If you have not heard of Reagan Browne it is likely you may be very soon. Having moved here from Texas, Regan has hit LA running! His web site has been capturing the heart of females all over the world. Tall, dark, and handsome this guy is a serious chick magnet. However, the real charm of Regan is his actual talent. His voice soars to notes and octaves that many female singers can’t reach. Reagan has been performing at many of the “hottest” venues in LA. He is quickly becoming a hot commodity within his short time spent here in LA. He opens for Foghat on May 17th 2008 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. Reagan’s debut album titled, ‘Comin’ Home’, reviewed in this issue of AAM, is available now on the web or ITunes.
The music that Regan brings to the table is soulful, melodic and meaning. Reagan really loves it when the listener uses their own heart to attach the music to their soul. Reagan is a man with so many shades of depth and colors, that it was important to him this interview showed all those sides. As the interviewer, I can only hope I did him justice.
AAM: You are young enough to have tried out for American Idol, why didn’t you do it?
RB: I Thought about it, but I really thought it was not only based around voice, they wanted an outgoing showoff. I can be a bit shy, and the show is all about getting votes.
AAM: Yes, but you have the voice, and the girls would go nuts
RB: I also want to show all sides of me; my skills such as my voice, guitar, and songwriting really show what I can do. In many ways, American idol is a personality based show, popularity show. I would at this point prefer to do a band based show, with mixed artist’s songs along with original work or all original work.
AAM: As a Teenager, what kind of teen where you? A jock, quiet, a joker, or what? You are very soulful so I can see you almost as a late bloomer.
RB: I think I was all three rolled into one, but mainly I was the quiet teen. Then once I opened up, I was the teen that liked to play practical jokes on everyone. I was always bored in school, so had to pass the time somehow. I played some sports in school like Tennis, but once I was in high school I started to loss interest in them and started to really focus on playing the guitar. I started when I was younger, but got serious with it when I was a sophomore. Since I was such a shy kid growing up, and I mean I was painfully shy, I would just sit in my room for hours on end playing my guitar, and listening to music. It was all I felt I had. Or it was all I could relate to anyway. I think your right about me being a late Bloomer. I'm still patiently waiting.
AAM: You are what people would consider genetically blessed, in your opinion, has it helped or hindered your burgeoning music career? Your music is so good, but do you sometimes wonder if the audience is more interested in your physical aesthetics rather than your music?
RB: Well thank you I appreciate it. Truthfully it doesn't bother me if there are girls at my shows because they think I'm attractive or have sex appeal. If that's the most of my worries I really don't have a hell of a lot to complain about, and I guess that makes me very lucky? The important thing I do feel though is like you said, the music is good. So usually within the 2nd or 3rd song I have won them over both ways.
AAM: You’re a very insightful, smart, kind, and deep person. When it is time to settle down and have a family, what kind of woman, and what qualities (in order) will you be looking for, and are her looks the most important?
RB: I think I would want a woman that would be there for me during the ride and that includes the bumpy parts. Not someone that's just looking to go straight to the end of the rainbow. Sorry, but there are a lot of those kinds of women floating around in Los Angeles. She would have to love kids like I do, and have a great outlook on life, like I at least try to do. Just being a caring person goes a long way with me, and not having the "it’s all about me" attitude is very attractive in my opinion. That to me is the most important part, and if she's beautiful that's the icing on the cake.
AAM: You Have told me that you have a sense of humor, and I have seen it, but how would you describe it to people who don’t know you; is it a dry wit, sarcastic type humor, or silly funny?
RB: I definitely fall under the dry wit sarcastic department :) I have to be careful sometimes around people that don't know me well, because my sense of humor is so dry that they think I'm serious. I usually do it with a little smile, and wink though so they know I'm teasing.
AAM: Your Grandmother died very recently unexpectedly, and you where very close. How are you doing now, and did it change your perspective on life, or the way you may make music from here on out?
RB: Thank you for asking. I'm doing better now, but was in shock for quite some time. I had just spoke with her a few days before about seeing her for the summer, and she was really excited. She was 84 years old, and I still can't believe she's gone, Guess I thought she would be one of those grandmothers that lived to be 110. She just had the most wonderful outlook on life, and ALWAYS had a smile on her face. She was a person in life that truly treated people with kindness, and never judged you. I'm sure a lot of people feel this way about their grandmother, but she was perfect in every way. She never forgot a birthday, always took the grand kids for the summer to places like Six Flags, the Circus or the Zoo. She was one of a kind, and will be greatly missed.
As far as it changing my perspective on life, I think it has. It's made me want to be closer to my family. I try not to sweat the small stuff as they say, and make the best of what I have in life. I don't think things have changed much with the way I go about making music. I want to make music that means something to me. Not worry about what the latest trend is, or what others will think so much. I'm proud of what I've done, and if the rest of you like it as much as I do, then what more could I ask for?
AAM: As your fame grows, how do you think you will handle the groupies? Knowing what I know about you, you’re a humble, down to earth person who craves real friends and real relationships. Will you instinctively know who to trust?
RB: I think I was born with a pretty good B.S. detector and can usually weed out people that I think are up to no good or have some hidden agenda with me. I am also a trusting person that tries to not think about stuff like that and go with the flow. I would hate to get to the point of fame where I'm always paranoid that people want something from me. I think for the most part though, their intentions are good. If not, a family member or friend can tell me otherwise if I don't pick up on it.
AAM: When you were a kid, what did you dream of doing?
RB: I've always dreamed of being an entertainer of some sorts. Since I was probably 4 or 5 years old, I knew that I had to do something that required me to be on stage. My mom use to catch me in my room singing and dancing on top of my desk with a hairbrush to the Beatles or Van Halen songs like I was a rock star on stage. The first time I ever got in front of people I was hooked, because as funny as it may seem I felt more at home and comfortable than I do in real life. It was great because as I said earlier being shy I could hide behind my guitar, or singing and really express myself like I couldn't do else were. People tend to gravitate to where they feel most at home, and being in front of people on a stage is where it’s at for me! I feel very blessed that I'm working towards making my dreams come true.
AAM: Listening to your CD over time, it really amazed me how much vocal range you have. What do you do to keep your voice tone? Do you have days of silence before a gig to preserve your voice?
RB: Thanks, I'm glad you like the singing on the album. I went to a great vocal teacher in Hollywood named James Lugo for about a year and a half. He runs The Vocal Asylum and is the one whom really got my voice in the shape it’s in today. I do think I was born with a naturally good range, but he taught me how to sing the proper way so you don't lose your voice night after night. When your singing rock stuff at high levels like Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, or Chris Cornell it’s all about technique, singing from your chest, and not from your throat, slightly compressing your stomach muscles as you go up. Things like that are what he teaches you, it enables me to sing such high notes. I still feel like I'm learning though and it’s not automatic so I have to be careful when I'm doing a show, because if I get off track I start to go horse. Another thing that people may not realize as well, is your vocal chords are just like a muscle, and in order for you to get them in shape you have to work them out and that's where singing scales comes in to play. You don't first walk into a gym and expect to bench press 400 pounds on the first day, and you can't expect to be able to hit high F# G notes above high C's either. You have to work up to it. If I'm really pushing myself with practice or performing, I'll usually lay off for a couple of days, but I haven't had to not talk all day long like Celine Dion or anything.
AAM: What comes first, the Lyrics or the musical arrangements? It varies so for so many artists, some feel the emotion, and put it to music first, yet others the lyrics first.
RB: The arrangements come first 99% of the time. Then I decide what I would like to write about, so the lyrics come next. Then after that I usually record the music on my computer, and come up with the melodies. I do whatever I can to get something down that I think is good. My favorite method is when I come up with riffs or melodies in my sleep. It seems to be happening more and more for me, so I started putting a tape recorder next to my bed so I don't forget it when I wake up. You know that state you’re in where you’re just on the verge of falling asleep, but your still conscience? Those are when the ideas really flow for me, and just fall from the sky. I was reading once that Paul McCartney wrote "Yesterday" in his sleep. How cool is that!! I may have to turn into Rumpelstiltskin to ever come up with something that great.
AAM: Your debut CD is really good; and diverse yet seems so true to who you are as a musician. Where did you get most of your inspiration for it?
RB: I think I get most of my inspiration from the entire artist that I grew up loving. My music has always been called diverse, and I think I have my neighbors from growing up to thank for that. When I was younger I was out in my back yard jumping on a trampoline and I noticed that they threw away a huge pile of old records from the 60's and 70's in their garbage. I guess since C.D's where around now they thought they wouldn't need them anymore. So I took the whole stash in my house, borrowed my parent’s old record player, and just sat in my room for years listening to these classic albums. If I hadn't foolishly sold them years later in a garage sale I would probably be a millionaire now, because I had everything from original Beatles, Beach Boys 45's to classic albums like The Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers", and Cream's "Disraeli Gears". On any given day I would listen to something like Black Sabbath's "Masters of Reality", or Zeppelins first album, for the harder stuff, but I also loved listening to the singer songwriter artist like Elton John's "Captain Fantastic" or Billy Joel's "52 Street".
A couple of years later my dad woke me in the middle of the night to go look out the back door because a house was on fire. Sadly, the people never made it out of their house because we had just had a hurricane, and everybody had to nail wood panels over their windows to keep the wind from blowing the glass everywhere. I never really got a chance to thank them for the records or for changing my life with music.
AAM: You do ballads as well as some harder edged rock, which many do. What do you personally prefer?
RB: I really love them both. I feel that I'm just as much Soundgarden as I am Cat Stevens, or Led Zeppelin and Gorden Lightfoot. I guess if I had to choose it would be the harder stuff, because the guitar playing was usually so good. When I would sit around and hear Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy" or The Who's "Tommy" album I would get the best of both worlds, the Great vocals from Robert Plant and Roger Daultry, to kick ass guitar playing from Jimmy Page, and Pete Townsend.
AAM: You dedicated this album to Sophia, and there is a song called Sophia’s song. So who is Sophia?
RB: Sophia is my little girl, she is eight now, and the most important thing in my life. She's a really beautiful little girl with a sweet nature, and fun to be around. She's not only my daughter, but she's also my best friend. I'm really blessed to have her.
AAM: It’s really funny when listening to your music knowing you’re from Texas. Some of the songs have a very California beach inspired sound, like ‘ Comin Home’.
RB: Well I live near the beach in Los Angeles, so I guess it’s rubbed off on me. I never really thought of "Comin Home" as a beach type song. I guess that makes sense that you would think of it as a California inspired sound though, because it always reminded me of something the Eagles might do.
AAM: You write a lot about love, do you think you will go outside of the romantic love singer/songwriter box, or do you think that is your niche and are comfortable there?
RB: I don't really know if I have a niche with anything. I just write about things I want in life, or hope for. Whether it’s stopping violence, or having the war end in "Let's think about tomorrow" to doing anything to make it back home in "Comin Home" These are the things I strive for. Love is usually at the top of every ones list when it comes to things you want and I'm no different so I guess that's why I write songs like "I'm high on loving you" and "Sophia's Song"
AAM: What would you describe your music as?
RB: I would describe it as eclectic melodic rock. Like you said before, it’s diverse with different kinds of styles, but you can always sing along because the melodies are catchy. That's the most important part of the music making process to me, Memorable Melodies.
AAM: You have a band right now, what would you like to see come from being in a full band Vs. being solo?
RB: I would just like to have 3 other guys be just as passionate and driven about the music as I am. It would be really amazing to have other members that busted there asses to promote upcoming shows, albums as much as I do, because it can be overwhelming sometimes having to do it all on your own. I think we could be a lot more successful if everything was equal. Other than that I couldn't ask for better guys to have in my band. They're great at helping me with arrangements, and giving me there advice on what they think works and doesn't work. They're also great with adding their own little touches to the songs to dress them up a bit with guitar parts and harmonies.
All Access Magazine congratulates REAGAN BROWNE on your debut album, and encourage our readers to add ‘Comin Home’ to their CD collection! Tickets for: The Reagan Browne Band and CD information are available…
www.myspace.com/reaganbrowne
www.sonicbids.com/thereaganbrowneband
www.reaganbrowne.com
