“When I was young, I used to walk in the woods singing songs and throwing rocks to scare the deer to their deaths. My dad would station himself on one side of the bluff as I walked around the other side hoping to kick the deer out to him so that we could have dinner for a year.”
Holly Brook was raised in the tiny rural town of Mazomanie, which lies in an un-glaciated area of Wisconsin. The intensely green and humid summers offer a wealth of severe storm systems and clouds of mosquitoes until autumn brings its dazzling display of colors and a relieving chill. Most striking of all are the desperately cold winters that strip the trees and lacquer their skeletons with ice. Growing up in tune with such natural surroundings has had a profound effect on the way Holly perceives the world. Hunting for wild game, as expressed in her memory, is a completely normal thing to do in Wisconsin. But she wasn’t a very normal kid. She was not popular in school and never had a favorite color. But from day one, Holly Brook knew what she wanted to do.
The stage became Holly Brook’s home away from home at the age of six when she and her mom teamed up as folk duo, Generations. They performed at all the appropriate public places and private functions but more importantly, they created and recorded their music. By the time Holly was fifteen she had three albums under her belt and was working on her first solo recording. She had branched off from folk music into pop and jazz, working with some of the most esteemed players in the Madison, Wisconsin area, including Leo Sidran, son of the jazz and pop icon Ben Sidran. She was moving in new circles that were beginning to ripple out into the world.
At seventeen, several musical colleagues and a psychic medium advised Holly to move to Los Angeles. It didn’t take much prompting as she left her schooling to pursue her dream. Not long after hitting the L.A. scene she befriended Jon Ingoldsby, a producer with some big-time names to his credit (Madonna, Elton John). Ingoldsby soon became her producer and boyfriend. The series of events that would develop over the next couple of years are every stardom-seeker’s dream. Holly landed a recording deal with Machine Shop Records, a new label put together by Linkin’ Park. The label was the launching pad for Linkin’ Park front man Mike Shinoda’s solo outing, Fort Minor. Holly provided vocals for the single, “Where’d You Go,” a smash hit that soared to 2 on the Billboard charts and landed Fort Minor a Video Music Award. When the group made an appearance on The Tonight Show on May 24, 2006, Holly nearly stole the show with her sensuous and pleading voice as she played the piano. In the meantime, Ingoldsby and Machine Shop were working with Holly, readying her first major recording for release.
"Like Blood Like Honey" was released on June 6, 2006 and Holly landed many opening spots for tours with well known acts including Jamie Cullum, KD Lang, and also Duncan Sheik, who invited her to join him in his sets as well. The timing seemed perfect but this is precisely when things began to unravel. Her album failed to get any promotion and Holly became dissatisfied with her label. Near the end of 2006 she asked for release, a motion that stalled her career for two years while legalities were worked out. During these years, she continued to tour and work with Sheik on various projects. She also wrote and recorded for a follow up record with Jon Ingoldsby. However, as time passed, hope for the end of her legal battle was lost. The outpour of material began to wane, and her relationships suffered. By the end, she was penniless and living off of stolen fruit from neighbors’ trees. She slept in a closet of a rental infested with black widows, and writers block became her dark reality. Walking late at night, reading books like Harry Potter and the Twilight series, listening to artists like Aqualung and Bjork, and watching movies like "Into the Wild" and "Lawn Dogs" were the only things that could help her to remember to dream. Disillusioned and sitting on a pile of half finished songs, Holly was alone in the grey unknown. But for once in her life, she felt completely independent, and if she could get through it, that meant she could get through anything.
The continuing support from her fans is what finally made it possible for her to climb out of the depths. One soldier stationed in Korea and a Costco manager in California put up large sums of money to help Holly make a new record. Then one of her biggest fans of all, Duncan Sheik, offered his production services to finish the record. With this new light, music began pouring out as Holly finally broke free of her creative block. Not only did she have means to complete her second record, but she also teamed up with musical cohorts and began a number of side projects. "Collaborating and supporting fellow artists is where its at," she says, "We are all crazy and we all need each other." These collaborative efforts include electro rock band, Deep Deep Sleep, hip hop influenced, Perverts in Love, and the beginning of a music partnership of sorts with Sky White Tiger. She also provided vocal tracks for Sheik’s newest recording, "Whisper House", which was released in January of 2009 and is already garnering rave reviews.
Though it may seem late to others, the completion of Holly's new album, "O’Dark Thirty," is happening at just the right time. "It's taken years to finish this record because I've not settled for anything less than these songs deserve. I wasn't about to put them out prematurely." A year ago when the songs were just demos, people told her the record was done. She didn't agree. Sticking to her guns, she waited until the right opportunities arose, and they did. Following the tracking sessions in 2009, she was told once again that the record was done, but she was not satisfied with the mix. With a clear vision of what she wanted the record to sound like, she traveled to upstate NY and mixed the record with Michael Tudor.
As the finishing touches are being applied, Holly has a new optimism and a new lease on life. "These songs were created in the witching hours of my life. I wasn't really sure what time it was, but the sky was certainly black." The title "O’Dark Thirty," is a seafarer reference to very late at night, or very early in the morning, which is Holly's most creative time of day. In this new dawn, Holly has decided on a favorite color: grey. Nothing has been simply black and white in her life and grey represents possibilities and hope.
That's the problem... my computer got screwed up and now I wanna prevent from downloading it in case it comes with a virus (my dad's cheap, so he doesn't wanna buy an anti-virus)
What the best way to break into the European music market is.
Here are some things you can do:
Advertise in the following print magazines in Germany: Living Line Dance, reporting about line dance and country music, and Folk Magazin, reporting about folk and country music. The magazines have a high reputation in Germany and thousands of readers. If you would like to contact the publishers of the magazines to request more information about advertising, please send me an e-mail at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de
If you have more questions about the European music market or about any of the information I send to you today, please contact me at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de too.
Last but not least, join my buddy list on the following profiles and add me to your Top Friends:
Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 171 6903352 E-Mail: Ch.Lamitschka@t-onine.de E-Mail: Info@CountryMusic-Magazin.de www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Thanks for accepting my friend request. It is an honor to be your friend.
I like your sound. Keep up the great work!
"Never Stop The Beat!"
Wishing you a Prosperous 2010 Year.
You can also find me at: www.myspace.com/lewystix
"Lewy is currently involved in playing drums for The Exitwound Project and will be touring with Lemon James in 2010. Come out and see us! I am also available for recording with many others."
Also, please be sure to check out "Lewy's" new project to help drummers and their favorite charities called "Drum Solo Cards" at www.drumsolocards.com and www.myspace.com/drumsolocards
You can also find "Lewy Stix" and "Drum Solo Cards" on Facebook! Tell your friends and send all the drummers that you know to look them up.
Best wishes to you and yours for this holiday season and throughout 2010! May you leave all your worries behind in 2009 and only take the happiest memories into the New Year!
Hey Dollcakes, Thanks for the add! Please be sure to check out my music. Also, I'm on Twitter (www.twitter.com/mialeblon) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/mialeblon). Stop by and say hi! xoxo, m
Hey HB! I don't get over here too much any more, but I had to let you know that "Winter in Me" is fantastic. Makes me think of "Secrets of the Beehive" Brilliant.
Hello, hope you're well. Just dropping by to wish you a happy new year and to let you know that LEARN TO SWIM, my new album is now also available on CD Baby. Any comments on the new album are much appreciated :-) Cheers, Agnes
hey holly, love your music. was realllyyyy looking forward to seeing you at the toys for tots benefit in harlem earlier this month but heard something went wrong. :( was it cancelled?
Thanx for the support!...hope ya enjoy the tunes and can come out to a show some time; got alota BIG ones comin up in NC, played on the Killers Never Die Tour[w/ Trauma Deville(amazing frontman Davey Suicide), Sore Eyes, and gASOLINE recently & also a benefit concert including WITHIN THE RUINS (Victory Records) & Monsters..many more great shows lined up including a return show w/ Sore Eyes in Murfreesboro, NC in Feb...All show info to include date, time, directions, bands, and cost is further explained on the show calendar towards the top of this myspace profile. If all goes as planned I'll be with an indie label out of NC in Jan unless a better offer comes along, so hopefully touring the states, coming to a town near you soon!...stay tuned for updates, most likely playing Myrtlefest 2010 & possibly even on the Van's Warped Tour in 2010...it's gonna be a BIGGG yr for me!!...feel free to stop by the page if ya ever need any words of advice, need a shoulder to lean on, or just wanna chat
P.S.= It'd mean alot to me if you pick up a track or two off my cd on itunes/rhapsody,napster, or amazon.com; just search for the artist title as "redmeansGO!"...& you can follow me on twitter at twitter.com/reddmeansgo or search for reddmeansgo in the "find people" box
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