David Kushner is a force to be reckoned with in the sad music genre; earning 2 million TikTok followers and 170 million streams on Spotify in just a year. Like many of his fans, I first noticed the singer-songwriter in November of 2021 after a clip of his song “Miserable Man” went viral. Since the release of “Miserable Man” in January of 2022, Kushner has put out two more hit singles, “Mr. Forgettable” and “Burn”, and an emotional 7-song EP titled Footprints I Found.
Footprints I Found starts off with “Cigarettes”, a heartfelt song inspired by the death of beloved TikToker Cooper Noriegas, and includes songs with honest lyrics that navigate topics like Alzheimer’s, saying goodbye, and moving on. David’s music has touched the hearts of millions and I recently had the privilege of speaking with him about making Footprints I Found, how fans have received his music, and what we can expect from him in 2023.
Payton: First off, congratulations on your EP, Footprints I Found! How did you come up with the name?
David: Thank you! Yeah I named it that because they are all very meticulous stories I wrote about that weren’t very personal. A lot of them were personal in their own way, but the reason I came up with Footprints I Found is kind of like in a metaphorical way. [The songs are] stories I created and that’s kind of why I named it that.
Payton: What did the songwriting process look like for that?
David: I would just try and write something significant and when that does happen I kind of come up with the story line from that one little thing. Like “Mr. Forgettable” I wrote the chorus for it and I automatically knew it was going to be about Alzheimer’s.
Payton: So you kind of have a story in your head?
David: Yeah exactly. I’ll just write how I usually write and I’ll just spin different melodies, all sorts of stuff, and once I come up with something I just create the story then and there. I love creating very, I guess you would say very mature, real things about life like Alzheimer’s, you know? The struggle between two lovers…
Payton: Yeah for sure. That definitely comes through in your writing. So Footprints I Found was written and produced in collaboration with some notable producers and songwriters like Alexander23 and Noah Kahan who are doing great this year. How did you decide who you wanted to create this EP with?
David: When I wrote “Mr. Forgettable”, the first thought I had in mind was for Alexander23 to produce it with me. My team and I contacted his team and he was super down to do it and it was just kind of an instinct gut feeling type of thing and that’s kind of how most of my songs go. I’ll just write something and I’ll think of somebody and I’ll want to do it with them and try to get in communication with them. And then Noah Kahan, I got a DM from him that he loved my song “Miserable Man” and I was in New York last year and he lived there at the time and [invited me] to his house and we wrote my song “Cannon Beach” on my EP.
Payton: What other artists would you say influence your style?
David: The Lumineers. A big part Lumineers. They are my favorite folk band. Mumford & Sons, Hozier, Bon Iver, and a lot of guys in that lane. Gregory Alan Isakov, he’s a folk singer-songwriter. He’s really talented. Yeah, those guys.
Payton: You have a very unique sound, but I can definitely see how some of those influences come through. 2022 was a big year for you. You released three singles, made an EP, and toured with Lauv, but you’ve been writing and releasing music for a while before that. At what point did you realize that your music was gaining a lot of traction and you were going to have a successful career in music?
David: When I teased my song “Miserable Man” in November of 2021. Yeah I posted it on the internet like Instagram and TikTok and all that stuff and it started to become a really big trend and people really took interest in the song and me as an artist and I think that really propelled my career to where it’s at pretty fast, or at the fast pace that it has been. I account that to the songwriting and everything and the sound. So like November when I posted “Miserable Man” in 2021 it just kind of exploded and then from there I just knew in my spirit. I was like, Ok I am up for a ride right now. I don’t know where this is going to go but…
Payton: Alright we are going to switch gears a little bit. You have 2.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify and nearly 2 million followers on TikTok, but you’re also very publicly a Christian. Has it been difficult to reconcile fame with your faith? Who do you turn to about stuff like that?
David: Yeah 100%. I have an amazing girlfriend and me and her are both Christian and she’s like a big rock in my life and foundation and I have my parents who believe and yeah a lot of people in my close family. I do have a lot of artist friends, I mean… not a lot. Most of my artist friends do not share my faith with me but I have a lot of friends, one of my roommates because I’m moving to LA this year and he’s my best friend in the industry and a strong Christian. It’s really hard because there is a lot you can attain by kind of putting that down and kind of stop believing, as straightforward to make it, but it’s very very hard and it’s only going to get harder. But yeah that’s probably the shortest answer.
Payton: I was gonna say that your music seems very personal to you with songs about love and loss and your grandfather’s battle with Alzheimer’s. Would you still consider it very personal to you even though a lot of the songs on this EP are very story-based?
David: Oh 100%. Yeah no they are all very personal to me and I’m very attached to them. It’s not like they aren’t personal to me. Yeah I guess when I say personal I mean they aren’t very direct. Like “Miserable Man” it isn’t “me and a girl I used to be with” and the story line is exactly what we went through. It’s not anything like that. “Miserable Man” I wrote indirectly about my faith and being a Christian and I like to write a lot of stuff like that. So exactly “Mr. Forgettable” is about my grandfather and even though the verses and everything aren’t literally what he went through, it was like the best broad explanation I could give of Alzheimer’s, if that makes sense.
Payton: Yeah that makes sense. How does it feel to release something so personal for the world to hear and potentially judge?
David: Oh great. I know some artists like freak out and they’re like “Oh I felt weird kind of internalizing songs about depression or trying to write a song about suicide.” Some artists are just really weird about that and I’m not. I’m just very real and that’s the kind of music people want to hear.
Payton: For sure.
David: Yeah, so like in a way that music makes me feel alive and in a way I think that’s why a lot of people relate to my music, because it makes them weirdly feel alive in a strange way that really helps them connect to me and my music and what I have to say.
Payton: How is that different from when you show your family and your close friends your music, and even people who may have inspired it?
David: Yeah, um *thinking*
Payton: Is that more nerve-wracking or less nerve-wracking?
David: Oh it’s less, it’s less nerve-wracking, because I go to them a lot when I create new ideas ‘cause I really value my family’s opinions, my loved ones, the people in my life who I am really close with at the time. Sometimes it’s nerve-wracking. Like sometimes my girlfriend doesn’t react a certain way and I’m like, okay you hate it. And yeah it’s not too different. I love going to people in my life and showing them new stuff and I’m curious to see what they think.
Payton: And that stuff happens when you have good people in your life.
David: Exactly.
Payton: Your music has taken on a life of its own, with people using your song “Mr. Forgettable” to share their personal struggles with addiction and experiences in the troubled teen industry. What is it like to see videos so personal to your fans?
David: It’s amazing and that’s all I ever wanted in music. And knowing the musical idols I had growing up, and knowing they were more of the sad vibe and the meaningful stuff they write, I knew that that’s the lane I would be meant for. It’s all I could ever dream of, but yeah it does affect me and make me sad ‘cause it really shows how broken the world is and how much pain and suffering there is and that’s hard to kind of explain but yeah I mean it’s great because I’ll get messages all the time [saying] “oh I fall asleep to ‘Miserable Man’ or ‘Mr. Forgettable’” and “‘Miserable Man’ really explains my bipolar when my family doesn’t understand,” and all of this stuff. I mean yeah I love it. It’s mainly a good thing for me. I see it as a positive impact – like how I want it to be.
Payton: There are millions of people listening to your music and posting about it online, but it must be very different to experience that support in person. What did it feel like to perform these songs to a live audience when you toured with Lauv and played some live shows in the Fall?
David: Oh it was amazing. I was definitely nervous because at the pace that my career was going it was so overwhelming. This past year, 2022, I was very stressed out. I mean I was having a blast but the pace, I think there’s a certain pace you can go where it becomes detrimental to your mental health and your physical health. That was definitely me last year. I didn’t get much sleep last year. It was very stressful, but anyways back to the question with that being said it was amazing because that is the most intimate an artist can be with their fans, and seeing the actual fans that I have at those shows is surreal and just makes me super excited to keep going and writing more songs and putting out my next project and doing a David Kushner Tour. I did a small one at the end of last year so not too long ago but yeah it’s just surreal. It’s anything an artist can ask for. Dedicated, organic fans at live shows. Yeah it’s just surreal. That’s the simplest way to put it I guess.
Payton: You have been teasing a bunch of new songs left and right and have mentioned playing some more live shows. What can fans expect from you in 2023?
David: I’m working with the Lumineers next month. I’m going on a writing trip with them for my album and yeah a lot of stuff and a lot of touring. I’m going to tour a lot [in 2023] and release my album towards the end of this year.
Payton: Awesome! That’s all the questions I have. Anything you want to say to fans?
David: Just that I’m super super grateful that everybody streams my music and I have a lot of new music coming right now. And I always want to encourage my fans that if they have a dream and if they have a goal to keep pursuing it and don’t overthink it. Start. Start somewhere. I started somewhere and every other big artist started somewhere and things are more attainable than you think if you are obsessed and passionate about something.
Listen to Footprints I Found here!
