Meet Lindsay Teske | Founder and Director of Carnival of Oddities

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsay Teske and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsay, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I was just starting Carnival of Oddities, I essentially had absolutely no work life balance. I was fresh out of grad school and eager to devote all my time to establishing and developing the business. The business and my personality basically merged into one, and it was the thing I felt like I should spend all my time doing. I didn’t even have very many hobbies in those years. I only kept wanting more — more clients, more success — without questioning how much of it was really making me feel fulfilled. I think of myself at that time as a Pac-Man who just wanted to mindlessly eat more and more dots for the sake of accumulation.

Because I felt like I always had to be working and growing, I said yes to so much that I should not have, in hindsight. Naturally, these decisions never actually served Carnival of Oddities in any real way and went on to make me miserable. For example, in those early years I had a nightmare client that I should have cut loose a lot sooner than I did, but I didn’t because they were one more client I could say I had. I mistakenly thought that was more important, and it was one of many instances where I wrongly valued quantity over quality. Situations like this left me feeling so burnt out and dejected. Looking back, my work life balance was largely being ruled by subconsciously feeling as if I had to people please. My stomach just churned writing that, but I’m happy to say that that’s because I am now so far removed from that version of myself. I don’t owe everyone everything, and “no” is a word that is much more present in my professional vocabulary. About time.

My work life balanced has changed as a result. Last year, I ended up having to take some time off. That gave me a lot of room to reflect on what was and wasn’t making me happy, and I realized that as a result of all I experienced during this time off, I wanted to make work merely an accessory to my life rather than my life itself. After all, my life now is really different than it was when I formally started the business at 24. I actually have hobbies now, for one! I’m also recently married, and my childhood best friend just moved to the same city as me. I’m also working on something new with a friend that I’m really excited about. Before, I wasn’t creating room in my life to find richness or fulfillment outside of work. Now that I have done this, I have no tolerance for anything in my professional life that isn’t serving me. None at all. That’s a really empowering place to arrive at. Prior, I was letting Carnival of Oddities become too polluted by what I believed other people expected of me, which was wrong. I started the business because I wanted to have fun and do everything my way while making a difference, so when I fell too far down the rabbit hole of “yes,” I was defeating my own purpose. That’s just ridiculous.

I often think back to that fabulous Kim Cattrall quote where she proclaims that she doesn’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where she’s not enjoying herself. Before, I’d say yes to things that I was only sort of excited about, and now I won’t say yes to anything or do anything unless I know for certain that I feel passionate about it in the way I should. After all, I’d so much rather spend time doing yoga or continuing to learn Italian than represent a band I’m only half interested in. They’d deserve better, and I’d be happier. By operating this way, my work and life are not only better balanced, but they are both nearer to equal in terms of enrichment provided. The past few years have definitely taught me that when you run your own business, that becomes a happier experience when you nourish your life outside of it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Carnival of Oddities is a public relations agency that exclusively represents independent and/or emerging artists in heavy music sectors. This is an amalgamation of my background, which consists of a BA in Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University, a MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship from Goldsmiths, years of working professionally as a music journalist, and more music industry internships than I can count. The heavy music part exists just because that’s what I like the best, so I only wanted to work with artists who made the kind of music I most enjoyed.

I started the business because I was so tired of this ridiculous notion the music industry continues to perpetuate, which is that an artist is already meant to have some sort of platform before intermediaries will start working with them. Well, how on Earth is that meant to happen if people won’t come along to help them get said platform in the first place? That’s the gap in the market I created Carnival of Oddities to help fill. Artists need someone to champion them earlier in their careers to help them get off the ground, so that’s what I set out to do. I don’t want to work with anyone who already has an agent, a label, a manager, a famous parent, whatever. If an artist has even one of those things, they’re already out of the market I want to work with. I’m here for the bands who play bars on weeknights after their day jobs are done — that sort of thing. I’m only interested in true up-and-comers, since they’re the ones who can stand to benefit from having a publicist the most. A lot of other PR agencies will wait until an artist has already achieved a substantial amount before they’re even considered for a place on their roster, and I proudly stand in contrast. I want Carnival of Oddities to always be something that helps to nourish the talent pipeline for the sake of the talent itself, and not because of how much affluence or status artists may already have. It baffles me when other intermediaries in my industry keep moving some arbitrary goalpost about when an artist is “ready to have an investment made in them.” The music being good and the artist(s) being pleasant to work with should be the only criteria. It’s not in most cases — far from it — but it’s mine. That’s what I suppose I’m most proud of.

It took me a long time to find my footing with the business despite my longstanding conviction in the mission statement I created. I think I’m only just starting to now, three years or so in. As I mentioned earlier, I spent too much time working on things that I didn’t actually feel that passionate about. Now, I’m learning to to find joy in the work again, and a lot of that comes from picking the right relationships and the right projects. As previously mentioned, my tolerance for what doesn’t serve me is as low as it has ever been, and I think this will lead to the most exciting era of Carnival of Oddities yet. The way I was working before didn’t make me feel excited about the future of the business, but my approach to it now absolutely does. It re-invigorates me fully. I want to continue to totally and actively reject the way the music industry works for emerging artists in order to fight for a fairer world to be built. For example, the next time I have someone tell me that a client is “too green” for an opportunity despite “digging their music,” I’m going to really grill them on why they think that and where that line of thinking is coming from. Chances are, it’s coming from a prohibitive sense of risk aversion, but emerging talent isn’t a risk — a lot of people just may not know about them yet. That’s all. It’s annoying when people who have the power to change that don’t want to. It’s how we end up in situations where creative careers become something for people who are privileged.

It’s definitely not easy to start a business that seeks to open doors for others in an industry that just wants to close them, but I have always viewed it as a fight worth fighting. The early stages of being in a band can be so difficult. It’s vulnerable, often thankless, and it can be hard to feel like anyone cares. So many bands give up before they can get ahead due to reasons like these, and it’s a shame because this would likely not be the case if the industry was more hospitable to fresh faces. But, if they have someone in their corner to go to bat for them and embolden them to keep marching on, that can make a huge difference. For, if they keep going, then the global talent pipeline is further nourished. My belief in how important “being that guy” is is why I always feel like I’ll be in this line of work in some capacity.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m the kind of vegetarian who’s mostly vegan, so as far as food goes I’d definitely say Tendril, Mallow, and Mildred’s. Any of Party with Ginger’s events are an absolute must, too. I bring my mom to one every single time she’s in town, and they’re always the most fun. MOTH Club usually has pretty good bands on, and if you’re flexible you can often find cheap theatre tickets at The Almeida or the Old Vic.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have seriously amazing parents who have supported and empowered me my entire life. They’re the best cheerleaders in the world, and it’s not lost on me how lucky I am to have them. So many of the traits I have that led me to starting my own business — courage, independence, a desire to divert from what the world may expect of you — came from them. They’ve listened to every client release I’ve been behind, came to gigs I’ve promoted, read every issue of my newsletter, and have crucially always listened to me vent or rant when something has bothered me. I’m so grateful for how much they’ve supported me not just in my time running Carnival, but in every professional or non-professional venture I have undertaken. If I wasn’t fortunate enough to be raised by two loving people who showed me the importance of forging your own path in life, I don’t know if I’d be here doing this interview today. Debbie and Walt, you two are the coolest.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carnival_of_oddities/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-teske/

Other: https://carnivalofoddities.substack.com/

Image Credits
Funhaus gig poster designed by Harvey Gage