The first time I was onstage, I felt like the audience was breathing with me. I don't know if I was good or not; I just knew I was having a ball, and for the first time, I felt I belonged somewhere. Ato Essandoh audienceballbelong Change image and share on social
I was a chemical engineer in school. And, randomly, an ex-girlfriend dared me to do a play. Ato Essandoh chemicaldareengineer Change image and share on social
The first time I ever heard the blues, my parents had a stack of records that they weren't using anymore. I found them when I was ten; I didn't know what it was. But I found Lightnin' Hopkins. Ato Essandoh anymorebluefind Change image and share on social
I was in chemical engineering at Cornell University. My girlfriend at the time dared me to do a play. I knew there was something I wanted, not necessarily engineering. Ato Essandoh chemicalcornelldare Change image and share on social
When people say Jerry Lee Lewis invented rock n' roll, they forget Little Richard. People talk about Elvis Presley and forget he was singing black music. I don't blame Elvis. It was the music business figuring it could make more money from this music if it weren't presented from the original source. Ato Essandoh blackblamebusiness share on social
It's not selling out, necessarily, to do something to gain some kind of notoriety that gives you the cache to do be able to go and do something else that you want. There's some dues that you just have to pay in life. Ato Essandoh cacheduegain share on social
I love the notion of a dude sitting there with an untuned guitar tapping his foot and just singing his passion out; that's what got me into music in the first place. Ato Essandoh dudefootguitar Change image and share on social
What's nice about having an engineering degree is everybody thinks you are smart. Ato Essandoh degreeengineernice Change image and share on social
Another benefit of going to Cornell is that 90 percent of your friends are doctors. Ato Essandoh benefitcornelldoctor Change image and share on social
The Chinese Student Association at Cornell put together their own play. It was all Asian people in the cast except for me, because they wanted to do a couple of scenes about an interracial relationship. I was the only non-Asian person on stage; the entire audience was Asian apart from my 10 friends that showed up. Ato Essandoh asianassociationaudience share on social