Brett Gleason: Thawing Nicely | Teeco71 Entertainment

I have been friends with Brett Gleason for a few years now and have always marveled at his music. ?His lyrics are deeper than many other artists. ?They seem to have a storybook quality, I often equate them to content in a great novel. ?I enjoy watching him perform and am always excited to be able to actually have a conversation with him. ?His playful intelligence is refreshing as well as eye opening.

I hope you enjoy the following Q & A session as much as I did and that you find a new artist to become a fan of in the process.

Q:?To begin, can you give us a little about your background? How long have you been interested in music? Did you know from early on that you had such talent?

A:??I grew up on Long Island, splitting my time between sports and music, mostly piano and gymnastics. I played clarinet in the orchestra, studied jazz guitar for one year, classical another before having the conviction at 13 to be a songwriter and performer.???It was years before I had the courage to ?come out? with this ambition and I?m still trying to prove myself.

Q:??I have personally always described your work as literature set to music. ?Where does that ?extra? literary element come from??

A:?Thank you, that?s a beautiful compliment.??Nothing?s more powerful than the pairing of words and sound. I love fiction and seriously studied it with the hopes of being a novelist but my temperament and skill set seem better suited for immediacy of music. There are however, many similarities in composing music and fiction mainly, the passage of time and their ability to manipulate emotions.

Q:?What emotions and images would you like to know you are evoking in your fans when they listen to your music?

A:?Complex and contradictory emotions: I believe in the inherent duality of everything, for better and worse.

Q:?Your first CD, The Dissonance was comprised of some serious material, as is Destruction and The Thawing. ?Ever think about doing a pop/dance number?

A:?Ha, not personally but I?d love someone to do a dance remix of my work.??I like taking things out of context, could be very ironic.

?Q:??Seriously, I know Tori Amos is a big influence on you. ?Who else influences you and why?

A:?Tori?s been a huge inspiration in my piano playing, helping me to embrace it as the centerpiece of my sound.??In terms of songwriting, the biggest influencers are ?The Smashing Pumpkins?.??I was obsessed with their entire catalogue throughout my teens and remain in awe; I love their larger than life sound and ambition.??My production is however, built off of the NIN/Trent Reznor philosophy that a song can be both bruising and vulnerable, abrasive and beautiful.

Q:?If you weren?t pursuing music, what other field could you see yourself working in?

A:?I?d like to think I?d stay creative, whether in other forms of production or as a writer but I also love teaching. And kids.??Dogs too.??Also politics.??Maybe journalism?

Q:?Music is not the easiest of professions. What advice would you give to anyone who was seriously considering making this their full time gig?

A:?First make it your part time gig and build on that.???Unless you?re independently wealthy you?re going to need a paycheck.??I even suggest working in a completely different field that uses a another part of your brain, it?s important to have balance and many artists who work in the industry behind the scenes hate their job and lose heart in their art.

Q:?Do you enjoy making music videos? Your songs are so full of images I can imagine it is lots of fun to put that into a story on screen.

A:?Yes! I love making videos.??It?s the best way to get inside a song because it forces me to turn abstractions into concrete visuals.

Q:?What?s up next for Brett Gleason?

A:?Being a one-man band and label, I have to take things one-step at a time.??I just released the new single and video ?Destruction? and am about to follow up with my new EP ?The Thawing?.??I?m also planning an album release show that I?m hoping to double as a fund-raiser for The Trevor Project.??Further down the line, I?d love to release the two EP?s as a full-length album on a much larger scale.

Q:?How can we follow your career, see your videos, buy/download your music? Twitter, Facebook, website, etc?

A:?My favorite page is?BandCamp?where you can stream all my music and download any kind of file directly from me. I?m pre-releasing all my new work there. Otherwise, you can connect to all my social spots via my?website, to converse on?FaceBook,?Twitter?,?Tumblr?and the rest.

Q:?What do you think of Spotify? ?Is it helpful in getting artists? exposure?

A:?For a new artist such as myself, I think it?s very helpful. Streaming is a reality and I?d rather have it on Spotify where I get a small fee, however, nominal than a place like Myspace. I dig Spotify, use it myself and even have my?music?on it.

Q:?What do you think of shows like American Idol, X Factor, and the like? ?Are they an asset or detriment to the music industry and artists?

A:?My instinct and pride say these kinds of shows are terrible for the industry and artists alike by making a corporate mill out of aspiring artists and proudly displaying what is wrong with the industry: The conviction that greatness is a math equation whose answer everybody can agree on. These shows aren?t even about producing a successful career, that wouldn?t suit the business model of having a new ?star? every season.

I encourage you to go to Brett?s links, check out his music, and get to know him a little further. ?As you can see, he doesn?t hold back much, plus I think you will find his music to be very inspiring.

Source: http://www.teeco71.com/2012/03/brett-gleason-thawing-nicely/

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