From her expressive lyrics to her captivating videos, Brooke Josephson proves she is a force to be reckoned with. She chased her dream of becoming a singer and actress to New York where she started in theater and later worked on All My Children (ABC), Bones (FOX), Disney’s Enchanted, LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (WB), GOOD GIRLS, (NBC) and many more. After settling down with her husband, TV/Film Producer, Barry Josephson and earning her Masters in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music, Brooke self-released her debut EP Live and Let Live in 2013.
Brooke’s latest single, Rainbow comes from her first self-produced EP, Showin’ Up, which is set to be released Fall 2021. The single was mixed by Grammy and Oscar winning engineer, Brendan Dekora, and features Brooke’s daughter Shira, as well as The MUSYCA Children’s Choir, who performed at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Brooke about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Hi Brooke! Where are you originally from and where do you currently live and how would you describe the style of music you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m originally from Warsaw, Indiana and currently reside in Los Angeles, California. I honestly love bending genres depending on the song I’m writing, it’s message and the emotion driving the lyrics. Beck’s Odelay album heavily influenced my last EP, Sexy N Domesticated to express a sardonic sass through the tongue and cheek lyrics addressing gender roles, whereas my next EP, Showin Up, that features my latest single, Rainbow has a universal pop/rock sound to fit the universal lyrical themes.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Self-expression. I grew up singing in church and was raised on a diet of censorship where I felt pressure to conform since I was only allowed to listen to Christian music, which I still enjoy, I just knew that there was a bigger world. So I spread my wings to NYC after college, where I lived in Harlem while performing in musicals and I fell in love with not only performing but found writing my own music liberating. I went back to school shortly after my daughter was born to earn my Masters in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music and I’m equally driven by my family and my inner voice.
How is this new single release “Rainbow” different than previous single releases? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
The Rainbow release is different since it’s the single from my first self-produced EP, Showin’ Up to be released fall of 2021. It was also my first release after the pandemic cancelled all of my live shows that were ramping up for the release originally scheduled for June 2020. It was a rough year for artists and bands and I just really took the time to practice mindfulness and listen to the world around me throughout 2020 which had a huge influence on the visual message of the Official Rainbow Music Video, that’s all about unity and the human spirit rising above the darkest of times.
Name one or two challenges you face as an independent musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
2020 was an epic year for Dua Lipa. I remember hearing her Future Nostalgia album right before the lockdown hit and it had that disco vibe that’s fun and hopeful that really carried many of us through 2020. We also watched her and other artists on major labels performing as if we weren’t in a global pandemic, which I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit of a mind game to be on lockdown as an independent artist, parent of two, who was uber conscious of covid and not ready to jeopardize my children’s safety to selfishly say, “the show must go on.” However, as all indie artist’s know, the internet is our friend. 2020 might have cancelled shows, but I leaned into filming myself doing “cloned cover songs” where I played bass, piano, and guitar along with background vocals in videos that were fun challenge and got some traction on social media.
What was the last song you listened to?
Lost by Dermot Kennedy. He’s an incredible Irish singer songwriter. This song is truly flawless.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyls. Nothing beats the sound of Vinyl.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
From a consumer stand point: Spotify. It’s obvious that they took over by capitalizing the flaws of iTunes, Pandora, pretty much any streaming service to basically provide music lovers with the best interface for streaming and downloading music on a subscription platform. The quality of the sound is better than the tinny compressed sound on all the other streaming services as well.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music so our fans can find you?
I love Instagram. I find that it’s a positive social media atmosphere. You can also message me through my website www.brookejosephson.com
Anything else before we sign off? Tell us what may be happening for you for the remainder of 2021.
I’m currently in Ireland visiting my husband who is producing the sequel to Disney’s ENCHANTED, which we met on in 2006, so it’s a bit of a reunion with the cast and I’m playing the voice of the animated Fairy in the film. Then, I look forward to releasing another single from my upcoming EP this October followed by the EP release show being my first live show with my band in November.
