Interview with singer-songwriter Brennan

​                   "I don't know if I have a God but my mother likes to think I have hers" begins Jersey Devil, the debut solo album of Brennan, a member of the Boston MA punk rock band Dazey and The Scouts, here we find a decidedly different sound, a  mix of lo fi, tape  deck folk in the tradition of The Velvet Underground and Bill Callahan. Brennan's vocal styling has a very earnest lived-in quality which comes across in these songs as if there is  almost no separation, which is to say that we believe not only the authenticity of this music but also the voice that carries it. 


AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way?

Brennan: OH Wow wEE wWOW, music has been like a spouse to me. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I want to fucking murder it, but at the end of the day it always finds it’s way back to me. When I have a really good gig or write a good song I feel so refueled, ready to go tackle the next thing. The lows suck. They’re cold and grey, but you can change that and make really incredible art from harvesting that icky feeling. 

AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them?

Brennan: The dinner table was one of the first places I was regularly exposed to music. James Taylor was popular with the parents, paired well with pork chops. Norah Jones made the brussels sprouts go down easy. I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt knocked my socks off. Made me so damn depressed. WELCOME TO THE REST OF UR LIFE SISTER! My parents did a good job with exposing my brothers and I to important music. Not just background music. 

AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote or played? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? 

Brennan: I wrote a lot of dumb little songs all the time, still do. Especially for school, like memorizing things for tests. The first song I wrote was about a frog in the military. Still haunts me. 

AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers, teachers/mentors etc? 

Brennan: Recently, I’ve been learning a lot from my friends. Watching them practice, watching them perform, debriefing about it afterwards, etc. It’s thrilling to be able to be so chummy with these people during the day and then later that night watch them transcend and become one of the gods onstage. 

AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? 

Brennan: If YOU believe in the words you're singing, then other people will too. 

​AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture/rapture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener?

Brennan: Music is dumb !!! It’s secondary and we don’t need it in our schools !!! 

I think that music is one of the most, if not the most essential basic human connection we have. For thousands and thousands of years, people have held music on a heavenly tier. We learn from stories, from other people’s experiences. Music has the power to mold brains, so make things that matter. Or not, whatever, it’s just music, right?

AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road?

Brennan: My uncle Chris and I always have played guitar and piano together at family events and it’s so fun, it makes my heart so warm. Simple musical experiences often leave the biggest smile on my heart. 

AHC: When you set out to write a song, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell?

Brennan: I make it a priority to stay informed and updated on the state of things in the world and use music as a vehicle for that. Political Folk was my first love, so I’m into writing about things that aren’t always flowery. Though Jersey Devil was a personal love letter that wasn’t very political, I’m working on putting out more music about social issues and everyday nonsense that affects us all. Now is the time to do it! We’re in a time where words matter and actions matter, so why not use art to make your voice a little louder. 
 
​AHC: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process? Or what kinds of things have others told you that have helped push you past moments of self doubt/creative blocks?

Brennan: If you’re having writer’s bock, listen to your heroes, heroes. That’s where the good stuff is. Sometimes I let myself stray too far into the dark and dreary world of writer’s block and use it as an excuse. But the only thing that can cure it is your ass in a chair and a pen in your hand. Don’t play mind games with yourself, even though it’s tempting. 

​AHC: You just released your EP Jersey Devil last month, could you talk some about this record, how long did it take to write and put together, what the binding themes of this work are for you personally? Do you have any new projects moving forward or ideas that are percolating for the future?   

Brennan: That baby is hot, fresh and ready straight out of the WOMB like a Little Caesars pizza let me tell you! I took a little pilgrimage down to Jackson, New Jersey January 2017. My angel friend Gabe lives there and was nice enough to welcome me into his sweet hometown. There, I was introduced to Evan, the producer and head honcho at Coolman Music Productions which was the studio in the basement of The Moore House, the home of a family of three and a place of refuge to many of Jackson’s young artists. We recorded for three days and really got to focus on giving a real performance, on my own time. There were instances where it was 2 AM and we recorded on a pump organ from 1902. It was that casual energy that helped give this record that boost of character that it was crying out for. All of the songs on the record are about love, and how there are many different kinds of love. I wrote Queen Anna and Walking about a year and a half ago, and I wrote the last three very shortly before we recorded. Moving forward, I’m in the midst of writing the next record and playing some shows in support of Jersey Devil! The EP is on Spotify, iTunes, Youtube and all major streaming services!! Yeehaw! 


Jersey Devil available now via
https://brennanw.bandcamp.com/album/jersey-devil
https://play.spotify.com/album/3vXER6BR097dmpKEAoncRW 
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