Arts Fishing Club at the House of Blues 

LALITA ARSLAN / USD RADIO DJ

SARAH MORRISON / USD RADIO MARKETING DIRECTOR

On Friday, March 21, Arts Fishing Club performed at San Diego’s House of Blues on the final leg of their North America tour. Christopher Kessenich, also known as “Toph,” first started the band in 2016 while living in Nashville, Tenn.. However, he began writing and performing music back in Appleton, Wisc., where he is originally from. Although Arts Fishing Club performs as a band, Kessenich is the official singer-songwriter of the music, and his wittiness adds a rustic charm to his demeanor. The band’s current members have been together for two years. 

Lalita Arslan and Sarah Morrison, members of USD Radio, had the pleasure of sitting down with him before the show for a conversation about life, music and his inspirations for the band. Kessenich and the other musicians were backstage preparing for the show. They were very welcoming from the start, and Kessenich’s willingness to answer questions was equally refreshing and eye-opening to the band’s artistic influences. He even provided moments of comedic relief that created a sense of comfort for all in the room. 

What is one of the bands or artists that influences your music? 

“My three biggest influences are Brett Favre, Jay-Z, and Bon Iver,” Kessenich said. “Brett Favre plays football, but yeah, I’m kidding, but I’m serious. There’s things about those three people or artists that have very much inspired me.”

Since Kessenich is from Wisconsin, his love for the state’s football team, the Green Bay Packers, has shaped his character and music. 

“There’ve been a lot of iterations of Arts Fishing Club [and] different band members before that,” Kessenich said. 

Kessenich was not shy in expressing how proud he is of the band and how far they have come. Arts Fishing Club will be playing at Milwaukee’s SummerFest in 2025. They were part of the festival’s lineup once before. This time, they are scheduled to perform on one of the main stages. As Midwesterners, this performance is a big deal for them and for the future of the band’s success. 

Do you do most of the writing yourself?

“The way that we’ve made songs to this point, the majority of them have been me kinda writing songs in my bedroom and then bringing them to the band and us arranging together,” Kessenich stated. 

Working closely together over many years, the band has continued to build their musical chemistry. 

“More and more now we’ve started just jamming together and me singing over it, so a little of the writing process has become more collaborative,” Kessenich said. 

During their set at the House of Blues, they performed several unreleased songs that contrasted their usual, acoustic folk style. As Kessenich mentioned, he is always writing new music and exploring new styles. 

What should fans expect from the band going into the concert?

“Well, there’s gonna be a lot coming,” Kessenich said. “We have a record that we’re working on. EP is done. And we’re gonna be putting out a lot of music. I try to never stop writing, which is fun.” 

Hearing him talk about music in this way was inspiring, and his passionate responses about the art of crafting and making new music shone through his voice and performance. Kessenich’s style of writing and performing music has certainly evolved throughout his career. 

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before? 

“I think it’s pretty genuine and soulful and raw,” Kessenich said.“I play with a lot of joy, even the sad songs. That’s definitely the goal of the band, to circle back to joy.” 

Kessenich mentioned that, to this day, he struggles to find the right words to describe his music to others. Kessenich’s goal for continuing to make music is plain and simple — to make his audience feel good. Kessenich sees the success in continuing to do what he loves as long as the music communicates joy. 

Last one, the name. What’s up with that? I love it.

“Thanks! Both my grandfathers are named Arthur,” Kessenich said.

“It’s a bit of an homage to them, but it’s also a bit of a play on words to approach music like fishing. It’s kind of a mission statement and a little ‘hallmarky,’ but it’s like you’re going out and you’re fishing and if you aren’t finding success from catching a big fish, you’re gonna be pretty miserable because you know, you’ll be in the boat fishing and you’ll be doing all the right things, your little cousin, who’s like six years old, will toss out a snoopy pole and she’ll rip a monster and you won’t catch anything. But the more and more that you do it, the better that you get, and eventually, you start creating your own luck. And I think music and pursuing careers in art is a lot like that. Where you just have to constantly cast out and come up empty handed and do it again; ‘Oh this is the one,’ ‘No this is the one.’ And then eventually you start catching.” 

Kessenich wanted to be a musician since he was a kid living in Wisconsin, and now, he’s on tour playing in San Diego. Through all the times he may have not found success, he continues to push through because he loves it. Finally, his luck and perseverance have rewarded him with success. 

While many listeners came to hear their most popular release, “Tupelo Honey,” the band charmed the audience with many minutes of new songs. After delivering hilariously genuine lines to the audience, lead singer Kessenich cast out a real line with a fishing rod and Arts Fishing Club merchandise tied on as bait. Their many unexpected antics and personal stories helped to catch the attention of everyone in the crowd, especially the one lucky fish. 

During their performance, Kessenich shared a personal anecdote with the crowd about the first “far away” show he and the band played. They were loading up his Mitsubishi Montero Sport, and a U-Haul trailer. The band had to drive 15 hours to play a set at a local brewery in Virginia. 

“The longer the drive, the more legit we were,” Kessenich told the crowd at the House of Blues.  

The band quickly realized along their drive that very few people were aware of the show. When they arrived at the venue, there was only one person in the audience. But that did not seem to matter for Kessenich or the band. 

“We played that show like we were playing a sold out stadium,” he said. 

It was this experience that sparked Kessenich to wake up in the middle of the night, feeling like he had lightning coursing through his veins. 

“This is just step one on this massive journey,” Kessenich explained.

He walked outside that night, into the mountains in rural Virginia, and wrote the song “Blue Ridge Skyline,” which soon after became one of the band’s most popular songs to this day. 

After he described and played “Blue Ridge Skyline,” he began to introduce the second acoustic song as a tribute to two “sweet humans” that he had met before the show who reminded him of a song he’s always loved. Kessenich then went into a lovely rendition of folk icon Paul Simon’s song, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.” 

The audience cheered along, captivated by the cover. After singing and dancing, the lucky two from USD Radio were given a lovely shoutout from Kessenich, as he thanked them for reminding him of it; “I haven’t played that one in many, many moons!” The happiness that Kessenich aims to convey through his music was felt not only by the dedicatees, but by the whole audience. Whether he channeled a more soulful emotion or a more aggressive punk feeling, his energy and the melodies certainly revolved around joy.