Todd Lewis Kramer’s latest set, Fairground, is resplendent in its twangy guitars and folksy lyrics—a perfect vehicle for Kramer’s nostalgia and heartbreak. “This record is the culmination of my songwriting career up to this point,” says Kramer. Written in his early 20s, the songs look back on the loves he’d lost as a young man. Still, he says, “My music is cathartic and about starting over with optimism.” Kramer, who honed his musical chops in New York City as a teenager, found his voice within a community of songwriters at the open mic nights at Caffé Vivaldi. Being around other artists, he said, made him want to write all the time. “Their work was a great measuring stick for me.” He talks to Myspace about what inspired Fairground, the first song he ever wrote (about a girl, of course!) and his songwriting process.

Hometown: Woodbridge, CT

Homebase: Brooklyn, NY

Why is your album called Fairground?

Fairground is named after the street I grew up on in Connecticut, actually. With all of my songs being pretty personal and autobiographical, it made sense to me to come up with a name that reflected that. I didn’t really want to self-title the album, so I decided that it would be cool to honor my hometown, since that pretty much laid the foundation for the person/writer I am now. I also really just liked how ‘Fairground’ sounded when the idea came to me—I think it fits the vibe of the record.

What was your introduction to music?

My original discovery of music was through my parents. My mom always had the oldies radio station on, and that kind of led to me listening to bands like The Beatles, James Taylor, stuff like that.

Did you ever have a eureka moment where you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I’m not sure that I ever had a “eureka” moment, exactly, but my friend and I wrote a song when we were like 15, and it definitely got me excited to just know that that was something that was actually possible to do. Never really crossed my mind before that.

I definitely got the bug a little bit by performing in high school talent shows and things like that, just playing cover songs and having a good time with it. I wasn’t much of a musician at all, but I thought I was soooo awesome, ha. Then when I got to college I started writing a little more seriously, and I just caught the bug for it. Once I started writing, I pretty much lost all desire to play cover songs and really wanted to just play my own stuff. It’s a totally different experience—definitely more intense and more impactful, in my opinion.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

It was a terrible song called “Fate” that I wrote with my friend about a girl I was crazy about in high school. The song was really bad, but it helped me get the girl, which was cool.

Who—or what—are your biggest songwriting influences?

I’m definitely influenced by personal life experiences when I’m writing. A lot of that obviously comes from relationships and what not, but also when I get rocked by a family situation or something that I’m passionate about that isn’t necessarily autobiographical. But typically the song ends up getting written from the first-person point of view.

I tend to draw influence from singer/songwriters that wouldn’t surprise you. Guys like Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams, and there’s some current artists from the Nashville scene that I follow pretty closely and am a big fan of. I just really like great vocalists who write great melodies and great lyrics.

How did you end up in Brooklyn from Connecticut? Did living in Connecticut influence your songwriting style?

Growing up 90 miles away from New York City, it was a pretty natural move for me to head to NYC after college. I lived in Manhattan for about five years before moving out to Brooklyn a couple years ago, and I just love it here.

I think there’s definitely a bit of a country sound to my music, and I think that probably comes from growing up in a suburban town where there was actually green grass, trees, open roads. I definitely think that small-town themes are evident in my writing and sound.

What does the term "Americana" mean to you and your sound?

Good question. I’m not really sure what it means, to be honest, but it’s obviously become a pretty common way for people to describe this sort of pop/folk/country sound that’s out there today. I think my music probably falls somewhere on that spectrum, so I’m happy to be labeled an Americana artist if that’s what happens. I guess I think about that sound as something you can listen to when you’re doing normal, everyday things like driving, hanging out, reflecting, stuff like that.

Have you had any crazy fan stories yet?

I was playing a post-Christmas Day show in Austin, Texas to about 7 people, including a family of 3 directly to my left. I’d played a few songs in a row that were pretty based on this theme of being a shy dude who has trouble saying what’s on his mind to a girl. And the father of that family says after one of the songs, “Just go and talk to her, man.” I laughed out loud. It was a genuine reaction from the guy, and he meant it in the nicest way.

If you were a hashtag, what would you be?

Hmmm. Maybe #imnotreallythissad.

Any big 2016 goals?

2016 has already been an awesome year for me musically. Releasing a full-length LP has always been a dream of mine since I started writing, and now I’ve achieved that. Now it’s all about getting the tunes out there and growing the fan base. I’m planning on playing shows this fall both in and out of New York City, so stay tuned for those!