in music), has known Kessler his entire life and confirms that Kessler has always been a visionary with “music in his DNA”. “He could bounce from the DJ booth to the boardroom without missing a beat, and was equally competent in both the radio and record industry,” Lembo says.
HK Production’s full service extends to the multitalented entrepreneur at its heart as well. His album, HK Throwin’ Down, features original material written, arranged, composed, performed, produced, recorded, and mixed by Kessler himself.
Seeing a void in the radio landscape, Kessler recently ventured in. He relays the story of his new radio show’s beginnings: “I woke up one morning and turned to my wife and said, ‘Honey, I have this great idea to create a new radio show. We're gonna own it, I'm going to produce it, mix it, host it and, oh yea, we're gonna sell it, market it and syndicate it around the world.’” And the journey began.
There’s no doubt that Kessler can take a morning epiphany and turn it into a smashing success. Gary Hines, founder and musical director of three-time Grammy Award-winning vocal and instrumental ensemble, Sounds of Blackness (and colleague of Kessler’s on the Board the of Governors for The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences—The Grammy’s), says Kessler’s perseverance is a strong point, “Where a door is closed, Howard finds a way to open it, or finds another door.”
The nationally syndicated radio show In The MixWith HK (produced in HK’s home studio in Maple Grove and first aired in Oct. 2010) is a weekly party of all the biggest hits from the week (pop, rock, dance, hip-hop and even country), remixed and mixed together, club style. “My goal was to program all the hits and seamlessly weave them together,” he explains. “—so seamlessly that the listener doesn't even realize they just went from a huge hip-hop record to a huge rock record then into a number one country record—and it all sounded fantastic.”
For young kids, or parents with young kids, the show is a great way to party without leaving the house. For clubbers, it's a way to get the evening started as you head out the door for the night.
The current industry challenges of illegal downloading, Pandora, on-demand entertainment, iPod and Android haven’t dampened Kessler’s passion for music. In many ways the changes have been in lock step with his innovative spirit. At the crest of the wave of music makers, you are bound to find Howard Kessler, for many years to come.
The Howard Kessler Vibe
Maple Grove residents, NW Metro and Twin Cities locals can tune into Mix 94.9 FM every Saturday at 10 p.m. to catch In The Mix with HK, Kessler’s syndicated radio show.
His album, HK Throwin’ Down, is available at iTunes and Amazon.com, where you may also soon find the album of original material he is currently writing.
