Backstage Pass with

Backstage Pass with... Heath Brandon

Written and Directed By—

Heath Brandon makes his movies through music

By: Erin Olsen

Heath Brandon is a singer-songwriter with a different sound and big dreams. I predict great things to come from this rising star and encourage you to check out his album “Songs From The After Hours”. Its coffee house jazzy blues sound will have you tapping your toe and grooving along to clever lyrics that make you stop and think.

Tuned In Music: Many of the lyrics in "Songs From The After Hours" hit home & make your listener think, "I know just what he means!" Personally my favorite song is "Written & Directed By." What is your personal favorite out of all your songs & why?

Heath Brandon: I think we may be in agreement on this one. And to be honest, from what I’ve gathered, “Written & Directed By” seems to be a lot of people’s
favorite, myself included. Not to sound silly, but with a few songs I've written (including Written & Directed By) I will catch myself reading my own lyrics and being like "Damn, that's pretty cool...how the hell did I write that?" Which I guess is a pretty good sign that it's working.

Also my process is so sporadic and stretched out - it takes me months to write a song to really feel like it's complete. So because of that, I never fully remember when or where I wrote something...it just happens very organically.

TunedIn: In your biography that I received, you are quoted as saying "I don't write to sustain. I write as therapy." Being a writer myself, I completely understand the truth behind these words. Besides writing, what are some of your other outlets? (hobbies, etc.)

Heath: This is a great question. I found something out about myself when I was in early college - that I need specific outlets for specific emotions. In addition to music, I am also pursing an acting career. I know, I know. The infamous slash (musician/actor) but I really found that the acting thing (in particular Improv) is a way for me to release other types of emotions, feelings or messages.

For example, comedy is a big part of my life. I love "funny", I try to be it, I've been a fan of stand-up my entire life. Yet with all that
said, I could never write a jokey/funny song because that's not the mode I use to release my comedy juices. Being on stage doing improv is
exactly where I need to be to get my comedy fix. Or writing a sitcompilot, or auditioning for a comedy film.

It's like everything I want to say, I can find the right place to say it. It just so happens that all things—heartbreak, or death, or
depression—come out through music. It's interesting; I think dramatic acting is probably the closest to the way I write songs. The songs are
like mini dramatic monologues or scenes.

TunedIn: You have a sound that is lounge jazz, blues, and pop all rolled into one. It is quite refreshing to hear such a unique album. How do you describe your genre of music & how did it come about?

Heath: Jay-Z said on a fairly recent episode of Conan (O’Brien) that he breaks things into two simple categories: Good Music & Bad Music. I couldn't agree with him more. I just take what I like (or what I think is good) and throw it in the pot and hope for the best. There are no rules. It bothers me when songwriters (or anyone really) claims that there are some hard and fast rules about doing things creative. There is not, and that's kind of what I love about it. So as simple as it sounds, I think my music is really a reflection of all the things I listen to.

TunedIn: What artists do you consider your personal inspirations?

Heath: I listen to SO much music...and such different types...here is a list of what I listen to (of course I’m going to forget something) in no particular order:

Jeff Buckley, Medeksi Martin & Wood, Soulive, Radiohead, Ray LaMontagne,
The Band, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Norah Jones, Sting, Ben
Harper, Coldplay, Diana Krall, Jamie Cullum, Stephen Kellogg & The
Sixers, Citizen Cope, Marc Broussard, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Ben Folds
Five, Black Crowes, Bill Withers, Peter Cincotti, Michael Buble,
D'Angelo, Roy Hargrove, Brad Mehldau, John Scofield, The Bad Plus,
Charlie Hunter, Damien Rice, Guster, Stevie Wonder, The Roots, Rachael
Yamagata, Led Zepplin, Ollabelle, Nellie McKay ...this list could go on
forever!

I will say this...it has been a while since I was inspired and it
happened to me this past May. I heard Ray LaMontagne for the first
time. I don't know how to explain to someone who hasn't heard him, but
he's basically the leader of my new religion....yes, it's that powerful.
Go out and buy "Trouble" and see him live. I'm speechless in trying to
describe him.

TunedIn: Did you grow up in New York? Where do you consider "home"?

Heath: I grew up just outside of NYC in Suffern, NY - for the past few years I've called the Upper East Side of Manhattan in NYC my home...I love this city, and will probably be here my entire life.

TunedIn: At the age of 25 you have already made quite a name for yourself. What do you hope to be doing ten years from now?

Heath: Wow, I don't even know what I'm going to be doing next week! Seriously though, money, fame and all that aside, I just hope I'm making a living doing something I love...music, acting, both? Cast member on SNL? Who knows! That's what's so exciting.

TunedIn: I listened to the live tracks you have available at http://www.heathbrandon.com/joes/ and really enjoyed them. Do you have a new album coming out any time soon? Perhaps a live album?

Heath: I would LOVE to tell you I have a new album coming out (Songs from the After Hours is about 2 yrs old) but sadly, as of the moment it's just not an option financially. I'd be lying if I told you that getting signed so that I didn't have to pay to record a new album wasn't a goal of mine...it very much is. You just need to find the right place, and the right people.

In terms of a live album, probably not now--but I definitely plan on always making live tracks available via my website.

TunedIn: If you could tell your fans (and the public who have yet to discover you) one thing about yourself and your music what would it be?

Heath: I think just trying to grab someone's attention for a couple of minutes to really check out what I do. I hope they think it’s original, and if I'm lucky they'll think it’s pretty cool.

Best of luck to you and thanks for your time, Heath!