Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide. Hosted by Tony Meehator. Broadcasting from the heart of Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as our guests share their raw, howlful stories. Some will spark laughter, others will move you to tears. These real life journeys inspire, connect, and remind you that you're never alone. We're igniting a global movement to empower everyone to make a lasting difference by fostering deep awareness, unwavering acceptance, and profound understanding of autism and mental health. Tune in, be inspired, and join us in transforming the world one story at a time. Hi, I'm Tony Meehator. Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide. Today I am joined by a powerful duo in both music and advocacy. Ian Keller, once the frontman of an alternative rock band, began shaping what would become his latest creative project, Orphan Prodigy. Alongside him is his wife Danielle Keller, who shares in the journey as they talk about their music, their upcoming shows, and their mission to shine a light on mental health awareness. Together, they blend passion, purpose, and artistry in a way that inspires conversation and connection. So before we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for coming on. Thank you. Yeah, thanks for having us, man. Oh, it's my pleasure. Glad to have you both on. If you would, give us a little background on Orphan Prodigy. So during the summer of 2019, my previous band was going on hiatus. It was clear they didn't want to do any more touring, any more albums, and things like that. And I needed an outlet, and then the pandemic hit. Yeah, I actually went through my own bout of agoraphobia. And during that time, I got help. My family was so great, they supported me, and they found a great therapy that was called exposure therapy on the island. Basically what it was was they would take me to crowded places like the mall, or just really big crowded places that I would have to basically just kind of live out over and over again until I was kind of getting into like I used to it basically. And I don't know, three, four months later, I guess I was not cured, but better. And better enough to kind of reconsider my life. And what I was doing, I'd been touring for 15 years at that point. And I decided I was going to kind of take a step back in music and do, you know, approach it from the production side. I found this wonderful school in Arizona called the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. And two weeks into that program, I was back writing songs because I was being introduced to digital audio workstations like Logic and Pro Tools. So that was the beginnings of Orphan Prodigy, the music, how it started. Wow, that's a great story. Now, what about you two? Were you married before this all started? Interestingly enough, I got out of my Orphan Prodigy state and we crossed paths very soon after that within maybe a week of my kind of coming out of therapy. And it was almost cosmic, you know, it was just kind of meant to be one of those things where we just kind of hit it off. And I slowly, you know, you can tell it better than I can. I guess I revealed layers of myself through, you know, slowly. And yeah, we just kind of just never stopped having that eternal sleepover that we refer to all the time. Well, that's great that it worked out that way. Now, you say you're a psychologist, correct? I am. Okay. So how did that work between the two of you in this kind of scenario? I mean, when we met and Ian was coming out of his agoric phase, as he described, I knew exactly what type of therapy he was doing. And I think that that knowledge had helped his smooth transition from coming out of agoraphobia where you're kind of stuck in your home and now you're back to public spaces, writing on public transportation. So for me, knowing that, I think to speak to the psychology piece, I think it was helpful because I was able to not only help him along, but be patient when there were some setbacks because it isn't a perfect system, right? I think, you know, Ian's also very open about talking about panic disorder and the same thing. I mean, I'm not without anxiety myself, but, you know, with having a partner with panic disorder and it kind of sets on or sets in rather very randomly. It hits you when you least expect it. And for me, being in really a place of no judgment and knowing kind of how to talk to him, help him out of it and vice versa. You know, I think we really help each other in that way. And I hope that answers your question. I mean, I can keep going on, but. Yeah, absolutely does. Now, can you describe to our listeners what you go through? Because like she just said, it can come out of nowhere. When it does come out of nowhere, what happens? What goes through your mind? Then how do you deal with it? Yeah, it just happened yesterday, right? It's yesterday. Yeah, we actually recorded it. Actually really bad yesterday. And I just said, you know, I'm going through this. I want to see what it looks like because I've never actually seen myself go through it. And I told her to just record me. And yeah, it was brutal. Looking, but you know, when it's happening, it's kind of like a tunnel vision. You just kind of dissociate and you really kind of it's almost like a bad trip. You really feel like you've ingested something that is just altering your perception of reality. And you kind of feel like you're watching yourself in third person, but you're not really connecting to yourself. So everything kind of feels like you're sort of like the like it's a puppeteer kind of thing. It's very just insane and just scary. It's terrifying. You know, the feeling, the visceral feeling is terror, sheer terror. And you don't really know when it's going to end. And I think that's part of why, you know, the cyclops just keeps perpetuating itself. And it really takes sometimes it's different, you know, that the way I come down from it is through understanding, as Daniel mentioned, and, you know, empathy, just listening, me being able to express myself, you know, she asked me how I'm feeling. What are the symptoms she asked me to kind of go through the this five, four, three, two, one technique where I kind of pick five things in the room, describe them, that's accompanied by breathing. So, you know, it's pretty, it's pretty scary. And, you know, for 15 years, my managers and my previous band were sort of monetizing that, you know, I was having panic attacks on stage because the base was too much or something. It would make me kind of, you know, destroy the equipment or whatever. But it was really just me not being able to handle the lights or the sound. It's very, it's very interesting how that works. It's very different now. We run a very tight ship. What about the people around you? If they didn't understand or understand what you was going through, how did they react to it? And then how did you react to their reaction? Yeah, a lot of times no one could relate to me and, you know, being surrounded by people in the music business, you know, depending on what level you're at, there's all types of people that you're surrounded by. And a lot of the times I was surrounded by people who were kind of under the influence. And so they're like, just have a drink, you know, just, you know, take the edge off or smoke, you know, whatever, just do whatever. And I really got to a point where I couldn't do that stuff. Doesn't agree with me. It just makes it worse. In fact, perpetuates the problem, you know, short term solutions and that. But I'm at a point in my life where I'm surrounded by people in a great team that does understand that I have, I need certain accommodations. If you want to call it that, you know, when we do a show, it has to be very strict schedule. We leave and we arrive at a very specific time. And I kind of go in with my posse and they're surrounding me and it's comfortable. It's not too much. And, you know, we have a drummer and a bass player. And sometimes it's just Daniel and I walking into the venue and we'll meet up with them like kind of during the soundcheck. It just has to be done in a very, I don't know, I guess a very agreeable way. Structured. And if I can piggyback off of that, I've noticed also that it's very hard when you're trying to hide something, right? And what I've noticed in the years that we've been together, you know, we met right before the pandemic hit. So our relationship was kind of born during this pandemic, which is why we call it this eternal sleepover. But what I've noticed is that when Ian can open up and talk about and say out loud, I'm in a panic or this is what's going on. I help facilitate conversation. I see him unwind faster and easier than if he's white knuckling something that he's hiding behind and no one else knows about it. It's so much harder to go through it, I think alone. And I think that can resonate with a lot of people. Absolutely. I believe a lot of people can relate to that. Now you mentioned you went from front man to behind the scenes. So I get that I've done that. I've been a front man on a band. Then I moved here to Nashville doing production work behind the scenes. How did you handle that? It's a complete different mindset from being on stage to being in the studio behind the scenes. Was that a smooth transition with everything that you was going through? Or were there a few rough edges that you had to tweak to get everything completely under control for yourself? I think the biggest thing, you know, as a musician, you're always demoing and you're always kind of working with hardware or software anyway. So there was kind of just the kind of refining it at the school experience for me. But when I started writing the orphan prodigy stuff, I had already been composing digitally since I was 12. So it was a very easy transition. It was more about, again, just kind of refining how to communicate the vision, you know, getting balances, right? Finding certain frequencies that fit building around those frequencies and just painting an overall better picture. I think I liked the control of it. I liked finally being able to not have a vision that was diluted by a producer or label other bandmates even. Yeah, I get that completely. So orphan prodigy is, you know, 130% me and I'm very proud of that record. I think we did a really great job with it and team that we have now that we're working with just everybody has been fantastic. So that's great. Everyone has to feel proud of what they do. Now, do you play an instrument as well? My main instrument is guitar and I sing, but for the record, I compose, it was a hybrid of, you know, kind of electric guitar and electronic drum parts composed, but then I'd also take over and play them myself, depending on what needed to be played or keyboard synths up too. So it's all over the place. Yeah, that's perfect. Now, Danielle, what is your focus? What do you oversee in the band? So I've always been a part of it behind the scenes, whether it's in regards to like merch or marketing or even artistic creativity. I was involved in some of the music videos that we made and the editing process I was very hands on in coming to the forefront, which was really funny and kind of just like a conversation one day that we're like, Hey, like you're so involved. Why don't we just like bring you on stage? And I was like, yeah, that sounds great. Um, I don't think I have singing skills, but what I end up doing on stage is some sampling as well as some backing tracks and backing vocals. So it's been a fun learning experience. Yeah, that's great. As long as you love in what you're doing, that's the main thing. Now, are you touring or are you still getting ready to tour? The band's been on tour for we've been, we've, so we've been hybrid touring since the pandemic. It started with me just in a good stick guitar and some backing tracks. And it was in her cottage during the pandemic. So it was just like a laptop, really janky setup, no SM7Ds by sure. But, um, the last year, uh, 2024 specifically, as I was writing the record, we really turned, and we moved to Connecticut, by the way, from New York. We really turned the basement into a full production and soundstage. So if you go downstairs, it's just like, you know, there's just a bunch of cameras and a bunch of band equipment. And like, so we run our streams with a E tickets and people, you know, pay a fee to watch the performances. That's one part of it. That's great. Have you done any live shows from city to city? Yes. Yes. So we've done, um, we've done some East coast dates, some West coast dates. And right now we're taking a bit of a break, but we're doing some pop-up shows around kind of local to us, but kind of just one of those things where it's like, we're going to show up and you'll see us or you won't. And that's kind of the, uh, the draw right now. In the meantime, behind the scenes, we are still keeping the schedule of performing virtually and streaming virtually, interacting with our fans through gaming and mental health talks. Yeah, that's great. Sounds like a great plan. Now that you're out there, people are seeing you, getting to know you, understanding what you've been through. What kind of feedback are you getting from this? Have you been overwhelmed with the people that will reach out to you? So how has the feedback been for you? Yeah, it's been, it's been really overwhelming actually, um, and validating. It's crazy how many people are willing to be honest, share their own stories, kind of, you know, be able to relate to me and vice versa. You know, everybody's got something. I think that's one thing that my parents have always said to me that never really hit until later in life, but right now it does, you know, everybody has something and nobody's perfect. You know, that favorite classmate of that favorite idol you look up to every day, you know, everybody has something that they're dealing with. And it's just an amazing way to connect with people. Yeah, absolutely. Now Danielle, when people reach out, you hear the stories that people will tell. And then of course, with him interacting, which your part, how do you help tie all the loose ends together to make a complete package for this? I think with the mental health background, I love how our album is really speaks to advocacy for mental well-being overall. And so having our fans connect with us, not only for our artistic, you know, abilities and what they love about us artistically, but also with that message and the brand that we're trying to portray. You know, I was talking with Ian the other day and saying, you know, if our fans are connecting with us and we're helping them feel more authentic and more in their body and in their shoes and they can start to show up for who they really feel that they are, then then we're doing something right. You know, not only creating it, you know, an awesome album that people love to listen to, but also helping them feel more themselves. You know, we both grew up in a generation where mental health was just becoming destigmatized. And I think, you know, not only do we both have our anxieties as everybody has anxiety, right? It's just, you know, what level of anxiety are you dealing with? I think it speaks really just very home to us because again, of growing up in the generation that we did, seeing it destigmatized, you know, and now how it's a huge conversation piece is just awesome. Yeah, I totally agree. The more conversation we can have, the better it's going to be. I've had a chance to listen to some of your music. I really like it. Tell me a little bit about the song Trader. Everyone can have a different take on lyrics. I'm interested to hear what your message is on this because it seems to have a pretty good one. Yeah. You know, so when I wrote that song, I was kind of always under the impression that it was about, you know, a really bad toxic relationship or whatever. You know, everybody can relate to that at some level, I think, but I really, in the last couple of months, I realized it wasn't about, it wasn't about that on the surface. Yeah, sure. Fine. But for me personally, and you know, again, songs are meant to be interpreted however you need them to be interpreted. But for me, my interpretation of it is rejection as a whole, whether that's on a personal level or in the workplace or just in a more worldly sense. It's just about rejection and, you know, sitting in that feeling it and accepting it and moving forward. Yeah, absolutely. That's a tough situation. Now you just mentioned the word stigma. I try to use a different word now and it's perception. I try as much as I can to use that word instead of the other one. In reality, that's really what it is. It's perception because most people have this idea of what it is. And in reality, they're not even close. I think we have to get them away from that idea because if we keep using the word, they will never, ever try and change. But if we tell them it's their perception, then hopefully they'll want to learn more so they understand and use their critical thinking instead of just living with what they thought it was. So how do you approach that? You put your life out there for people to see. You tell them your story. Actually, the both of you are telling your stories. How do you put it out there in such a way so it takes on a completely different perception, then they can look at the reality of it all and hopefully learn. You know, I think it all goes back to just being honest. It's not really writing for anybody. It's not supposed to be any singular message. It's supposed to just be what I'm spitting out for lack of better term. It's just me. It's just me inventing. It's me creating. It's me releasing and just opening up without any armor. You know, I don't go in writing a song or an album with a concept for that matter with any sort of armor on. It's a, I have an idea and I just tell a story through each song as a chapter. And, you know, the vulnerability comes out in the creativity, I think. And for me, that's the most important thing is to keep things authentic and genuine and never limit yourself creatively. You know, there's some arrangements on that record that are just totally atypical and don't follow the rules of traditional songwriting. And I'm not there to, I think as indie artists, we have a responsibility, especially in music, to kind of break the rules and push things forward a little bit, especially when we're not bound by labels or producers or expectations of sales and things like that. You know, so that's what I tried to do with this record is really just be the best songwriter, the most vulnerable songwriter that I could be. Yeah, that's a great attitude. That's a great way to be. I have no issues with that whatsoever. I'm interested. Has there ever been any lyrical or musical collaboration? Maybe he's working on some lyrics. You have an idea. Then all of a sudden, that's a great idea. I never thought of it that way. Anything like that ever happened? Um, lyrically is all Ian that I don't touch. It's a very, I think special way that Ian writes and how it should be. Ian has always said that one of his heroes, I think from Weezer, wrote three songs a day and to this day, he's still writes three songs and I'll see him throughout the day, jot down lines that just spoke to him of inspiration. And as we go through the day, the song's coming together with all these different lines, I think where I've come in the most is in the post production side. So when the song has finally come together and he's like, okay, I listened to it like a hundred times. I need your ears now to listen to it. So I come in and I'll give my suggestions and I again, love it. I think it's fun. It's a fun process to be involved in it like that is awesome as well. And, um, I guess I've given some good feedback. Yeah. And also mentioned, you know, you're part of the editing process with the videos and the branding and all that stuff in the background too, you know, which is equally important, I think. Absolutely. Fresh ears, fresh eyes can change the project completely. Mm hmm. The music videos are also so very fun to be able to say, you know, you should turn here, look here, do this, do that. Um, and then see it come together on screen. Um, it's, it's like a very cool process. Yes, it is being behind the scenes and being behind the editing. It's a very cool process because it's part of that creativity that actually puts it all together to make it what it is. So when you finally get one done, each piece, each song is your baby. I understand that from the production side, cause that's what I do now. I listen to these songs, it's going to go out to radio and before they go out, I put them under the microscope. So what's your feel? How do you react? What goes through your mind when you finally put all the polish on, you've got the song done, it's ready to go out. What's your mindset when you finally say, okay, here it is world. It's going out tomorrow. Uh, really anxious cause you know, for me, like a mix is never done. A song can be done, but a mix is never ever going to be done. Um, so it's just like, that's what I was going to say for you. Like Ian can continue to tinker and tinker and tinker with it. And so I think he does bring me in to say, like, pump the brakes. But yeah, like, are we, are we good here? Yes. I totally get that. I completely understand that mindset. I had a CD completely done, duplicated. Then a promoter said, we're going to take this one song to radio. It's great. Even though it was complete, it wasn't complete enough for me. It was good for a CD cut, but not for a radio single. I went back into the studio and gave it a complete remix. So you are so right. A song is never done. Yeah. So if you would tell the listeners, what you think is really important that they need to hear about what you're doing, what you're planning on doing. And where you see your project and future projects going so you can continue to help people that need help as well. I think what we're trying to do the most is to convey a message that you are not alone in this modern world that we're living in, where there are thousands upon thousands of medications to take, to suppress feelings and treat conditions and things and just, you know, the world is on fire and all that, whatever, you know, like in this world that we're living in, there's still inner peace to be found. And there are still people that are there for you and with you and not against you. And for us, our way of, you know, pushing that message is to, you know, one through the album and medication from our world and all the songs on it. The other avenue that we have is the gaming that we do. We actively engage with our fans and we really try to build relationships with them that are real. And the other avenue, the third avenue is the mental health avenue where she, Daniel speaks about psychology as a whole and I speak about my experiences with panic disorder and being adopted and how they intertwine. I think that's great. By getting out there and connecting, you really are helping a lot of people. Danielle, you mentioned you're a psychologist. Is that something you actively practice or have you set it aside to focus on your work with the band? I do. Um, that's my day job. I, or from Prodigy by day, no, I am. So I'm a clinical psychologist and I do, um, individual family therapy, couple therapy. I promote evidence-based treatment. So cognitive behavioral therapy, DBT, and I love it. I, it's what I've wanted to do since I was really young, actually. I really love that we are now merging or from Prodigy with mental health because it really is, we're both sides of the coin, but the fact that we can bring this advocacy work to our creative side as well is, is really cool. And it's a really unique, I think, and makes us stand out. And we're also living and breathing exactly what we're preaching. I was going to say a phrase, but I can't think of the phrase, but we're authentic. You know, we are partnering with brands that, um, are part of our own lifestyle. So nothing about us is just staged, staged. Yeah. Good word for it. Right. We're a hundred percent us, even maybe a hundred and fifty percent. And maybe we, I had time to probably have to dial it back. But I love that about us. And I hope that's, you know, also another reason why people love us. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, being authentic is the very best thing you can do when people see you for who you are, then when they accept you for who you are, that's a huge win. By doing that, you've made yourself relatable when people can relate to you. That's when they will follow you. And then you're going to help a lot of people. Now, in closing, can you give our listeners all the information they need to know on how to meet you, how they can contact you, all the information they need so they can reach out and connect with you? Yeah. So just Google Orphan Progy at this point. I'm sorry. No, we have a website, orphanprodigy.com. That's where that's like the hub, the central hub where you can find the shows, the tour dates, the merch, all that stuff, social media at orphanprodigy for everything. We have Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch. Discord. Discord. Yeah, all the stuff. The biggest thing is that, yeah, if you want to connect with us, we are willing to do an equally shared experience with you or, you know, have that shared experience with you. And I guarantee you'll find something special and unique in what we do. Yeah. We have two shows coming up as well in person live. And our November 21st show is the release of our Patreon as well. So you can look forward to that. Oh, it's also, this hasn't even been announced yet. So this is an exclusive. We're also releasing our next single that same day called Deep Bass, which is the only collaboration on the album. And so, yeah, that's happening on November 21st in Brooklyn at first live. So you can catch us there at 10 PM. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, this has been great. Great conversation, great information. I really love what you're doing with your band, focusing on helping people. That's really, really good. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today. Absolutely. Thank you for having us. Thanks so much. It was really fun. Oh, it's been my pleasure. Thanks again. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to our show today. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. If you know someone who has a story to share, tell them to contact us at why not me dot world. One last thing, spread the word about why not me. Our conversations. Our inspiring guests. 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