BRANDT Perspective on GOOD DIE YOUNG

Listening to my dad's tracks on a walkman cassette player was the most exciting thing in the world to me as a kid. I went through dozens of his cassettes studying every note and lyric. It was a connection that helped me understand who my dad was. This love for music is what still influences me to this day. 

BRANDT is a country rock artist originally from Arizona. BRANDT moved to Nine Mile Falls, Washington after the passing of his father, Jesse Fanion—a respected country artist from the 90s.

With every track, BRANDT invites listeners into a world where where the stories of small-town life are celebrated through epic harmonies and heartfelt lyrics.

I started performing publicly when I was 7 years old in choir groups and singing at church in my early years. I started my first band at 14. My first album was self produced at 17, which didn't sound great, but nonetheless it was a major accomplishment at the time. Since then, I've written hundreds of songs and continue to focus on writing songs that capture life stories in a way that only music can. 

This song, specifically, GOOD DIE YOUNG, is the story of my dad's journey as a professional Country Artist in the 90s. He decided to quit smoking so he could save up enough money to buy a plane ticket to Nashville. He was invited to play at the Bluebird Cafe. Back then, artists could get discovered in listening rooms by major record execs. Shortly after, he landed a deal with Capitol Records. A couple of years later, he was diagnosed with Melanoma and passed away at the age of 35. I was too young to remember what his speaking voice sounded like, so I got to know him through his music. This original track is a true story about what I believe my dad's message would be to us all who have ever had a dream. 

Country, pop country, rock

HARDY and ERNEST. Those guys are major inspirations for me and I'd give anything to write with them. They seem like a great hang, but also their writing styles are brilliant, and I can relate to their stories. 

I listened to a lot of rock growing up in addition to country. I was in the rock space for many years, and while I've written a few country songs prior, my early influences outside of my dad's music were mostly rock based. There's something about that epic raw  and edgy tone paired with huge harmony vocals and layers of guitars that just can't be beat. So my style largely reflects these two major influences, 90s country, and 2000s rock. I haven't heard a lot of country artist go for a gigantic wall of sound with layered harmonies, so I'm excited to see where this goes. 

GOOD DIE YOUNG. It captures the story of my latest album REFLECTIONS and ties the whole story together. I originally designed the album to be a chronological story with a couple love songs in the mix. I did a few covers of my dad's tracks on the album, (lowercase titles), that I'm aldo proud to have released because they came out great. I've tried for years to get them to sound decent but my dad was so damn good, it was difficult to produce a result that was anywhere near the caliber that he had put out in the originals. GOOD DIE YOUNG is a great song, and it resonates with many people in different ways. 

Live. There's nothing like telling your deepest, most vulnerable stories in a song to a close group of genuine fans. A lot of personal growth is required to be authentic when performing, especially when the stories come from a rough upbringing, but I'm glad to be able to share these stories, and I know many people will benefit from them. 

The only thing I wanted to be as a kid was a Rockstar. As I got older and found success in many things, I've come to realize that success to me is inner peace and genuine happiness. Waking up and being excited about the next project or idea, and sharing new music with fans makes me happy. Wherever it ends up, I'm not sure, but I stopped trying to predict the future, a long time ago and life seems to be a lot better that way. But, I can say that music is something that is a deep part of my identity, so I'm confident I'll be making music and putting on great shows until I'm no longer physically able to. 

I had a lot of self doubt when I was younger because I didn't "fit in" with an average group. But in some ways, it's benefited me because I spent much of my time as a kid learning to write music and play guitar and sing. I also grew up in a town of about 5000 people, and I didn't realize until I moved what a small town I had grown up in compared to the heavily populated cities throughout the US. Moving to Nashville took a lot of adjusting, but I did my best to make connections and work my way through it. I got into real estate sales, which helped me develop business accumen and communication skills that translated to other areas of success years later. I think that experience has contributed to me releasing this new album, REFLECTIONS, after "finding my voice" and learning how to communicate those stories of humble beginnings in an isolated environment, in a way that resonates with listeners. I remind myself that life is a journey, not a destination. That seems to help. 

Sometimes I'll listen back on my old music, or watch videos from early years, and see a lot of small embarassing moments, but I think it's important that I'm not too critical of where I started because everytime I've released a new song or played a show, I study it and figure out what I can improve. So naturally, at some point, everything becomes "embarassing." I think building a reputation on authenticity affords artists that flexibility of the occasional snafu like a wardrobe malfunction or some interview clip taken of context, or whatever else it might be.  The only way out is forward. 

I earned a degree in Audio Engineering. When I moved to Nashville, I used my skills in Audio engineering to make connections with artists and music business professionals. I also co-produce music to this day. The experience I developed in school and on the job helped me to write and produce better music. 

Be authentic, be true to yourself and your fans will find you. I spent much of my life "masking" trying to find my identity as a neurodivergent man in a world without familial support, and without a lot of friends or good examples. I thought that for me to get out of the life I had been dealt, it required me to reinvent myself. But I've always come back to my roots. I've learned that being a better version of myself means seeking to understand other perspectives, learning to listen and be kind, and staying true to my core principles. But most importantly, I've learned that when I am true to myself, the best music and performances are made. This is the kind of content I want to share with my fans. 

Writing and playing music has got me through the darkest moments of my life. I also feel a duty to share music the way my dad did. I didn't really know him outside of his connection with music, but for me, it's enough and I'm at peace with that, because, for me, music is an outlet to tell the best and worst of life's stories in a way that words by themselves can't convey. When a melody fits perfectly with the lyrics, there's a synergistic magic that happens that resonates universally. It's one reason that a person can listen to a song in a foreign language and still pick up on the vibe of the song without knowing a single word. Said plainly, I wouldn't really know what life would be like without writing and playing music. It's not so much an ambition as it is an identity. 

I want to write the best damn music I can and reach my fullest potential as a songwriter and performer. My goal is to make great connections to continue to build my fan base, but I believe the world is due for a few more timeless classics. Even with 100,000+ new songs being released everyday, there's still room for songs that will still be remembered 5,6,7+ generations from now. That's what I'm chasing. 

I have a lot of influences, ranging from artists like Heart to Toby Keith, but it would make sense to put me on playlists with HARDY, Cody Johnson, and Morgan Wallen.

Yes, I make time in the morning to write and sing every day. Even the best in the business had to put the reps in, and I'm no exception. Every song released needs to be at little better than the last. I've had the opportunity to work with Jacob Burton at Burton Studios in Nashville for close to a year, which has dramatically changed my singing ability. It holds me accountable to small weekly goals, but it's made me a better songwriter as well because the unique style I have with layered harmonies requires an extensive range and vocal control. 

My lyrical style is introspective in nature because I focus so heavily on authentic storytelling. I have to be able to "see" the song playing out in my mind, so you'll notice that most of my originals follow a hero's journey type of format, often used in cinema. Basically, I write songs like short story movies, so there are many themes within one song held together by the melody.  In NEVER LOVIN' YOU, the first phrase in verse 1 (scene 1) is "this oak porch, stained (cigarette) ash and jack (daniels), told our truth in these adirondacks (chairs on the oak porch), we've got history, yeah, we've got history." Within 4 lines, I set the scene, and set up the rest of the song to build on the "history" of the relationship. Basically the hero (singer) is reflecting (tying back to the album name) on their experience in the relationship not going according to plan, but in the end, they have the realization that it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. This is one example, but most of my songs have several central themes as a result of my writing process and style. 

Well, someone is going to be the first artist to perform on Mars. All jokes aside, I'd say a set that accurately portrays the stories of the songs as a fully immersive experience. I'm excited to see where new tech takes live performances. I would love to play on stage with legendary artists in big arenas, but playing at Bluebird and Opry has always been a bucket list experience for me, and if I ever get the chance, I wouldn't hesitate to take it.