Want to get excited for Rites? Enter Brett Dennen- the newest folk-pop singer-songwriter to hit the scene, and conveniently for Vandy students, the Rites of Spring stage. The up-and-coming crooner takes time out from his busy touring schedule to chat with our resident music connoisseur Matt Reynolds, who is known by the Inside Vandy community as "thebelmontcritic." Read on and get excited.
TBC: For those who have never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
BD: I would say it's kind of like an old friend that you haven't talked to in a while but you know you still love them. It makes you feel good. It's easy to listen to and get along with, but it's also has a certain level of depth to it that touches you deep down inside. People can connect with it because it's from the heart. I don't try to sing about light issues that are superficial, but I try to write about things that really matter.
TBC: Where is your heart with music? Are you more into touring and being out playing shows or do you prefer songwriting?
BD: My heart really is in being creative and writing songs. But I also do like to tour and it's great. The best thing about touring is singing from my heart while other people are connecting with me. If I weren't singing and writing my own songs, I wouldn't want to be out on the road just to play music. For me, it's really about connecting with people through playing my own music.
TBC: How do you feel about the way the music industry is set up today, specifically the clash between art and business?
BD: The music industry is what it is. It's always been that way, it's always been business-shady people working in the business who make decisions based on making money and what's best for them, instead of what's actually good for the soul. It'll always be that way.
I think at this point the music business is in a good place, because a lot of artists are proving they can do it and be successful without the "business," with Myspace and the Internet. I do a lot of business, but I'm not in it for the business. I have a great couple of managers and a great agent who all like to do business and I leave a lot of that up to them.
It makes you feel like a hypocrite when you play music for the love of music but you're always having to make decisions on how much money you're going to make. It can get pretty greedy and scandalous out there, but I don't let any of that business crap interfere with my creative process at all. I let music be music and business be business.
TBC: Who are some artists you are really into that are doing it for the art and not for the dollar sign?
BD: I think Mason Jennings is a perfect example of that. I think Ben Harper is another example of that. They're both into making their music and not worried about radio or being on MTV. They're into connecting with people one show at a time, one town at a time. They both seem unaffected by the spotlight.
TBC: What determines whether you like an artist?
BD: I look for artists that are truly authentic and true to themselves. When they give it all they've got and it comes from the heart, that's always undeniably good - whether it's country, one song about sitting around a fire and rock, pop, or reggae. It's not necessarily something you hear but really something you feel.
Some people play music and they're just playing notes but some people play music and they have soul - they play with emotion and feeling, opening themselves up to let their true selves out. That's what it's all about - honest music has the most authenticity and integrity. You can really feel it.
The band Feist has a song about taking a walk with a pig. It's called "Mushaboom." The way that she plays and sings it - it's her all the way. It doesn't matter what you sing about or what you play, if you're into it you open yourself to it. That's what makes music so political and spiritual. You go to a different place when you sing it and you can take the listener to a different place.
TBC: Where would you really like to see yourself in the next 10 years and how do you want people to remember you after you career is over?
BD: I don't necessarily want to be an icon or someone who's won a bunch of Grammy's. I want to be the kind of artist where people say, "Brett Dennen is special. You can always count on him to be true to himself and sing about love. He always put a positive message out into the world, uniquely and incomparably." I think I'll always be special to my fans because of what my songs mean to them and how they make people feel.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Brett Dennen Interview.mp3 | 10.45 MB |
