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BURGANDY BROWN
DENVER BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER ROLLS
‘MY LUCKY 13’ WITH AN OUTSIDE THE BOX,
GENRE-BUSTING MIX OF ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC
COUNTRY, POP, ROCK AND ALTERNATIVE TRACKS
A Senior at The University Of Colorado at Denver,
Brown Balances School And A Full Slate of Club, Fair and
Charity Gigs As An Unprecedented Five Singles Receive
AC, Hot AC, Rock And Country Airplay Everywhere From The
West Coast To The Virgin Islands
The striking cover of Burgandy Brown’s (www.myspace.com/Burgandybrown)
debut CD My Lucky 13 shows her in fully defiant, cowgirl
mode against a backdrop of Stars & Stripes, like a
female equivalent of tough country rocker Toby Keith.
But ask anyone who’s seen the singer-songwriter and her
kickin’ band play on their home turf in the Denver area
– this is just one side of her eclectic musical
personality.
Brown grew up on her grandparents’ Colorado farm
listening to their Elvis, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and
Hank Williams, Jr. albums as well as her mom’s
Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Alice in Chains and Def Leppard
discs. Completely defying conventional musical industry
wisdom that says an artist must choose only one genre,
she combines elements from all these influences into a
dynamic 13-track recording that’s got it all. It’s
country, pop, rock, and alternative, with rustic,
romantic acoustic numbers keeping company alongside some
blistering electric guitar-driven barnburners.
Daring to think outside the box and follow her own
instincts, Brown captures the trailblazing spirit of
many of today’s indie artists and creates her own new
wave of music. And it’s paying off big time. Since the
radio campaign for My Lucky 13 began in August, an
incredible, unprecedented total of five singles have
been getting significant airplay in different parts of
the U.S. and as far away as the Virgin Islands in a
multitude of formats—Hot AC, AC, Rock, Top 40 and
Country.
Folks on the East Coast are hearing the beautiful ballad
“Out Here” and the feisty post-breakup song “Set It
Off,” while Midwesterners are enjoying the optimistic
toe-tapper “Basics” and “Lady Like,” a jamming ode to
Brown’s lifelong pride over being a tomboy at heart.
West Coast listeners are enjoying the summery nostalgia
of “Slip N Slide.” Brown also has a major support system
in Denver’s local country station 92.5 The Wolf, which
earlier this year asked her to be the evening’s
entertainment at a party welcoming their new morning
DJs. On Friday, October 6, she and her band are playing
at Braun’s Bar as part of a station sponsored pre-show
warm up for the Alan Jackson/Brooks & Dunn concert at
the Pepsi Center.
Earlier this year, Brown released a teaser mini-EP
called Two For The Road that featured her pedal to the
metal acoustic stomper “Basics” (which she calls a
hopeful, post-breakup song) and the heartfelt
inspirational acoustic ballad “Risk.”
Crossing genres and wearing different hats, literally
and figuratively, onstage is a piece of cake compared to
the way Brown balances her busy slate of club, fair and
charity gigs, two part time jobs and a full course load
as a senior sociology/poli sci major at the University
of Colorado at Denver. Her regular haunts include
Herman’s Hideaway, The Bluebird and Cervantes and she
recently performed at a fundraiser for St. Jude’s
Children’s Hospital.
“My life these days incorporates a lot of different
exciting things, which is very much reflected in my
eclectic approach to making music,” she says. “I think
the album’s versatility makes me relatable to people. No
matter the style, though, I write and sing from real
life experiences, hardships I’ve gone through and things
I’ve witnessed with my friends and family. I’m only 22,
but because I’ve already gone through so many good and
bad times, I’m able to tell good stories through the
songs and people can hear that I’m singing from the
heart.”
Brown, who recorded her first EP Eastern Plains right
out of high school in 2004, says she’s also a fan of rap
music and recently wrote some rap and hip-hop tunes that
may make the cut on a future recording. “The whole thing
is that I don’t limit myself as a songwriter,” she says.
“My passion for many different kinds of music plays a
vital role because I’ll often force myself to write
outside my usual comfort zone. I think by going against
the grain on My Lucky 13, my band and I have done
something that no one else has, taking the best material
we have and putting it out there. It’s kind of scary in
a way to do that, but to me being an artist is about
more than fitting into a cozy little box. It’s about
expressing who I am completely. And I’m encouraged by
all the radio play because it shows that people are
paying attention.”
The singer’s partner in musical crime in all of the good
fortune coming from The Lucky 13 is her longtime friend,
guitarist Bryan Dennis, who wrote three songs on the
album and co-wrote seven with Brown. The core of her
live band is Dennis and drummer EJ Worden, who are both
about a generation older than Brown and began playing in
a local band together when the singer was still in
pigtails and preschool. They played the metal/rap of the
day in the 90s, released two recordings as “Hippie
Werewolves” and toured the U.S., sharing stages with No
Doubt, Sublime, 311, Everclear and Corrosion Of
Conformity.
“I love working with these guys and they’re like my
uncles in addition to being great collaborators,” says
Brown. “They were part of a previous band that my mom
worked with when she was a rock concert promoter. I
actually went on tour with them when I was six. We
crossed paths again about four years ago and started
working on my project. Originally, I was resistant to
the idea of writing with someone else, but having worked
with Bryan these past few years, I can’t imagine
maturing this much as a songwriter without him.
“We work and compose so well together,” she adds. “His
strengths are with the music and coming up with
interesting guitar parts, and lyric-wise, he comes up
with themes that I could never think of on my own. This
is complemented perfectly by my passionate and personal
writing style, and he likes the melodic lines I come up
with for him to follow. We called the album My Lucky 13
not only for the number of songs and the amount of
stripes on the American flag but also because we were
determined to be different, so the number that’s unlucky
for most people would be lucky for us!”
Burgandy, whose name was inspired by her mom’s love for
Tommy Bolin’s 1976 rock chestnut “Sweet Burgundy,” says
that she’s looking forward to graduating school next
year and keeping her career momentum going. “In all
honesty, I want to make music for the rest of my life
and make a decent living from it,” she says. “I have
such a gypsy soul and I can see myself getting out there
on the road, playing for audiences in many different
places. I’m also proud of my evolution as a writer and
artist. When I listen back to some of the early demos I
made in high school and think back to my first gig at
The Bluebird, there’s a 180 degree shift with me and the
band, and it’s exciting to see this kind of growth. The
coolest part now is waiting for the next best thing to
happen.”
www.burgandybrown.com |
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