Breaking In and Breaking Out

Yesterday I spent the day with Brendan James and his manager Ben Singer. His first full-length album was released on Universal today, and I documented them going around New York City for rehearsals and interviews.

I’ve worked with Brendan before (click for my old blog post) and he’s an incredible talent. He recently got a rave review from love-him-or-hate-him celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. You can take a listen and buy the album on iTunes.

I started at a rehearsal studio where he was putting the finishing touches on the set list for the big CD release show on Wednesday at the Highline Ballroom. It felt like it was 110 degrees in there, but the foursome sounded great.

From there we jumped on the subway down to the West Village for a video interview with UncensoredInterview.com. Because it’s “uncensored,” the producer told Brendan he could say anything and even (gasp!) use bad words if he wanted to. It’s just not his style to curse, though, so it was never even an issue. I did find out that he likes to wacth UFC, which is a bit surprising for such a gentle guy.

From there, they made one stop to pick up the posters for the new CD and and then went over to the Waldorf Astoria in Midtown where he did a live performance on the Fox Business show “Happy Hour.” It’s a bit of an odd set-up as it takes place in the hotel bar while actual patrons mill around and drink. Every time Brendan sings though, he attracts more fans and I think some of the business people in the bar might turn up at tomorrow’s show.

A few years ago after Brendan moved to New York City, he would sneak into hotel ballrooms to play the piano. Most of the time he was kicked out, but sometimes he’d get a couple hours of practice time in before anyone realized he wasn’t supposed to be there. He even called his old EP “Ballroom Break-In.”

We had some time to kill before his TV gig at the Waldorf, so Brendan and I snuck away and went in search of a piano. There was some big convention in the hotel, so most of the ballrooms were being used. But we stumbled into one on the top floor of the hotel. With the light streaming in from the windows, I got a ten-minute private performance.

He actually came up with a song while in the ballroom and used my phone to leave himself a voicemail message with the tune. He’s done this before because he has a super secret Maxwell Smart recording method where he puts the phone on his shoe. Apparently if he puts the phone right on the piano it will rattle around as he plays.

It’s exciting to document this time in Brendan’s life and career. It doesn’t seem like much, but one day we might look back and laugh when we see photos of him carrying his keyboard into the hotel and playing in a bar in front of 50 people or so (even though the show was on live national TV). It’s not a stretch to imagine a day in the not-too-distant future when roadies will unload his piano from a semi into an arena.

* Added on 7/1/08 — Check out Brendan’s video for the song “Green.” Awesome.

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