|
|
|
Brooke-In-The-News...
Northeast In-Tune Magazine August 15th - September 14th Issue
Fox 5 News, New York August 4th, 2006, 5 and 10PM Broadcasts
Newsday & AM New York May 19, 2006
FOX NEWS March 23rd, 2006
"NEW STYLE MUSIC REVIEW: BREATHE THE SAME AIR" / VIEW PDF Unsigned Magazine February 2006 Issue
The Daily Republic, Fairfield, CA July 9th, 2005
"THE MUSIC PAGE: NIGHTLIGHT - FIVE STARS" Mind in the Middle, The Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, NY March 2005 Issue
"A REAL WORLD, REAL MUSIC AWARDS SHOW" / VIEW PDF Singer Magazine March 2005 Issue
"THE ART OF ALBINISM" / VIEW PDF The Braille Monitor, National Federation of the Blind, National Newsletter (MD) March 2004 Issue
"THE ART OF ALBINISM" / VIEW PDF Noah News, National Organization of Albinism and Hypopigmentation, National Newsletter (NH) Winter 2004 Issue
"BROOKE FOX - CHOOSING THE ARTISTS' PATH" / VIEW PDF Acoustic Live, New York, NY February 2003 Issue
"HOMECOMING CONCERT FOR BROOKE FOX" The Reporter, Vacaville, CA August 3rd, 2002
Talent in Motion Magazine, New York, NY Summer 2002 Issue
Sensored Magazine, Nashville, TN June 2000 Issue
Nashville Scene, Nashville, TN
January 27th,
2000
"POP/ROCK CORNER: BROOKE FOX - FEATURED ARTIST" Nashville Music Guide, Nashville, TN February 2000 Issue
"BROOKE FOX - UNIQUE LOOK, UNIQUE MUSIC" DigitalCity.com/Nashville, Nashville, TN January 2000
DigitalCity.com/Nashville, Nashville, TN December 1999
"VACAN NOW LIVING IN NASHVILLE, CELEBRATES FIRST CD" The Reporter, Vacaville, CA
June 27th, 1999
"TODAY'S HOT SPOTS - OUR PICKS" The Tennessean, Nashville, TN
June
9th, 1999
* * *
Vol. 2 No. 8, August 15th - September 14th Issue Vacaville, California. Unsigned, Pop/Acoustic View the original review here: http://www.northeastintune.com/index.php?bd=reg&sb=land&article=08064 By: Angie Mowery
Brooke Fox is a multi-talented, highly accomplished singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. She performs on her own, with her husband (Kurt Gellersted, electric guitar and background vocals), or in the company of an entire band (Kurt Gellersted; Jeremy Bletterman, bass; Andrew Potenza, drums). At 28 years old with two self-released albums under her belt, over 200 performances, and many awards to her credit, Brooke Fox has gained quite a following. Fox graduated from Vacaville High School in 1994, and attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in songwriting. Over the next six years Fox moved to Nashville, got an assistant job in a record studio, came out with her first album (Nightlight, 1999), decided Nashville wasn’t the place for her, moved to New York, and produced her second album (Breathe the Same Air, 2005) from the basement of her Brooklyn apartment building. And she did it all while playing multitudes of shows on the side. It was emotionally exhausting, but she did it. Let’s just say that gave her six years of songwriting fuel to work with. Both of Fox’s albums have the same main themes coursing through them (love and falling in love), but they are quite different in the way they are written. While Nightlight was a solo release, Breathe the Same Air was a collaboration. And while all the songs on both albums stem from personal experiences or feelings, Breathe the Same Air incorporates the feelings and emotions of the newly married Fox and her husband, Gellersted. The result is dynamic. The lyrics are wholeheartedly beautiful, the instrumentation is simple and compliments the way the songs are written, eliminating the need for overpowering guitar solos. The lyrics leave you wanting more! Fox’s voice is the glue that holds everything together. Her music has a gorgeous, mystifying quality that makes you say “Wow! That’s an amazing way to describe how love feels.” Brooke Fox is one of those rare talents that you come across every so often. She makes the music you can’t stop listening to because you like it so much. She finds the words to make you wish you were the lucky one in her song. Brooke Fox is a marvelous musician.
* * *
Newsday & AM New York. May 19, 2006 Catholics
and movie critics aren't the only ones denouncing "The Da Vinci Code." The
villain of all villains in the big-budget instant-blockbuster film? Silas, the
albino monk-executioner.
* * *
Unsigned Music Magazine, February 2006 New Style Music Reviews Artist: Brooke Fox Album: Breathe the Same Air Avg: 3.4 out of 5. Brooke's voice has a certain childish innocence to it, and when you hear it up close and personal as in the track Breathe The Same Air, you feel the maturity and intimacy in her delivery. This track is Brooke and guitars and it works. The lyrics are, well very nice, well written yet simple. The opening string section on track one Cinematic will draw you in and have you asking yourself, "What's next?" The track that shows off her vocals the least is probably The You in Me. I think the pace of this song is too fast for Brooke's soft, intimate vocal style. Her voice is made for being close to the mic, not screaming at it from a far. Musically all of the tracks are good and produced well, but my favorite is the Rhodes piano tinged Bend. Again, this track doesn't show off her vocals as well as some of her other material, but it has a classic 80s Richard Marx sound to it and we all love Richard Marx! Production: 3.4 Lyrics: 3.3 Music: 3.5 Vocals: 2.8 Musicianship: 4.0
* * *
Sweet homecoming -- Brooke Fox in Vacaville to introduce her new recording The Daily Republic, Fairfield, CA - July 9th, 2005 By Amy Maginnis-Honey
VACAVILLE - Brooke Fox loves her hometown crowd.
"My Vacaville shows are always packed or close to packed," Fox said, during a phone interview from Los Angeles. "My mom's family is still in Vacaville so they're always shouting out requests. They request things I did in high school because they know the history. And they're always cracking jokes."
Fox, 28, left town after graduating from Vacaville High School in 1994. She then went on to earn her bachelor's degree in songwriting at Boston's Berklee College of Music and settled in Nashville after graduation, releasing her first album, "NightLight" in 1999.
She's out on tour promoting her new self-released CD, "Breathe the Same Air," a 10-track recording done in her New York apartment basement and fine-tuned in Nashville.
Many residents likely remember the girl who made her debut at the Vacaville Fiesta Days competition when she was 5. Her grandmother Carol Zadnik was a professional musician who enjoyed writing melodramas with fellow Vacaville resident, Alice McDonald. (Both are deceased.) "She (Zadnik) would take me to talent shows and play the piano while I sang. She would write novelty lyrics to a pre-existing song so a 6-year-old could sing them," Fox recalled.
Fox and her husband, Kurt Gellersted, share the songwriting duties on a few of the new album's songs. She often begins the songwriting process with a title. "Then I think of all the possibilities the title could mean," she said. "From there I decide the rest of the song."
"Change Me," from the newest release, is about the ghost of Christina Olsen featured in Andrew Wyeth's painting "Christina's World." "It was tough," Fox admitted. "I was writing about a woman with degenerative disorder. It was tricky to spin in a positive way. You don't want the sympathy vote. You want people to feel her strength." It was the first time Fox broached the topic of disability in her music. She has albinism, a rare genetic trait that causes legal blindness and very fair skin.
She was often stared at and teased in elementary and high school. "When I went away to college and got out in the real world, I saw how things worked. It tempered me in terms of understanding," she said. "People are curious and they stop and ask me all kinds of questions. I simply answer them just because they are curious. But it kind of gives me an opportunity to educate them. They might not have heard about it (albinism) otherwise." Music, she said, has been her saving grace all the years. "I knew I could go out in front of hundreds of people and they would clap for me and give me instant approval," she said.
Fox's CD will be available at her performances and on CDBaby.com, a Web site for which she has nothing but praise. "The guy who runs it has a great attitude and he's artist friendly," Fox explained. People can get the physical copy of the recording or just download it. "This reaches people from all over the world, people I can't reach," she said, adding that copies of her first CD went as far as China and Italy.
As for the money, Fox said her father, Jay Fox, is basically the executive producer of "Breathe the Same Air." "This is something that takes a village," she said. "We managed to save up a little money and my family is really helpful."
Fox and Gellersted wed July 10, 2004, at the Green Valley Country Club. He is a musician who plays electric guitar on her current tour. They met through a mutual friend. Personally and professionally they are in synch. "Kurt is a very instinctual player and writer. I like to over think things a lot. He taught me to go to the gut on a lot of things," she said. "He's definitely grounded me in songwriting and playing. He amazes me with the stuff he can come up with."
Gellersted received his master's in music composition from New York University. But he's also played in punk bands.
Fox would love to share the stage with Sheryl Crow. "She's an amazing singer. I like what she does," she said. And, she would also like to play with Jeffrey Gaines, a singer-songwriter out of Philadelphia. "I've been a fan of his for a long time," Fox said.
* * *
Mind in the Middle - March, 2005 The Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, NY THE MUSIC PAGE by FRANCESCA PERLOV ****** (five stars) "Nightlight" by Brooke Fox Okay, this album is amazing. I can't talk now, it's that good. Seriously, every song contributes a different emotion and feel to this album. I love every moment of it. I can't even describe it. After a week of listening to this album, I knew all the words and now, I still listen to it every day. THe chorus of each song is full of melody and Brooke's range is insane. If I could give this album six stars, I would. In my opinion, this album is ten times greater than Alicia Keys' Diary of Alicia Keys. This is literally the best album I have ever heard in my life. I'm not kidding. I can't wait until her next album. Whew. Key tracks: 1. "TimeFool"; 4. "Switch It Off"; 7. "Seamless"; 10. "Kiss of Me"
* * *
Singer Magazine
We’re
all in this Together By Marian Fitz Each year there are over 35,000 albums commercially released in the United States. Only a tiny sliver of that music ever gets radio play, is featured on a music video channel or is considered by the televised music awards shows. But thanks to the Just Plain Folks Music Awards, it’s no longer ignored and forgotten. In just four awards cycles, the Just Plain Folks Music Organization’s (JPF) awards process has become the largest in the world.
As we neared the end of 1999, I realized that there was some great stuff that no one had probably ever heard of before. There were a myriad of music contests and awards shows out there so I figured our community of artists and songwriters deserved recognition as well.” The first awards were held during one of the organizations “Roadtrips” where they travel to cities around North America and host networking events and showcases to feature area members.
Welcome All The interest level the second year shocked the staff as 2,400 albums and 35,000 songs were sent in. Thinking the members had exhausted their libraries, JPF agreed on a third awards. As the 7,880 albums and 102,000 songs rolled in, it was clear there was a real need for someone to screen and recognize the work that the other 98% of the world was creating. According to Linda Berger, the organization’s projects director, “No one had ever done anything like the JPF awards before. It was larger in scale and diversity than any of the awards contests and unlike most awards shows, all the music involved was actually listened to and judged one song at a time on merit rather than by the popularity or public and industry awareness of the artists and writers involved.”
Diversity is one of the signatures of the JPF Awards for which the staff is most proud. “There’s a lot of great music in smaller niche genres that get completely bypassed by the major awards programs. This year we added categories like: Celtic Instrumental, Cajun, Jewish, Bluegrass, Techno, and a host of ethnic and foreign language categories which truly made our awards an international and all-inclusive affair,” said Brian. “That diversity was especially illustrated at our awards show this year, which featured a worldwide collection of artists and genres.”
With 85 countries represented among the entries, the JPF staff wanted to make sure the world was represented at the live awards show. Led by Lithuanian band SKAMP and Japanese band Mother of Soul, the performance lineup boasted performers from all continents. “We even sent judging discs to a weather and scientific research station crew on Antarctica this year,” said Linda Berger, “With representatives from every racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural background, performing songs from over half of the 60 nominated genres, the show was living proof that the JPF awards are not only the largest in the world, but the most diverse and inclusive as well. It also provided a living demonstration of our organization’s motto: We’re All in This Together! It was a night filled with world class talent from above, below, and beyond the mainstream music industry radar.”
“Looking around that room, I really felt I was in the midst of a revolution.” –Bob Malone, award-winning singer-songwriter.
International Stars Music legend Taj Mahal, who was blown away by the caliber of talent and professionalism presented, commented, “The artists who performed at the award show renewed my faith in the continual regeneration of music. All is not lost—big business has not taken over the music…and these folks are still making great music! It’s nice to see attention given to artists that are usually ‘off the radar’ to the entertainment industry. Normally, you wouldn’t have access to the wealth of creativity that we saw at the 2004 Just Plain Folks Music Awards.” Taj was at the awards show supporting his late sister Carole Fredericks, who won two Gospel awards for Best Song and Album.
That diversity helped bring in artists who are famous superstars in their corner of the world, but who have had little exposure to the North American music industry. SKAMP, who set a record with 12 nominations, outsells Britney Spears and Madonna in their home country of Lithuania. Posters of SKAMP vocalist Erica Jennings are far more popular than those of her U.S. superstar peers. “SKAMP is one of the biggest discoveries we’ve made in the years we’ve done the awards. Not only are they great writers and recording artists but they have a multinational lineup that incorporates pop, alternative, rap, dance and Electronica into some of the most commercially exciting music we’ve heard since we started—and they’re really nice and humble people, which is always a bonus,” said Brian. A well-known producer at the awards show immediately took interest in SKAMP and met with them the next day to discuss recording some tracks to shop to U.S. labels. Brian adds, “I think it’s great that we embrace the smaller niches and still represent mainstream commercial music made by our members as well. We really do have it all.”
“These albums couldn’t be more different, yet all of them are brilliant efforts in their genres. The mainstream media didn’t pick up on it but our voters did,” said Brian. “In the case of Celldweller, a lot of people have heard the music (every song on the album has been licensed by a major motion picture), but for some reason this album isn’t in every record store in the U.S. and people don’t know who is behind that amazing music they hear on the movie screens.” .
“That was like an interior lineman winning the Heisman Trophy Award” – Multi-Platinum Harold Payne on children’s artist Zak Morgan winning 2004 Male Artist of the Year.
Moved by the Music With the inclusion of not only grassroots stars, but also successful mainstream writers and artists, anonymity for the winners will be harder to come by. With 7 No. 1 country songs, singer-songwriter Steve Seskin won the overall “Song of the Year” along with Chuck Jones for their song “Pictures.” “Just Plain Folks is a tribute to why we all make music, celebrating creativity and the joy of writing a song and sharing it with the whole world. I’m flattered to have been chosen for Song of the Year by Just Plain Folks, the coolest group of songwriters on the planet, where everyone is welcome and creativity is celebrated and honored,” said Steve Seskin, who also gives back to the organization as a mentor, sharing his knowledge and experience with the rest of the community.
Even industry veterans like Andrew Gold, who have had enormous successes over their career, appreciate the recognition. “I was honored to receive my award for best singer-songwriter album at an event with such a diverse and talented representation of music from around the globe. JPF’s support of independent artists is inspiring. Seeing groups from around the world that were so amazing was terrific and I am hopeful that these groups will garner more success and fame due to the work of Brian and JPF,” said Gold, who did a special performance of “Lonely Boy,” one of his hits that had special meaning to the organization’s founder. “That song was a big part of what got me interested in music as a kid and the fact that Andrew is still making music at such a high level and his peers chose to recognize it via the JPF awards was quite rewarding to us as well.”
Rewarding great music based on its merit is what the JPF awards are all about. Using a mix of industry professionals, songwriters, and artist peers, JPF staff members and music fans, judges are given only one criterion to judge the music: Does it move you? It sounds like a simple thing, but the freedom behind choosing music that moves you, without commercial or PR pressures and limitations can be a shock to those industry judges especially. “Each year we get these long letters of apology from A&R reps or publisher judges who say, “I am sorry that I chose song X because I know it won’t get radio airplay or cut by a major artist, but I just really loved the song,” said Linda Berger. “We let them know they did their job correctly. We want folks to chose based on what they actually like, not what they’ve been told they’re supposed to look for to meet current commercial industry demands.”
So what does the future hold for the explosive success of the JPF Music Awards? “Well, we’ve learned to stop underestimating the demand for fair and honest recognition based on merit. In a way, we’re victims of our success. Each year we have to reinvent our processes for screening and voting because of the growth and diversity of the entry pool. It’s not always easy to find judges who speak a language from the other side of the world or who understand experimental performance art music that defies comparison to anything anyone has ever heard before. But the challenge is also part of the fun. And we never forget that making, performing and listening to music is first and foremost supposed to be fun,” said Brian. “We’ll let the mainstream awards focus on rewarding the business successes in music. We’ll focus on the music that moves us.”
For more information on Just Plain Folks and their Music Awards program, please visit www.justplainfolks.org.
* * *
The Braille Monitor - National Federation of the Blind - National Newsletter - March 2004 Issue THE ART OF ALBINISM / VIEW PDF BY BROOKE FOX NOTE: This article is a reprint of the article listed directly below.
* * *
THE ART OF ALBINISM / VIEW PDF BY BROOKE FOX As
a Singer/Songwriter, I have always felt the need to make a connection with
others through my life and the lives around me. My experiences with legal
blindness and albinism have undoubtedly shaped the way I make music and in turn,
making music has shaped the way I live with albinism. I wanted to share some of
my life in this article and open the door to more artists of all kinds from the
NOAH community to come forward and tell their own story as a creative being when
albinism and the art collide. Here’s
my take: I
have to say, I love my paleness! It's decidedly different. It turns heads. As an
up-and-coming Singer/Songwriter currently living in New York City, it’s good
to get noticed. Music
became a life support for me early on. I started performing young (age 5) around
my Northern California hometown with the help of my grandmother, a professional
musician and songwriter. I won a few talent show trophies and gained confidence
in singing as something I could do well. As a child with albinism, music helped
to keep me going when the kids at school got me down. In
the student band, I played clarinet through middle school and somehow learned to
memorize my sheet music. It was just easier that way, rather than squinting at
the notes. I’d just listen to the person next to me and copy them. My teacher
at the time printed the music on large paper for me, but I think the difficulty
with reading actually helped my musical ear develop. Somewhere
around age 10, I began to work out my own songs on the piano. Songwriting gave
me a way to further develop my own voice and deal with life through journaling.
My earliest songs were fictional tales about animals, people and eventually
love. However, one of those first songs, called “Hold Your Head High”,
became a favorite among those who heard it for it’s positive lyrics. My theory
now is that it was my attempt at giving back the encouraging words people had
given to me: “Your life can be decided by only you / Listen close here’s
what you must do / Hold your head high / Reach for the sky”. After
High School, I went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.
Berklee is the only place to get an actual degree in the craft of songwriting. I
thrived there, sharpening my vocal and acoustic guitar skills, finding my own
sound and strengthening my lyric writing. I graduated with honors and was
awarded a Songwriting Achievement Award. Upon
graduation, I relocated to Nashville, TN to be a part of the songwriting
movement there. Arriving in Nashville, where they drive to get their mail, was
the first real test of my resolve. I walked everywhere there. A stranger at the
grocery once stopped and proclaimed, “I know you! You’re that girl that
walks everywhere!” When I tried to hail a cab downtown, the driver picked me
up and snickered, “Where are you from? New York? No one hails a cab in
Nashville” Meanwhile,
my music career began to take shape. I recorded my first CD, got a band
together, had some solid mentions in the press and played a ton of shows. I
worked in a recording studio for a year as an assistant where I met all kinds of
great people. I was making strides professionally, but I was struggling to get
around in Nashville. Once, I caught a ride home from one of my shows with a
complete stranger when my ride fell through. I had a meltdown one morning when
the cab that usually took me to the studio was a no show. It felt like life was
out of my control and I was having trouble staying “up” about it. I asked
myself: ”Why Nashville?” Then
a friend of mine called. He had a room for rent in his Brooklyn apartment. I was
determined not to make a “life decision” based on my albinism, but it was my
pride versus my quality of life. So, I made the move to New York. It was nothing
but freedom for me. Finally, I could get myself to shows and meetings without
hassle. Now,
after a few years here, I am enjoying some professional success. I tour
regionally with my band, I’ve secured a booking agent, and I am currently
working on my second record, which will include “Change Me”, a song inspired
by the life of Christina Olsen (subject of painter Andrew Wyeth’s
“Christina’s World”). She lived an amazing life as a disabled woman in
Maine around the turn of the century. Through her, I was finally able to
communicate my feelings about albinism in song: “Hey if you want to hold my
hand / You’ve got to take me as I am / Because you can’t change me” Albinism
continues to shape my world and surprise me every day. When I get stopped on the
street these days, my years as an entertainer kick in and help make it possible
for me to be a positive force for albinism. I love dissolving the albinism myth
for people out there, on the street or on stage, one person at a time.
* * *
Acoustic
Live, New York, NY - February 2003 Visit www.AcousticLive.com for more artists and open mic listings! BROOKE FOX - CHOOSING THE ARTISTS' PATH by RICHARD CUCCARO / VIEW PDF At Brooke Fox's apartment, I'm listening to her sing "Don't Fall Back." In her mid-twenties, her deceptively young face and youthful corn-silk hair belie a maturity that runs deeps in talent and artistic credentials. Her boyfriend, Kurt Gellersted, in the next room, is putting together a score on a computer screen with musical notation software. He's surrounded by the hardware he and Brooke use to make demos. Between his M.A. in Music Composition from NYU and her Berklee College of Music education, they form a juggernaut ready to scale the formidable competitive barriers of the New York singer/songwriter arena.
Her crystal clear voice soars and plummets with uncanny ease. The lyrics to her songs show a propensity for observing the world around her, rather than the myopic introspection that afflicts so many younger (and older) songwriters. In "Don't Fall Back," she counsels a friend who's had a wrenching departure from a relationship:
You
pushed back Left
a love lying dead on the floor. Rolling through your soul tonight
Vacaville, USA, Maker of Stars This is all rendered with a poetic grace and skill that commands the listener's attention and provokes a curiosity to know where all this talent comes form.
Brooke's Credentials began taking shape at the age of five, in the town of Vacaville, California, about an hour outside of San Francisco. Her grandmother was a musician who'd traveled around in the 1940's, playing accordion and piano. She perceived that Brooke was able to pick out melodies on the piano, and began writing parodies of show tuned for Brooke to play. There parodies were then put to use in the big talent show during the annual weeklong "Fiesta Days." Brooke won first prize at the age of six.
Her Mother promptly used the prize money to enroll her in a local children's theater company. They did musical productions of "Annie", "Willy Wonka" and "Carousel." In addition, her grandmother, who had a writing partner, would write music for melodrama's that would be presented during "Fiesta Days."
Brooke participated in the talent shw and the melodramas every year up until she finished high school.
She started writing her own material on the piano at the age of 10, but didn't start performing them until age 13. She wrote a song called "Hold your head high," and would write entire children's musicals.
At seven or eight years old she used to write little twenty-page books. She said they'd go something like: "Cory walked down to the corner with her cat, Molly, and then they went to the store..." Then she recounted, "I'd take them to my parents' friends and might sell them for a quarter apiece. I had this little business, you know? I was very industrious," she said, laughing. "When people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I'd say, 'I want to be a singer and a writer.' That's pretty much all that ever crossed my mind. That I wanted to be in music."
Not All Roses Brooke's early days in school were not without their emotional hurdles. First off, she states, "I'm an albino, and that comes with a package. My distance eyesight is not good. In fact, I'm legally blind." After being teased in school, she'd go to a rehearsal, or go home and practice her music. She said, "I'd think, Well, I have my own secret thing."
In high school, she became sort of a "golden child of choir," for a couple of years, holding the post of president of the choral club. She said. "I started performing my own stuff. It was all piano-based. I'd play my songs in talent contests, but I wouldn't win. Someone else who'd sing something like "The greatest love of all" would win. I'd come in, like, third. I learned very early about the way that, for the average listener, entertainment value will generally take precedence over artistic expression. The average person will tend to say, 'Play me a song that I know.' My Mom would ask me to 'play one of those covers...the Fleetwood Mac song that I like.'"
Mozart Strikes Out Brooke's life almost diverted down a more rigid path. As she states: "In high school, I was very classically trained, as a vocalist. My choral teacher took me under her wing and I had private teachers, I was singing Mozart and Aaron Copland. I used to do these honor choir things. A hundred singers would get together on a Friday and we'd rehearse for tow days straight for ten hours a day. Then we'd give a concert on Sunday."
However, the acoustic songwriter in Brooke kept pulling at her. She remembers: "I started playing guitar when I was in high school. There was an old guitar around the house and I just picked it up. I took a few lessons, not very many. I'd start playing along with the radio, picking up songs."
The time came form Brooke to make a decision about which direction she would take. It went like this: "I was looking at all these colleges, there was a college in California that was going to give me a huge scholarship. I'd taken the audition and they really loved me. I came very close to going down that path. I was going to study opera sn composition, a double major." Citing an urge to experience something new, she said, "I wanted to see Boston, and when I found out that I could major in Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, there was really no choice. I realized that, even if I became an opera star, at the end of the day I'd still be writing pop songs."
From Berklee To Nashville Berklee gave Brooke the infusion she craved. She says. "I loved Berklee. I loved Boston much more than I thought I would." One of her favorite experiences was the lyric songwriting course taught by Pat Pattison focusing on the craft and poetry of songwriting. She also took course electives like "Music Business" and "Private Studio Instructor." She was awarded a Berklee Songwriting Achievement Award and held annual slots in the college's songwriting showcases. Then, Berklee's yearly "Inside Nashville' trip gave Brooke an opportunity to discover its songwriting and creative community. She moved there after graduation in 1998. After recording her first CD NightLight, she was offered a job at the same studio and accepted.
In The Core of the Apple After spending two years in Nashville, a friend in New York City asked her to share an apartment here. Seeing a better fit for herself, she said "yes." She's performed at The Cutting Room, The Bitter End, and the Living Room, and earned slots in the BMI Acoustic Roundup series and the ASCAP Pop Songwriters Workshop. She's forming a band these days, but says. "I've always been about the song standing on it's own in an acoustic setting." She says, "If it doesn't move people in it's purest form, I know I need to dig deeper."
* * *
The Reporter, Vacaville, CA - August 3, 2002 Homecoming Concert for Brooke Fox New
York City singer-songwriter Brooke Fox will perform Friday at Caffe Baci, 547
Main St., in downtown Vacaville.
The music,
Fox's blend of moody jazz, pop and rock 'n' roll, begins at 9 p.m. Admission is
free.
The
show is a homecoming for Fox, who grew up in Vacaville. After leaving Solano
County, she studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After
graduation, she moved to Nashville. There, she recorded a full-length album, the
11-song "NightLight," and formed a live band before returning to the
East Coast. Since
living and working in New York, she has performed at The Living Room, The Bitter
End and The Gaslight.
Besides
the Vacaville performances, Fox will perform at two showcases in Los Angeles and
a set as part of the National Organization of Albinism and Hypopigmentation
conference in Concord where she plans to share her experiences as a musician
with albinism.
* * *
Talent in Motion, New York, NY - Summer 2002 Issue / VIEW PDF
Hosted
by Tino's Restaurant, the piano ladies came out to play and it was something to
remember. It's not so unusual a thing to visit a Manhattan midtown piano
bar/restaurant to check the venue's musical showcase while dining, but it is
highly unusual when all of them are female, one of them has blue hair, one is
albino and all are playing alternative music. Not the normal laid-back, staid
lyrics or soft sounding backgrounds, these girls rocked the house. Belting
out lyrics that would make you shiver and shout, Brooke Fox, Liz Lysinger and
DIna Finai's rambunctious melodies were funny, serious and everything in between
that you could imagine. What a perfect accompaniment to the food fare that was
being served to the restaurant's patrons. The house specialties range from the
Florentine Steak and the Grilled Tuna that absolutely melts in your mouth, to
the Ribolita (soup) and the Risotto Alla Chicco (with Shrimp) that are ever so
tempting. "Designed
with a certain nostalgia for Europe, from the fresh Mediterranean feel of the
open French doors and wicker chairs and green marble tables, to the elegant
dining area with soft yellow walls and antique furniture, Tino's Restaurant will
transport you to a care free vacationing place." TINO’S
is located at 40 West 56th Street, NYC. 212-262-930
* * * Sensored
Magazine, Nashville, TN - June 2000 Issue FOXWORTHY – by laurel boland Have
you heard about Brooke Fox? "NightLight," Brooke's debut album on her
own independent record label. Babbling Brooke Records, features eleven intensely
personal songs. This young woman is a poet on fire. She writes intricate,
soaring melodies that rise and fall over grooves both deep and wide. From an
intimate whisper to a full-on wail, she sings with thoughtful purpose because
she is living these songs as she sings them. Brooke's
career began at age five in Vacaville, CA. Relatives say she was born to
perform. She started creating her own songs on the family piano. At age twelve,
she played one of them at a school talent show. "It was quite a rush",
Brooke said. After
high school, she devoted her time to studying songwriting at Berklee College of
Music. As she strengthened her emotional vocals and piano skills, she started
playing the acoustic guitar. She often plays an annual spot at Berklee's
songwriting showcases. It was on Berklee's yearly Nashville Spring Break trip
that Brooke was exposed to the professional songwriting community in Nashville.
After graduation, she relocated to Nashville. "NightLight"
was recorded locally at New Reflections Studio and produced by Brooke and Jim
Lightman. The record features her band: Curtis Barkley on electric guitar and
piano, Frank De Bretti on electric guitar, Luis Espaillat on bass and Kory Knipp
on the skins. The
opening acoustic riff of "TimeFool" sets the mood perfectly as Brooke
takes you with her on a frustrating journey through life at the hands of time.
"Time has made a fool of me/Un-knitted and unraveled the spool of me". "Eclipse"
tells the story of a couple so lost in love that they lose touch with the world.
Well "Isn't love supposed to be that way?" "Interplanetary lover,
you have been eclipsed." We
can all relate to the painful confusion felt when the rug of a relationship is
ripped out from underneath our feet, as happens in "Switch It Off":
"Everybody deals in different ways/I need time to fade to black." Brooke
Fox is a very illustrative singer/songwriter. Her debut album is very diverse in
style, with everything from folk, blues, jazz, pop and rock. The end of each
song leaves you with a craving of what you'll hear next." Get
hip to Sensored at www.sensored.com
* * *
Nashville
Music Guide, Nashville, TN - February 2000 Issue Brooke
Fox - Featured Artist Brooke
Fox (Pop/Rock) - Brooke, a Northern California native and Berklee College of
Music in Boston graduate, came to Nashville to be a songwriter. Brooke was
selected as one of the 20 local finalists for the 1999 Lilith Fair Acoustic
Talent Search. Brooke's new album, NightLight, is an empowering adventure into
songs of this artist's life. Her vocals go from wispy soft accents to sultry
soft enchantments in her arrangements. This is an album that should be in your
collection. My personal favorites are "TimeFool", "Eclipse"
and "Seamless". The one that brings my soul to surface is "Here
and Gone". Her album is available at Tower Records Nashville and Great
Escape as well as her website, www.BrookeFox.com.
CHECK IT OUT. - Barrye Cassell.
* * *
Nashville
Scene, Nashville, TN - January 27th 2000 Critics'
Picks BROOKE
FOX. Fox, a striking vocalist whose features are set off by long strands of
pale-blonde hair, is among the many Boston-based singer-songwriters (including
Gillian Welch and Kami Lyle) to colonize the Nashville club scene in recent
years. The best cuts on her self-released NightLight
CD demonstrate a smoky, slightly slurred phrasing that calls Ricky Lee Jones to
mind. Fox unveils a new acoustic three-piece lineup at Jody's Bar Car in a
Sensored Magazine show with Vaughn Penn (The
World's Alright) and Mindy Smith. - J.R.
* * * DigitalCity.com/Nashville
Nashville, TN - January 2000 Brooke
Fox - Unique look, unique music. In a business where image can be everything, one Nashville artist is making the most of her individuality. In reference to her striking appearance, Brooke Fox has a CD titled “Nightlight,” and her publishing company “Albina Music.” Brooke doesn’t need to rely on the novelty of her look, however. Her music is both haunting and engaging. Reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, her songs contain a pop sensibility that could also link her to artists like Alanis Morisette and Stevie Nicks. Her live shows, both solo and with her band, support the talented statement her music makes. A standout song, among many, is the complex and dramatic “Eclipse.” Its chorus has a lilting build that will come back to you over and over days after hearing her play. - Widerman Music:
Alternative, Experimental, Folk, Jazz,
Pop, Rock PS:
Want to speak your mind about Brooke Fox? Click here
to add a comment to the "Your Ratings and Reviews" section of this
article. Its OK. Let it all out.
* * *
DigitalCity.com/Nashville
Nashville, TN - December 1999 Brooke
impassions her audience as few singer/songwriters can. Her poignant lyrics and
cool jazz and folk melodies have a way of grasping and surfacing dormant
thoughts buried deep within you. She artfully uses her strong, beguiling, yet
innocent voice and mastery of her acoustic guitar to meander into your spirit.
Brooke will, in the end, light your night (as her newly released CD, NightLight
so accurately suggests). Though Brooke occasionally plays with her band, her
presence and talent make her a definite "must see" when she goes solo,
accompanied by her soulful guitar. - Rebecca Malone Melo..... Categories:
Music Alternative, Music Folk, Music Jazz.
* * *
The
Tennessean, Nashville, TN - June 9th, 1999 Today's
Hot Spots - Our Picks Brooke
Fox has one of those voices that’s torchy, yet it still has some bite and
earthiness. It's a voice which she applies to mod, folky rock on her song Time Fool, to dreamy, jazzy folk on Save Me, to Carly Simon-like pop on Here and Gone, and to feisty, Alanis Morissette-type rock on Switch
It Off Fox
plays today at the Gibson Guitar Cafe & Gallery, 318 Broadway @ 8:30 p.m.
* * *
The
Reporter, Vacaville, CA (My Hometown) - June 27th 1999 Vacan
Now Living in Nashville, Celebrates First CD By
Richard Bammer, Features Writer If
you're a singer-songwriter, where else to hang your hat but in Music City USA,
good ol' Nashville? Fox,
22 and a 1998 Berklee College of Music graduate, said in a recent interview that
she migrated to Nashville "for the songwriting more than anything else, for
the community of songwriters."
And
the soft-spoken amiable, young woman has not merely been content to hang out and
hope and pray that someone notices her ability to craft sensitive, insightful
songs about life, relationships and love. Fox
recently co-produced her debut CD, "NightLight," 11 original pop-rock
songs with a crack four-piece backing unit on her own Babbling Brooke Records
label. To celebrate her first songs on disc, Fox plans two concerts in
Vacaville. The first will be from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Caffe Baci, 547
Main St. the second will begin at 7 p.m. July 11, a formal CD release party at
Alberto's restaurant, 537 Main St., Vacaville. "NightLight"
was recorded where she works part-time, New Reflections studios, over two
months. The decision to record came after nearly a year of recording dates in
small Nashville clubs. She co-produced the project with engineer Jim Lightman. Whether
performing solo or fronting her band, Fox views herself in four ways: singer,
guitarist, pianist and songwriter. Her sound - which could be likened to any
number of today's biggest country crossover stars - possesses the lean stylings
of Joni Mitchell mixed with the brittle edge of Alanis Morissette coupled with
straight-ahead acoustic guitar licks. |
"FILL
THE SKIES WITH MUSIC: SEPTEMBER CONCERT" /
"
