Jay Brannan
Encyclopedia
Jay Brannan is an American
singer-songwriter
and actor. He was born in Texas and briefly studied in Ohio, but moved to California to become an actor. Brannan appeared in the 2006 movie Shortbus
, which included one of his songs in its soundtrack, and began to build a fan base by performing on YouTube
. He released an EP
and acted in Holding Trevor
in 2007. Since then, he has toured and released two albums.
s and discussed their difficulty with accepting his homosexuality. Brannan went to college for one semester in Cincinnati, Ohio
, and went to California, first to Palm Springs
and later to Los Angeles
, trying to become an actor. In 2002, he was shown a casting notice and, after the end of a relationship, moved to New York City and submitted an audition tape.
Brannan was cast in 2003 for the movie Shortbus
, which featured him in an explicit sex scene, and worked as a proofreader and in other jobs to support himself. He contributed the song "Soda Shop" to the film's soundtrack, which he stated was his "first professionally recorded track". The song was also released on Team Love Records. Brannan began to record sparse music videos for YouTube
, accompanying himself on the guitar, and built an international fan base without corporate sponsorship, using MySpace
and Blogspot
. In 2007, he appeared in the movie Holding Trevor
as the promiscuous best friend of the protagonist, and released a limited-edition EP
with fours songs named disasterpiece or Unmastered, adding two additional songs for a 2008 re-release.
In July 2008, Brannan released the album goddamned
through his own label, Great Depression Records, and toured ten dates, a departure from his previous practice of short tours of about four concerts. The same year, Brannan left his proofreading job and sustained himself with earnings from concerts and merchandise. His second album, In Living Cover
, was released in 2009 and reached number ten on the Billboard Top Heatseekers
chart for the week of July 25, 2009. Brannan promoted the album in an interview on ABC News
's Now in July 2009.
. Allmusic described his style as contemporary singer-songwriter
and compared him to female artists, including Ani DiFranco
, Lisa Loeb
, Sinéad O'Connor
, and Liz Phair
. Goddamned
was described as lo-fi and Brannan compared his concerts to intimate performances in his home. He has performed with Terra Naomi
and both were compared in style and described as performing indie folk
. The New York Times
stated in 2006 that Brannan was sometimes compared to singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright
and that Brannan saw himself as echoing the angry and sad sound of female singers like Tracy Chapman
and Joni Mitchell
.
Albums
Songs
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actor. He was born in Texas and briefly studied in Ohio, but moved to California to become an actor. Brannan appeared in the 2006 movie Shortbus
Shortbus
Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
, which included one of his songs in its soundtrack, and began to build a fan base by performing on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. He released an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
and acted in Holding Trevor
Holding Trevor
Holding Trevor is a 2008 gay American romantic-drama written by and starring Brent Gorski as Trevor and directed by Rosser Goodman.-Cast:* Brent Gorski as Trevor Holden* Christopher Wyllie as Darrell* Jay Brannan as Jake* Melissa Searing as Andie...
in 2007. Since then, he has toured and released two albums.
Early life and career
Brannan was born 1982 in Texas in a middle-class family and grew up as the son of a petroleum engineer and a teacher. He described his family as conservative BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
s and discussed their difficulty with accepting his homosexuality. Brannan went to college for one semester in Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and went to California, first to Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
and later to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, trying to become an actor. In 2002, he was shown a casting notice and, after the end of a relationship, moved to New York City and submitted an audition tape.
Brannan was cast in 2003 for the movie Shortbus
Shortbus
Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
, which featured him in an explicit sex scene, and worked as a proofreader and in other jobs to support himself. He contributed the song "Soda Shop" to the film's soundtrack, which he stated was his "first professionally recorded track". The song was also released on Team Love Records. Brannan began to record sparse music videos for YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, accompanying himself on the guitar, and built an international fan base without corporate sponsorship, using MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Blogspot
Blogger (service)
Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003. Generally, the blogs are hosted by Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. Up until May 1, 2010 Blogger allowed users to publish...
. In 2007, he appeared in the movie Holding Trevor
Holding Trevor
Holding Trevor is a 2008 gay American romantic-drama written by and starring Brent Gorski as Trevor and directed by Rosser Goodman.-Cast:* Brent Gorski as Trevor Holden* Christopher Wyllie as Darrell* Jay Brannan as Jake* Melissa Searing as Andie...
as the promiscuous best friend of the protagonist, and released a limited-edition EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
with fours songs named disasterpiece or Unmastered, adding two additional songs for a 2008 re-release.
In July 2008, Brannan released the album goddamned
Goddamned (album)
Goddamned is the debut studio album by American singer–songwriter Jay Brannan, released in the United States on July 1, 2008. The album features eleven original songs; a bonus track is included by purchase via iTunes.-Track listing:# "Can't Have It All"...
through his own label, Great Depression Records, and toured ten dates, a departure from his previous practice of short tours of about four concerts. The same year, Brannan left his proofreading job and sustained himself with earnings from concerts and merchandise. His second album, In Living Cover
In Living Cover
In Living Cover is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Jay Brannan, released in the United States on June 23, 2009. The album features seven cover songs and two originals. The album reached number ten on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart for the week of July 25, 2009...
, was released in 2009 and reached number ten on the Billboard Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
chart for the week of July 25, 2009. Brannan promoted the album in an interview on ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
's Now in July 2009.
Style
Brannan is a tenorTenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. Allmusic described his style as contemporary singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and compared him to female artists, including Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb
Lisa Anne Loeb is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She launched her career in 1994 with the song, "Stay ". She was the first artist to have a number one single in the United States while not signed to a recording contract.Loeb's efforts now include music, film, television, voice-over...
, Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
, and Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
. Goddamned
Goddamned (album)
Goddamned is the debut studio album by American singer–songwriter Jay Brannan, released in the United States on July 1, 2008. The album features eleven original songs; a bonus track is included by purchase via iTunes.-Track listing:# "Can't Have It All"...
was described as lo-fi and Brannan compared his concerts to intimate performances in his home. He has performed with Terra Naomi
Terra Naomi
Terra Naomi is an alternative, rock, and pop artist, who rose to fame through a performance of her song "Say It's Possible" on the video sharing site YouTube...
and both were compared in style and described as performing indie folk
Indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock. A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
stated in 2006 that Brannan was sometimes compared to singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
and that Brannan saw himself as echoing the angry and sad sound of female singers like Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
.
Discography
EPs- Unmastered (aka disasterpiece) (2007, re-released 2008 with additional tracks)
Albums
- GoddamnedGoddamned (album)Goddamned is the debut studio album by American singer–songwriter Jay Brannan, released in the United States on July 1, 2008. The album features eleven original songs; a bonus track is included by purchase via iTunes.-Track listing:# "Can't Have It All"...
(2008) - In Living CoverIn Living CoverIn Living Cover is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Jay Brannan, released in the United States on June 23, 2009. The album features seven cover songs and two originals. The album reached number ten on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart for the week of July 25, 2009...
(2009)
Songs
- "Soda Shop" (track on the 2006 ShortbusShortbusShortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
soundtrack) - "Lower My Gun" (track on the 2008 Holding TrevorHolding TrevorHolding Trevor is a 2008 gay American romantic-drama written by and starring Brent Gorski as Trevor and directed by Rosser Goodman.-Cast:* Brent Gorski as Trevor Holden* Christopher Wyllie as Darrell* Jay Brannan as Jake* Melissa Searing as Andie...
soundtrack)
External links
- jaybrannan.com. Official website.