Америкалық әнші-әндер авторының өмірі мен шығармашылығы

American singer songwriter

Omnivore Recordings combined with dense vocal harmonies and revealing literate lyrics that occasionally draw on vaudeville, music hall, mythical, and biblical themes. In 2016, Brennan released her first full length studio album (Debutante) to significant acclaim, landing on numerous best of 2016 lists including the Village Voice Pazz & Jop list. Her second studio album (Third) was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis and was released via Omnivore Recordings on April 21, 2017.

Brennan was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised by her great grandmother, a Thoroughbred horse racing seamstress. She began writing songs as a child; lacking in musical training, she sang songs into a simple cassette recorder, and eventually began her performance career while beginning a gender transition in her teens. After multiple incidents of violence, she stopped performing publicly for nearly two decades. In 2009, reflecting on her 90s work, Curve declared that Brennan "almost became the first great transgender rock star". Brennan was interviewed by Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace in episode 3 of Grace's AOL Originals series "True Trans". Before returning to music, she pursued careers in journalism, screenwriting and acting.

Encouraged by friends who had heard her songs, Brennan returned to live performance in 2012, and quickly received praise for her work; Village Voice Media's Serene Dominic praised her as a "smart, melodic singer songwriter", and an early live performance and interview with Brennan was featured on the KAET/Tempe Center for the Arts public television concert series "Songwriters Showcase", which premiered on PBS stations in fall 2013. The Arizona Republic praised the "cinematic sweep" of her songs. Java Magazine's Mitchell Hillman echoed that praise, calling Brennan "a great musician and a formidable writer", and author Neil Gaiman praised her cover version of David Bowie's Five Years as "glorious". While her lead vocals generally hover in the mid tenor, Brennan has a five octave range and sings all the background harmonies on her albums. Her debut album, Debutante, was co produced by Brennan and Fernando Perdomo, a producer and rock artist who also co produced Linda Perhacs' widely acclaimed 2014 album The Soul of All Natural Things for Sufjan Stevens' Asthmatic Kitty records, and has performed with Fiona Apple, Beck, Todd Rundgren and Jakob Dylan. Perdomo and Brennan met as fellow artists on the International Pop Overthrow festival in 2012, and quickly became friends; Brennan appears in Perdomo's "Smile" music video. The album was recorded in five days. Brennan funded the initial production of the album through Kickstarter and exceeded her funding goal in just 69 hours. During the campaign, Brennan received social media support from Laura Jane Grace, Neil Gaiman, James Urbaniak and John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. The first track released from Debutante was "Dear Arthur", which was featured as a Paste exclusive premiere in mid January 2016. Presenter Ros Barclay of CamGlen Radio in Glasgow was the first terrestrial radio broadcaster to play the song. WFMU presenter Evan "Funk" Davies was an early champion of Brennan and Debutante, giving the record its first US terrestrial radio airplay and frequently playing numerous tracks from the album on his eponymous show. The album received widespread acclaim, landing on multiple year end best of lists including the Village Voice Pazz & Jop list; writing in PopDose, Keith Creighton said Debutante " is right up there with the great 'drenched in blood, sweat & tears, leave everything on the table, conquer the world' albums like Against Me! 's New Wave, Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction, Green Day's American Idiot and Smashing Pumpkins' Gish." American Songwriter's Peter Gerstenzang said "Debutante depicts an artist remarkably conversant with the last forty years of Pop, who is able to blend her influences and obsessions into one glimmering musical gem after another." Describing the experience of listening to her music in the wake of David Bowie's passing, he said "Now that we have lost that glorious weirdo, David Bowie, it's also nice to know that a new one, Cait Brennan, is hovering into view which feels like a bit of solace for those of us who felt Bowie's loss so keenly. In other words, it's nice to have a new songwriter out there, who is so out there." The Arizona Republic's Ed Masley said "This pop classicist has packed her first album with songs that marry timeless hooks to introspective lyrics. Setting the tone with the wistful, Mccartney esque intro of "Good Morning and Goodnight", the singer delivers an album that should speak to several generations of power pop enthusiasts, whether they cut their teeth on Big Star and the Raspberries or Teenage Fanclub in the '90s. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinels Jon M. Gilbertson said the album "deserves as much attention for its mid 1970s eloquence as for the fact that Brennan is transgender and 46." Writing for Rust, Eric Peterson said "Cait Brennan's music is as powerful and individual as she is, and Debutante is an example of an artist putting everything they have into their work." A live album, From The City Of New York, was recorded at Rockwood Music Hall in February 2016 on the abbreviated Debutante tour, and released in June 2016.

The independently released Debutante caught the ear of Sire Records President Seymour Stein, who discovered The Ramones, Talking Heads, Madonna and many others. Stein signed Brennan to a demo deal with Sire/Warner Bros. Records in June 2016. After Debutante, Brennan initially announced that the followup would be called Jinx, a tongue in cheek reference to the Sophomore slump. Initial recording for the second album took place in December 2015. directed by Rosser Goodman, which made its world premiere at the 2012 Frameline Film Festival. She also appears in the film. Bay Area critic George Heymont praised the film as "a rowdy romp" and "that rare gem: a sexy and intelligent gay romantic comedy." TLA Releasing released the film in Fall 2014. While in college, Brennan received the Arizona Commission on the Arts Screenwriting fellowship in 2002, and the following year, she won the Phoenix Film Festival's Best Screenplay award for "The People's Choice". Brennan was honored with the Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellowship in 2007 for her comic homage to 1980s John Hughes films, "Dramatis Personae". In October 2007, the Rhode Island International Film Festival awarded first prize to Brennan and "Dramatis Personae" in their annual screenwriting honors. In 2014, Brennan co wrote (along with writer Doug Bost) the Alzheimer's focused short "Policy of Truth", directed by Nick Demos. In 2010, she joined the staff of Phoenix's LGBT focused Echo Magazine. and was the magazine's music critic from 2013 to 2016.

In late 2013, Brennan was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease, and has cited that diagnosis as ongoing motivation for the burst of creative activity that has followed. Her illness has not significantly impacted her ability to record or tour; she pursues an intensive physical and voice therapy regimen to maintain her ability to perform. and an advocate for LGBT rights, especially for the transgender community.