IN MEMORIAM: CHRIS BROWN

Chris passed on September 23, 2010. A Thursday. I had been watching THE OFFICE when I was notified. The "Benihana Christmas" episode. 

Chris had been my student at Stone Table in my tenth year of having founded the school. He had transferred to Centennial High for his Junior year. I took him out to eat the Saturday before in Belle Meade with Brett Manning, Leah, and cousin Mike. 

I don't really want to say anything. I just want to show a few photos of Chris. In memory.

Peace and comfort to Chris' parents, siblings, and extended loved ones.

ARTIST FEATURE, KASSI MOE "BEYOND SOUND" EP

You have seen the pictures of Alaska, a showcase of innumerable mountains of stratospheric height, dizzying peaks, glaciers the size of miniature islands, variegated landscapes of grasslands, frozen tundra, rock, and ice, and thousands of miles of chilly, lonesome, tidal shorelines. Even the largest picture books on The Last Frontier with the glossiest photos cannot rightfully be called breathtaking, I have been told, unless you have been there observing key Alaska’s features from a cruise ship or by trekking the rugged landscape yourself. Alaska is a country of pristine beauty.

Having grown up in Alaska, the land of her father, Kassi Moe and her music have taken on features of that state from smooth, lead vocals to natural instrumental composition to a sweeping, panoramic beauty. Kassi’s “Beyond Sound” EP is a journey where you sail the rhythmic waves of audio landscapes, taking in inter-coastal aesthetics and acoustic features of a musical cruise. At nineteen Kassi has been living in Nashville, working on her EP with producer Taylor Carroll of Memphis fame and under the vocal instruction of Brett Manning of Singing Success.

I’ve had numerous conversations with Kassi Moe at Shabbat, various bar & grills, and during late nights at Nashville’s Sound Stage in the studio with Brett Manning, Taylor Carroll and countless others during the contribute-to-the-vibe parties that producers find so inspiring the duration of the recording process. Kassi’s album embodies an “other-worldy” quality best described as vocal-centric and chaste, perfectly matching her innocent disposition. Pensive, well-traveled, and homeschooled her whole life, Kassi underscores the themes of necessity for vision and clarity of purpose in “Beyond Sound.”

Kassi’s EP song titles share the same genome of simplicity: Clarity, New Life, This Dance, Vision, and Untitled, all titles available on itunes. Become a fan. Kassi's music can be heard on the following sites:

http://www.myspace.com/kassimoemusic

www.reverbnation.com/kassimoemusic

http://www.facebook.com/kassimoe

Also, check out Kassi Moe's official music site at http://www.kassimoe.com.

ARTIST FEATURE, "BRETT MANNING, LOVE JUSTICE"

Heartbroken. Homesick. Lost. Lovesick.  When Dante started his journey, he was standing in the shards of his shattered life, half the sands of his hourglass scattered in the wind, wondering how to put the pieces back together, how to get home. Mount Paradise (which at one point seemed doable) towered menacingly above him, posing its own sinister obstacles. Then he heard a familiar voice full of experience and empathy saying "Come with me. I've been through hell and back, and I can show you the way." To scale the peak, Dante is guided by the phantom spirit Virgil to witness unspeakable horrors in the circles of hell, to experience the purifying fires of purgatory, and to attain, as it were, new life.


When you listen to LOVE JUSTICE, Brett Manning's debut album, you hear that voice calling to you, the voice that belongs to your friend who has come to show you the way home. Truly. Brett's lyrics are an inventive roadmap through broken relationships, lost hopes, and unrequited loyalty from a guy who's found his way again and found himself stronger than before. And his voice, pure and true in every note, sends those lyrics straight to your heart. With twenty years of experience in music (most recently with his wildly successful vocal training company Singing Success and his product Mastering Mix), Brett guides his fellow musicians on LOVE JUSTICE with consummate artistry and skill. Personal vocal coach to Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Paramore's Hayley Williams, Brett Manning is a brilliant artist in his own right who at long last is taking centerstage.


And at centerstage Brett is right at home. His authentic talent shines in acoustic settings without the embellishment of production magic. Brett is one of those rare musicians who can make each member of a crowd of thousands feel like he's singing to that one alone. Whether he's wailing a power ballad or crooning a love song, Brett's honest, hard won skill and natural-born talent shine.


I have spent countless days at the Sound Stage with Brett between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 3:00 A.M. during the recording of LOVE JUSTICE and dozens of hours outside the studio, getting a grasp on the many aspects of Brett's life and the singular, tragic story from which LOVE JUSTICE was born. LOVE JUSTICE traces for listeners a psychological journey, acquainting each hearer with the various, torturous stages of loss. Several tracks on the album are among my favorites. Here is a short synopsis:


LISTEN covers the initial response to unjust accusation (which is disbelief and the subsequent desire to self-defense). Vindication seems entirely to hinge upon the accuser’s willingness to hear Brett out.


WHAT I NEED is the characteristic period of confusion in which Brett feels out of touch with ordinary desires and processes of life. Formerly dependent behavior is exchanged for a time-orientation hyper-focused solely upon the present. Future concern escalates into an unbearable anxiety resulting in sleepless nights.


ANGER considers the chronic stress of unresolved tension in which Brett graduates to the raw emotion of anger. Anger and resentment, common, kindred emotions of the wronged and bereaved, express themselves as a protest against a cruel and unfair fate.


ALREADY MINE relents the former, dominating emotion of anger, only to express deep devotion to the offending party. Though at this point in the conflict it would seem easier to jettison the relationship altogether, Brett rallies himself to his original commitment to fidelity.


CONFLICTED is the relationship at a standstill: emotional limbo. Neither of the parties are content to move the "death" of the relationship forward, content to indefinitely speculate whether or not reconciliation is possible.


BEAUTIFUL US underscores the incompatibility of the relationship with the image both had for each other at the very beginning. Shame, guilt, and regret, often found to be intertwined and overlapping realities, are abated by the possibility of recovery.


ILLUSION. Brett attempts to master stress by gathering a great deal of knowledge and information about different aspects of his loss. Applying the most intricate, forensic processes, he analyzes his misfortune.


Many more musical experiences punctuate the album like Brett’s heartfelt cover of Collective Soul’s “Heaven Let Your Light Shine Down, syncopated with the percussion of Memphis-based drummer Taylor Carroll, interlaced with the stringed expertise of Ten-Finger Orchestra guitarist Paul Allen, and graced with the vocals of the legendary Wendy Moten.


In the end LOVE JUSTICE is a field guide for the heartbroken, for the bereaved, for the accused, for the cheated upon, for the used. Brett leaves us with a sober lesson: that it takes almost superhuman effort to persuade another human against his will and that falling in love with Justice is a far better love affair. Experienced. Honest. Authentic. Empathetic. Brett's voice will lead you through an artistic, soul-searching that you will want to revisit again and again.


You can contact Brett Manning through singingsuccess.com. Here is a clip of ILLUSION from LOVE JUSTICE.

ARTIST FEATURE, "LAUREN RECTOR, I AM ROCK."

Pensacola, Florida glories in its contradictions.  Most folks who live there range from decorated war veterans of the Eastern Theater to geriatric transplants from the North.  And downtown, the stucco, clay tile, and wrought-iron Spanish architecture rubs elbows with one-story cinderblock boxes painted in colors Crayola would name “Pepto-Bismol,” “Chlorine,” and “Dreamsicle.”  Dare to wander into a house of God on Sunday, and you might be surprised that He finds Himself claimed everywhere from the strait-laced temples of fundamentalism to the electrified whirlwinds of Brownsville.  But America loves a good contradiction.

Pensacola offers the world yet another happy contradiction in the work of Lauren Rector. Look at her, and you’ll see a serious rocker graced in leather, eyeliner, and taffeta.  Talk to her, and you’ll discover a thoughtful, experienced nineteen-year-old who gets along great with her mom.  Listen to her sing, and you’ll get lost in the amazing range and strength of tone that reminds you of the power ballads you used to sing along with in the car.

Having divorced parents as a toddler, you can only imagine the kind of childhood confusion that marked her early years. Punctuated with such life experiences as the total loss of her house once to a fire and the loss of another house to Katrina, (Lauren and her mother lived in a FEMA trailer for a year after), Lauren has been steeled by suffering. But Lauren was not left alone in her struggles. She found the Brownsville revival, where she fell in love with music and found a receptive worship leader who didn’t want all the kids shipped out to Sunday school and kept quiet with graham crackers.  He asked Lauren to sing, and from the first moment she began, her talent marked her even more than her hardships had.  She still carries both those marks, and
you can see them in her work.

Big crowds energize Lauren, and she owns them.  She’s gained singing strength and stage creds at fairs and festivals where her leadership skills began carving a wider place in the world for her.  In 2006 she placed in the finals for “Emerald Coast Idol.” In 2007 she rocked out a crowd of ten thousand teens at a youth conference.  She’s covered Pat Benatar, U2, Evanescence, and Flyleaf, and she can seriously rock the socks off anything a songwriter can pitch at her.

Lauren has moved into her own as a professional vocalist and songwriter, catching the attention of vocal training coach
extraordinaire Brett Manning of Singing Success (whose clientele include the talent of Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Paramore’s Haley Williams), distinguished record producer Malcolm Springer (whose professional resume is a mile long list of Who’s Who in the music industry), and performance instructor Tom Jackson (who owns the niche field of Live Music Production).

In short, when you listen to Lauren you’re getting the best of raw, audacious talent guided by world-class professionals.  When asked to sum up her work, what is her reply? A no-nonsense "I am rock."  Utter honesty and stagecraft, innocence and maturity, strength and control, midnight black and baby pink: Lauren is an American contradiction that
works.  Just wait till you hear this girl sing!