The thing about being new and different is...
“The more things change the more they stay the same”
The thing about being new and different is while you can certainly be new, there are no guarantees you’ll be different. “Different” is an ever-elusive concept; subjective and relative to the artist and the audience. As the saying goes, there’s nothing new under the sun, but life and most certainly music are about the subtleties, the nuances.
At first glance, Brandon Beal’s story seems very familiar. A country boy from Tyler , Texas (population 94,000 more or less) heads for the bright lights and big city of New York (population 8.2 million) to pursue his dream of becoming a famous singer/songwriter/producer...sounds like a Stevie Wonder song doesn’t it? But Beal’s story, much like his music, has a few twists and dramatic turns that may just help him accomplish his goal…to create his own movement.
Chasing dreams is a hard thing to do especially when your life is one thing (in this case, ‘football’) and that dream ends. As a receiver for the University of Texas Longhorns , Beal suffered a neck injury before he really had a chance to get on the field. After going through a self-described phase of denial about his chances of making it back from the injury, he began chasing the dream that was there all along. “I was in and out of it making my little money since 16. $50, $100 for a beat, making mix-tapes; that’s how I kept some money in my pocket.” His ‘hobby’, making beats, followed him to college as he fashioned a makeshift studio out of his dorm room. As the remnants of one dream started to become a nightmare, it pushed him to another place, and fortunately for Brandon , producing and singing were right there. After moving to New York , he assembled his own studio in a Harlem apartment bit by bit; the first piece--a Triton keyboard--coming from a friend back home that “wasn’t using it and didn’t know how to work it.”
Three years later, with his debut album on the indie label MMG Records, headed by Benton N. Wofford, Brandon reflects on the industry he is poised to be a part of with a some disdain. “Is the goal to be famous or is the goal to be heard?” Brandon muses. As a singer, song writer, producer that can play the drums, piano and “mess around with the bass a little,” he’s already different. After scoring a distribution deal with Vecca Records--a Japanese label headed by Hidehiko Tashiro, former president of BMG Japan--his journey and his fans most certainly will be different. Yet, as he prepares for the July release of Comfortable in Japan , he’s still nitpicking the final product and questions how different he is, while working hard to separate himself from an industry that he feels in his words is “consumed with chart chasing.”
“The industry is looking for club bangers, they want you to do what 100 other people are doing and I’m not trying to be a part of that movement…I don’t want to be that guy.” Pinning down what kind of guy Brandon Beal is seems like an easy thing to do. He wants to attain the status of a Babyface, influenced (like many of us are) by Michael Jackson and, here’s the catch, loves Maroon 5. When he explains his album’s title though, Beal exudes the same assuredness and confidence in his ability to make good music as that of the artist he looks up to, Kanye West, a man few people can really pin down.
It is not your business to determine how good it is…it is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly…to keep the channel open – Martha Graham
“I named the album Comfortable, because I am. Music is in my blood, in my family, singing in the church and all over. A lot of people are doing music for the wrong reasons…I’m doing it because I got the talent and ability. If I go platinum or I sell 10 copies, I’m comfortable with who I am and where I’m at.” Like Kanye, he’s multi-talented and is consumed with pushing himself to be different and do it his way even if the industry he courts and eschews at the same time doesn’t get it. “I expected Kanye to be cocky,” he says, “look at how man people sh@*#ed on him and at the same time he knew, he was like this is some new s*@t and I feel the same way. Not to be on some cocky s*@t, but I know I get busy. Look at how long it took them to get Kanye and now he’s winning Grammys.”
The album itself is an easy listen. To some that might imply it’s simple but Brandon ’s goal is to “take real concepts and simplify them and not be too complicated.” While the result may not seem complicated, the process is definitely involved. While his desire to be different is apparent, it’s hard to re-invent the wheel and he will almost certainly be compared to the Ne-Yo’s in the industry, which isn’t a bad thing, but as his album proves you’d be premature to think he was one type of songwriter or producer.
You won’t find the sex-charged type of song like Usher’s “Sex in a Club,” but more of the thoughtful down-south-game being kicked on each of his tracks that delivers an unassuming charm that will have you reciting the lyrics after one listen. Starting off with a song that could be homage to the movie The Graduate, Brandon tries to convince an older woman that he’s “Grown” and should be given a chance and follows with the sure singles “Ooh Shorty” and the slow drawl joint “Country Love.” These three songs feature tight layered production and are pretty standard fare for the R&B set, but about halfway through the album, Comfortable makes a welcome switch, adding string arrangements and guitar riffs that catch your attention. The end of the album almost seems as if Brandon is setting the listener up for where he intends to go with his music in the future. “I want to conjoin R&B and rock, I don’t want to just be about 808 bass.” “Ways 2 Go” comes off like a R&B skater anthem featuring Brandon spitting a couple of bars (he’s nice) that is begging to be performed at the end of the live show and “Another Sad Love Song” has the tenor and darkness of Justin Timberlake’s remake of “Cry Me a River.” The last song, “Purple Skirt” is an 80’s throwback joint, adding that last little bit of nuance to an album that is riding-down-a-freeway worthy.
The thing you have to give Brandon is he delivers a familiar package that’s intent on being different and gives a little of what you want, while giving you a little of what he wants you to want. That’s the difference he wants and achieves. It’s his desire to not lose focus on why he’s doing music, vis-a-vis the industry’s expectations, which drives him and certainly along with his status as an independent artist, allows him to follow his own path and make music on his terms and create his own movement. That alone sets him apart from many of his contemporaries. Let’s just hope an industry intent on putting you in a box and punishing you when you don’t conform to its rules can appreciate Brandon Beal’s journey and where it takes him and in doing so, allows us to roll with him.
“If you fall for the industry stuff, as soon as you do one good song, you’re scared to move from it, it’s a fear thing,” Brandon warns. “I want to be at the Grammy’s and the only way you get there is you not part of a movement that everyone else is on. For what? A couple extra quick bucks? Naw, I’ll wait,” he chuckles with certainty. “Matter of fact, that’s gonna be the name of my next album, I’ll Wait.”
Fortunately for his Dallas area fans, if you want to see Brandon Beal you don’t have to wait. He’ll be performing at a Mansion/Pool Party this Sunday, May 18th in Frisco. For details, RSVP at MMG Records website. Click the link below.
Eternal Polk – Writer/director – www.id-egosuperego.com
Brandon Beal – www.brandonbeal.com
MMG Records – www.multimanmusicgroup.com
