Nobody from Nowhere is a collection of accomplished musicians (headed by Michael Koppelman) that play chill music for nobodies from nowhere with nothing to say. The self-titled album features wry lyrics with a bluesy vibe. You can catch them live at Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis on June 27 – for free and you can bring the kids.
Please introduce us to the band members from Nobody from Nowhere.
I’m Michael Koppelman. I’m the principal songwriter and producer of the project. I had front row seats to watch Prince make a couple of records and it had a huge impact on me. My brother Kurt Koppelman was in Tea & Sympathy and raintribe with me since 1990. We’ve been playing music together forever. Kurt sings and plays guitar and bass with the band. Marc Retish is our drummer and he helped me co-produce the record. He has amazing musical instincts and some interesting stories from the road with Nova Mob and Martin Zellar. Myles Koppelman, no relation (j/k, he’s my son) plays bass and guitar as well. Last but not at all least is Louis Tessman Stanoch, a phenomenal guitar player and a creative force behind the youthful blues band Burning Blue Rain. His co-conspirator in BBR, Oliver Osland, rounds out Nobody from Nowhere on organ and Moog.
How did you all get together?
Marc, Kurt and I had a COVID-era rock band project called Fire Good and we just love playing together. Louis played a huge role on Nobody from Nowhere’s record with his guitar sound and he and Oliver play with us whenever their schedules allow. Myles is quite an emerging talent and he loves filling the gaps depending on who shows up. We play as a 1-piece, 2-piece, 3-piece, …, n-piece – for our record release show we might have 10 people on stage at some point!
Set me Free is the first single from the upcoming, self-titled album. It is soulful and feels like a song about being at a crossroad. We hope she gets set free, seems likely, but it might take longer. I think it’ll tap into everyone’s inner monologue in a different way, but can you tell me a little about the inspiration for the song?
I love exploring the dark side of our thoughts. I just had this image of being swept away in a blur of “success” that detaches you from reality. You become this product, being carted around in a concrete world, numb with the pleasures that keep you complicit. And yet inside you is this voice saying “set me free.” You’ve become a prisoner of what you wanted and you don’t know if you want it anymore. But now there are hands on you, workers that keep the machine going. And you want them to let you go.
That was the inspiration. But I don’t claim to know what my songs are about! I think every interpretation can have meaning. Sometimes I figure out what my songs are about with the help of other peoples’ interpretations. (Man, I hope that apostrophe is in the right place. My mother was an English teacher.)
Nobody from Nowhere is a charming and inspirational song. I see a few song writers on the stage and a few song writer credits in the small print. What is the creative process for the band? How collaborative is it?
Thank you! It’s a process that is evolving. For this first record, I wrote and demoed most of the songs on my own. I send the band all sorts of songs and ideas. Sometimes it’s crickets. Other times there will be a lot of enthusiasm for a song. We try a lot of stuff and kind of circle in on the stuff that feels good. I never want to perform a song that we don’t love performing. I’ve done that too many times in the past, where I played songs that weren’t good enough or in the wrong key for me. We want to have fun up there so everything has to feel good. We see ourselves as a live band, really. So the next record, which we are writing now, is ever more collaborative.
As you mentioned, we feature 4 vocalists on the record who are also accomplished songwriters. I’ve actually written songs with all of them, although there is just one co-write on the record with Ted Hajnasiewicz. It’s really fun to involve people in the songs. I sing less than half the songs on the record. I love that. We’re like the Chainsmokers or the Alan Parsons Project.
Tell us about the album release, What a great use of a great opportunity!
On June 27, 2025 at 7pm we’ll be playing the new record at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis. It’s an outdoor show at a beautiful location, right on the lake, on a beautiful night in the best part of the summer. I agree, it’s a great opportunity! Our booking agent, Katy Tessman at Summit, hit it out of the park. We will be joined by Nikki Lemire, Jill Conzemius, Ted Hajnasiewicz and Anastazia Acker, who are all featured on the record. With special guests Polivon. Music starts promptly at 7:00pm and ends at 8:30pm so don’t dilly dally.
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