Made a decision. I'll face sunny sad on I had a vision nighty to
me. Hey, everybody, we have a very special Thursday show planned.
We have a great guest on our zoom. And by the way, right
before we started the show, Stephanie said that she Jonathan Brook is ORESTI the
singer songwriter, the great Jonathan Brook is in on our zoom. And right
before we started the show, Stephanie said, she is my Bruce Springsteen because
I'm a huge Pruce Springsteen fan. She's like, you have no idea,
like she I love Jonathan Brook And so Stephanie, why don't you? Yeah?
So Hi Jonatha, Hi Stephanie Islandette, Hi, thank you so much
for joining us today. We're very sided pleasure. I'm very excited myself.
So we you don't know this, but we go way back to the Story
days. So Jonathan was part of a duo called The Story way back in
the very late eighties. Would you say, is that when you guys got
together. Oh yeah, I mean our first record came out in ninety one
was Grace and Gravity. So yeah, we were like Putson around Boston in
the very late eighties. Yea, So probably around Angel in the house.
That was the second your second release with the story. I became very obsessed.
So I'm in the like, you know, certain songs catch you.
I don't know, your music really spoke to me, still does, and
your voice really spoke to me. And then so you started in Massachusetts,
yep, and from Boston, grew up there, went to school there,
and actually met my partner in the story, Jennifer, at Amherst College,
and after school we ended up moving back to Boston and uh, you know,
playing pretty much every church basement in Bosman in Boston because it was such
it was a very folky singer songwritery kind of scene and a great place to
sort of get your feet under you. But we were both doing other things.
She was a graphic designer and I was a modern dancer and a nanny
and a cleaning lady, and it was just this crazy time of piecing things
together. And then we got this record deal, and that that was sort
of the impetus to drop the other things and do music full time. So
how did you get the record deal? I mean, you're just you're playing.
You know, you're good, but you're I know, you were like
a big dancer, so how did you how did that? How did you
balance that? And decided I was thinking I was gosh. I danced in
so many different companies in Boston, but one of them we performed this USO
benefit concert one night at the Roxy, and I I was wearing not that
much stuff. It was like a flapper number. So I was wearing this
little short satin dress with fishnets and high heels and a flapper you know,
skull cap thingy and night. But I always had cassette already. I was
at demo tapes with me wherever I went, so like ran into this record
producer guy who ended up working with Tommy Lapuma in New York. Tommy Lapuma
was like one of the record producers of all time anyway. So I hand
this guy Angelo a cassette in my flapper dress and he ends up working with
Tommy and listens, actually listens to it, and gives it to Tommy la
Puma. And that's how the record deal happened. And that's how we ended
up doing Angel in the House and then Electra rereleased our first Grace and Gravity
record after we signed. So were you really excited? I was pretty stoked,
although my husband at the time a La Mala, who produced my first
four records. Basically he I didn't I didn't know how important Tommy was at
that point, and almost you know, collapsed And when we got the phone
call, he's like, do you have any idea, John, I'm like,
Tommy who and he's like, no, this is like, this is
the big leagues. So wow. Then I then I started listening to everything
that Tommy had produced and it was pretty ridiculous. So did you have like
you must have had a big, like pr team behind it? I mean
did how did they get it out? Like? How did I hear about
it? Yeah? It's changed so much now, it has changed a ton.
It's Yeah, I don't even know what I would do if I were
just beginning, it would just be overwhelming and too depressing. At the time,
we I had written this song called so Much Mine, and it was
the beginning of what we what was called Triple A Radio. I think it's
still is called Triple A Radio, but it's become more of like a it's
a little more edgy, rocky, independent whatever now. But back in the
time, it was pretty a collect dick and there were a lot of singer
songwriter types that got airplay on those stations and so much. Mine became a
top five song on that radio format. And that's how we that's how you
heard of me, probably because well there's a big station I think in la
Ksca. Do you know that? Also, what's k c r W.
I don't know if they were around back then, but I'm sure that they
were. We were. Yeah, that song got a lot of airplay,
So that ka is where I discovered. I mean, so many people,
Jan Jan Arden and Paula Cole and you got a lot of play on there.
Mim Chen was the one of the DJs there. But I remember,
I remember constantly because it was in those days, having a paper and pencil
with me in the car and then like hearing like oh that was so and
then writing it down and then because then you'd have to go to the record
store and buy the CD or the you know right. I remember when you
could go to like Tower Records, and you you'd ask the dude or the
dudet behind the counter like, hey, what are you listening to? And
they'd be like, oh, you gotta check this out. I love that
And it was so fun. I would buy records just because they told me
too. Oh yeah, I had my one of my good friends worked at
Tower Records, and I would go in there all the time when she was
working. She would have all the info on all the the up and coming
artists that were coming out that you never heard of. And now, yeah,
I remember going to see the movie I think it was Reality Bites and
loving the Lisa Lobes song you know you say yeah. So in those days
there wasn't Google though, so you couldn't just put in lyrics and figure out
who it was. And I didn't know who it was. And I remember
going to Tower Records and trying to sing it to the person when you do
that, and they were like, no, no idea. So it took
a while. It had to just be in my brain for too long before
before I finally because the soundtrack wasn't out yet, ye right, and you
wouldn't you wouldn't even have known, like you know the girl with the glasses
right now, didn't to say that yet, didn't know anything. So eventually
it came out and I was like, oh, it's Lisa Lope and nine
Stories. Yes, okay, so you have these albums with the with the
story a couple of and then and then you, like a year later,
you go out on your own. Yeah, that happened. Was that it
was. It was a weird it was, it was you know, it
was to be expected. It was a little bit of a upsided kind of
work arrangement. And we were Jennifer and I were very very different people,
and I was sort of this driven, compulsive, like bossy, uh,
obsessive person, and she was laid a lower key and didn't you know,
didn't really enjoy the road that much. And I was like, come on,
give me some more. I want to let this go. Let's go,
let go go to Europe, Let's do all the things. And so,
you know, it ran its course. And then I went solo,
which was terrifying because you know, our identity had been this duo and this
beautiful way we had of singing together and these intricate harmonies and crossing and weaving
voices and so it was a scary time. But the next record did really
great, and then the one after that did really great. Plum was the
next one. Plum was an expert, and Plum had some of my favorite
songs. I made sure to write them down so I don't have it wrong.
But inconsolable West Point. Uh no better? Oh my god. I
mean these are songs that I have played just on repeat, over and over
and over. I've dragged my husband to come see you. It's not really
this type of music, but he gets it. He see I mean,
I've been to see so. I used to go see you all the time
at Largo played playing there. Did you live in LA at the time.
I did. I moved to LA in ninety seven and moved to New York
in two thousand and two, so I was there for five years. Huh.
So I think I went to every show that was at Largo. One
time early date with my husband and now we've been married twenty years. I
was he was meeting me there and he was like an hour late, and
if you went to Largo, you had to if you wanted seats, you
had to go early and get dinner. So I remember it was like we
had a huge fight about it because he was really late, and I just
kept I don't know did we have so I guess we had cell phones and
I was calling him and he was like, I'm leaving right now, and
I'm like, you can't leave at this at the time, You're supposed to
be here in LA traffic, like, are you kidding me? So I
sat by myself, but I was that's fine, I'll beat by myself.
But then ten Cent Wings came out. Yeah, and then uh, my
favorite song because I Told You So, which was on that album, and
I feel and I just want you to tell me if I'm if I'm right
that you played that song for the first time ever at Largo, because I
feel like you said, I, this is the first time I'm ever playing
this song and I was like, yeah, I'm sure that was it because
ten Cent Wings wasn't even out yet. On some of those earlier Largo gigs,
I was looking for a label for that record. Yeah, so tell
us about that. Okay, so you got I want to hear about you
getting dropped by your Yeah, do you want to take a break healing?
Okay, we're going to take a quick break, and then I need to
hear this story. Okay, we're back. So you're out, you're touring,
things are going really well. And then yeah, well there's I think
every artist that I respect has will tell a similar story. When you're the
timing just doesn't work out with a major label, and there's some sort of
regime change at the top, and so the person that championed you and understood
you and signed you and whatever gets axed. And then the person coming in
is like, who, who the fucking who this Jonathan Brook? I don't
know him. It's just kind of par for the course. So I was
in the middle of this tour behind ten cent Wings, my one of my
well they're all beloved, they're like children, but ten cent Wings just feels
like this epic work to me. And I was in the middle of this
national tour and Secrets and Lies, the first single was charting it again Triple
A Radio, and this weird contractual thing came up, and again the person
who had championed me was gone now and a new person came in, and
they didn't really get me, and they're like, oh, well, her
contract, you know, is up for renewal. Let's just clean house.
So even though the song was charting and I was on the road and I
was working my butt off, they were just like, man, not really,
I don't really hear a single, so bye bye. And they we
negotiated a little bit, like it was we in good faith. We're like,
well, wait a minute, like we're actually doing really great. Just
give us a little more time on the road, and let's see how this
song does it radio, And why don't we extend your you know, you
don't have to sign this contract extension right now, give me six more months
to like, let's see how this goes. And they just they never called
back. They never we never heard from them again. They didn't negotiate at
all. And the following this was like a Friday, and then the following
Monday, they actually told radio to stop playing the song. Oh but I
didn't. I no longer existed. Was this in the in like the early
two thousands or like when kind of Napster was coming around and things? This
is right before that. This is like ninety seven, ninety eight. Wow,
I mean you must have just been, yeah, devastated. And they
told them to stop playing the song. Oh yeah, Like it was like
literally on the desks of those programming directors the next week, like stopped playing
her because we're gonna, we're going we're getting behind this other I forget who
it was at the time. Wow, Paul Cole, So would you do
though, because obviously that didn't. This is where I just think this is
really like for me, I didn't miss a beat because I was used to
just going to see you wherever you were playing. But I know this must
have been I mean, I understand the feeling of like losing that support and
weren't you about to make a video? Oh yeah, there was all sorts
of stuff sort of in the works. But I think what what sort of
I guess got me through what could have been a really dark and long depression.
I actually, my husband Pat had the idea to throw a party for
all of the other artists that we knew that had gone through the same thing,
so that I wouldn't quite feel so lonely. So Michelle and Digiachello came
over, and Wendy and Lisa from Prince's Old Bands dinner party. So again
they got dropped too. Oh yeah, everyone, everyone I know has been
dropped at least once or twice by a major label. So yeah, they'd
all been dropped and misunderstood and sort of. So we threw this party,
and Pat's a great cook, and we drank a lot of wine and kind
of were like, well, okay, well, I guess it's not so
bad. We were in good company and my fans, like you just said,
don't necessarily care who where the record came from, or whether I have
a label or not, or you might not even ever know that. It's
just like, as long as they're gigs and there's this sort of a stream
of work coming through, nothing really has changed. I just have to figure
out how to do it myself. So that was the next task, and
we made a little live record of those shows that I was finishing, those
that tour that I was in the middle of, and we put the live
record out as a kind of testing the waters thing to see if we could
be independent. And then Bad Dog Records was born, and that was and
I've been it's been Mom and Pop ever since. She's hustler. Look for
you. Yeah, that's so you just had you just bet on yourself and
decided you were going to just take it on on your own, and just
we did. We figured like, well, why let these sorry old white
men ruin my life again and again and again. They didn't know any better
than I didn't necessarily At that point, I had relationships with a lot of
the DJs at radio stations, and I was credible. I had a really
great track record, I had a great audience, and I figured like,
all right, well great, they helped me get to this level, so
I do have this sort of groundwork now, I'll I can take it from
here, and I think I can probably do a better job than you.
Yeah. Absolutely, And other artists were doing the same thing at that time,
right, like yeah, I mean we were, we were early days.
Annie DeFranco of course, was the you know, the poster child of
like indie from the from the get go. I was kind of in the
early bird next wave. Amy Man did it. I think Michael Fronti did
it. Actually, at one point we were talking about we should do like
a United artist thing. We should be me and Amy Man and Michael Fronti.
That would be such a cool thing. But your own label, Yeah,
to like to team up like one on one on one could equal ten,
you know if we if we pulled resources, but it's very hard to
get artists ducks or something, I don't know, right, So you were
just saying we my second my big studio record as an independent artist was Steady
Pull and that we we killed it with that one. We again really well,
five song and we did great. So So how did you do that?
So that one was just you using your relationships and calling the radio stations
and asking them to play you pretty much. Yeah, it was me and
Pat. Wow. Yeah, it's so admirable. So he was your manager,
was my manager, and then when you met him, he was your
manager. Say again, when you met him, he was your manager,
and then you guys fell in love. Yeah. Actually, Tommy Lapuma,
that that guy that first signed me, introduced us way back in the early
days, and then we started working together in the early ninety like right at
the tail end of Angel in the House is when Pat took over management.
And then about four years later we kind of like the polar the polar whatever
those things that magnets do when they repel one another. Yeah, they it
just switched polarity and we were like inseparable and it's been that way ever since.
That was ninety seven. That is so cute. That's it's it's weird.
I mean, neither of us would have said like, oh yeah,
I could see myself with him, or I could see myself there. We
were just it was a business relationship. It was very serious and you know,
he's a great manager, but like there was no funny business. And
then it literally was like the magnets being redirected, and he's still very business.
He's still very all business. He doesn't like he doesn't write back to
emails and say, oh, yeah, we're married, i'mber manager. What
are the details? Yes, she would be interesting. I was like,
yeah, I know who you are. It's just kind of funny, you
know what. Okay, So, like trivia, our first kiss was at
Largo. You were probably there. I probably was. I don't think I
missed a show. What happened, well, it was afterwards show and we
were It had been an intense, in tense week and I had been courting
labels, trying to find a home for ten cent wings and it was just
a big nightmare. And after the show he came upstairs and we think that
it was me. We think that I kissed him, but literally something happened
in the air that night that that's swapped everything. After a magical performance in
front of Stephanie Wilder Taylor, Yeah, I was I maybe it was you,
Stephanie, but like, were you already thinking in that direction where you
having a crush? Was he? No? No, it literally it was
just like wait, what just wait, what just happened? That is?
And then we were both kind of like, this is so weird. Like,
but and then I think we kissed again, and then and then like
that's literally then we were inseparable. Oh that's so nice. That's really cute.
That's really weird. Did you write any any of your songs about him?
Oh, there's so many songs about him, really, new drafts.
It's kind of about him, new drafts. Yep. Your House is a
little bit about him and a little bit about my mom at the same time,
which sounds weird until you know the story. There's a song called Too
Much Happiness that's pretty much about Pat. There's a song called never Too Late
for Love. And how does he feel about the songs? He's so funny,
he's he's like whatever, let her do her things. Yeah, And
like I was so excited about the song too Much Happiness. I just thought,
oh, what a sweet like oh that he's like that, So it's
okay. Does he have a favorite song of yours? I think Because I
Told you So is one of his faves. I think you tell us.
I've always wondered, like, was that is? Did you write that about
somebody or just about your feelings about I don't know yet. That song really
what's the song about it? At the time it was about or it was
it was being written, and I was writing it around the time that my
first marriage was ending. But it was also the time when my ex husband
and I were making ten cent Wings together. So I was writing those songs.
We were recording a lot of it in our living room on a daths.
It was you know, it's very intense time, and I don't think
either of us even had the bandwidth to realize how how telling the songs were.
You know, often i'll write something that's very to me. It's sort
of an intellectual thing, even though it's emotional, and I maybe crying when
I write it. I'm sure I was crying when I wrote because I told
you so about at the same time I was crying because it was it felt
like, oh, this is universal everyone. I think everyone can relate to
this. And there's this you know, turn of phrase that that make stip
poignant. You know, it's not like, you know, get in your
room because I told you so. It's not that it's like, can't you
believe that I love you? But just because I told you so, isn't
that enough? But you know, and so I feel that song from the
other side from like being the insecure, being insecure and feeling like you can't
tell me enough time, like I just can't feel it. That's sad.
I feel it from the point of view of feeling like a broken cup.
I don't now now that I've been married for but I just remember feeling that
so much at the time of just like I was a new relationship. You
know what I mean. My husband is not super effusive and like he and
that would be the kind of thing he would say to me, like I'm
telling you that I'm committed and I'm into you? Like how many? How
many different ways can I tell you before you like believe me? Will you
play that? Yeah? Oh yeah, this is exciting. If I give
you the sky and if I le down my life, wouldn't you be thee
need them? If I promised to change, and if I carried roun blame,
wouldn't you bathe me them? Could you see it? Pay me hanly
one? I see? Can you listen? I can remember that I love
you only because I told you, because I told you so give you told
me you lied, but I stayed to try. Would you really even if
your beauty wors gone with my lovely girl one. Would you really, Rea?
Did you see him play me? Handle one? I? She?
Did you listen? I can remember? Let you you you la, because
I tuned you because I told you so. Do you take the wheel?
But now too tired to drive this one anyhow? No, yeah, mention
my name and there's one thing remain my love, believe me. No,
whoo why I was amazing. I might have kept it a little on that
high note, but whatever, it was so good, beautiful, Oh thank
you. This was surreal. I had to take a picture of it so
I could send it to one of your other super fans so I could brag,
all right, we're gonna take another quick break and we're back. Oh
my gosh, that was unbelievable, so beautiful. I it took me all
the way back to sitting to Largo, and I'll never forget how when you
said this is the first time, and I was like, oh my god,
this is gonna be a huge song. And in fact, Nick Lache
covered it at some point, which I never on principal listen to, and
it makes me weirdly angry, irrationally angry. Yeah that happens. I keep
hoping that someone will cover it? Who actually can can make it reach a
bigger audience. I don't have the you know, the wherewithal right now to
sort of pay for marketing and managing, you know, like all the stuff
that it takes to to really reach further. And uh, you know,
I keep thinking, like John Mayer loves this song, like gee, he
should cover it. Why John Mayer should do the song? So he's on
next week. So I want to talk about a little break you took for
a little bit to take care of your mom a, and then you a
beautiful album and show came out of that, which I didn't get to see.
I don't think it was in La at a time. I don't think
you did performance of it, did you in La? I don't think so.
No. I didn't really early terrifying uh kind of reading of it,
you know, among friends. Uh so I you know, I sort of
tried it, and I hired a cello player out there, and I did
a very early version of it at Bob Clearmontain's studio just to you know,
see if I could get through it without dying. And it went really well,
and so that sort of spurred on the continuing development of it. So
you just take us back because these guys don't know, but tell us like
what happened and how this came about. So it was early twenty ten.
I had put out a record in late two thousand and nine called The Works,
which was this really cool project where I got to go into the Woody
Guthrie archives and choose from among his poetry and his letters and his journals and
basically take his lyrics and create new songs with them. And I was able
to cut and paste things that you know, hadn't seen each other before and
make this beautiful record. So I was in the middle of this big tour
record was getting some really beautiful press because it was it's a gorgeous project.
It's called The Works. And meanwhile, my mom was had Alzheimer's and was
it was really getting a little crazy and she needed full time care and there
was no way I was not going to be there for her. So in
the middle of touring that record, I just I went to Boston and I
stayed with my mom. She was in a sort of assisted not really assisted
in living facility and was falling and it was really it was a mess,
and so I stayed with her there for a couple of months, just observing,
trying to figure out like how bad is this and what do I do?
And basically, that September fourth Labor Day weekend two thousand and ten,
which is my wedding anniversary, I packed up in a SV with whatever I
thought my mom might need for, you know, just to get for the
next whatever, and I drove us to New York to my apartment in New
York and arrived at our building and my husband ran down to meet us on
the curb and I, you know, there, I'm in the SUV.
I'm I'm having slept in weeks. I'm just exhausted, and there's my mom,
demented as ever in the fron seat, like I happy anniversary with my
love, I brought you my mother. Here we go, basically, and
so for two years to care my mom in New York, and it turned
into this incredible roller coaster love story and all the things you know, dementia.
My mom was a character. She was very theatrical. She had studied
to be a clown earlier in her life, so there was there, there
were these clown elements that entered into it. And I ended up just writing
it all down and she became complicit in this sort of like, this is
a great story. Boolly Boolly's my nickname, you know, we are you
getting this down? This is this is good stuff. We should make a
play out of it, and we should take it a Broadway. We can
make a ton of money, mom, maybe whatever. I am getting it
down though, because this is good stuff and it's probably bigger than my next
record. This is definitely theater, and so it became this one woman theater
piece. I weave ten songs in and out of the story of me and
my mother, and it really hit a chord and people really related to it,
and so there's a record of the same. It's one of my favorites
of your of your albums, Oh thank you, Yeah? Are you getting
very Deep? One of the most beautiful songs ever I saw. It's the
name of the album. It's called My Mother Has My mother has four mother
has four noses? And why does your mother have four noses? Well,
that's the thing you find out in the show I Don't Touch. I didn't
get besides the show, So at first people think it's a metaphor. You
know that she was a clown and she probably had a red one and a
green one and whatever. But uh, you find out, no, it's
not a metaphor. The opening of the show is like, my mother has
four noses. It's not a metaphor. It's that she blah blah blah.
And then so I go back in time and I talk about this uh skin
cancer that that destroyed her face basically, and because of her religion, she
chose not to treat it medically. She's spent, she's twenty twenty five years.
She prayed for God to sort of fix this thing and it and God
did not fix it, and so basically medicine fixed it. And so in
an earlier sojourn with my mom in nineteen ninety nine, she moved in with
me in La for a year and that's when we fixed her up. We
got rid of the cancer. And basically, when you have lost that much
of your your face, they make you, you know, a beautiful prosthetic
nose, and they make you four of them, so that I guess that
you have options, and they are differently pigmented. So the opening line of
the shows my mother has four noses, winter, spring, summer, fall.
I was gonna say, yeah, you need one for summer. When
you're like a little tan Yeah, little sky and wow, it's so beautiful.
So you toured, you did that show in New York and it went
well, it was really well reviewed. Yep. And then I've done it
now in Cleveland, and I've done it in Arkansas. I did a month
long run in Philadelphia, and I've done it a month in Minneapolis here where
I live now. So and I'm actually maybe bringing it back next year.
I am. I worked on a little grant proposal to uh maybe uh what's
the word small in it, to like restructure it so that it's more travelable
and that the production isn't so overwhelming that you have to do it three week
run to make it feasible. I'm trying to figure out a way that I
can. I could actually do it, you know, U night at a
time all over the country. Wow, I would be really cool. So
a lot of people couldn't come to New York to see it, And you
know, what are you gonna do? You have to write people? I
know you have fans everywhere a lot in LA and how do you stay in
touch with your fans? Do you you have a website? Yeah? Well
that's a really good question because I was going to ask you that as well.
It's like there's a certain demographic sort of precipice drop off of networkingness,
you know, where like how do I reach the Stephanie's of the world if
you're you know, if you're not on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter all the
time. I think there are a lot of people out there that I don't
even know how to reach them anymore, and they might want to know what
I'm doing. But right, I mean, it would seem tough when you
don't have a company behind you, a machine like constantly pumping out all the
pr and all that, you know, it seems like it would be really
tough. I mean, I feel like your Facebook is pretty active, and
so during COVID you got you started doing a lot of performances from your house.
It was like the greatest thing for me. I came to all.
I was when every show I was, I came to every show. It
took a lot of work, but I was when it was like, you
gotta do Venmo. I was trying to help you because you were doing something
to get the donate to for people to you know, tip you. Yeah,
And I was like, do Venmo, it will be a lot easier
because I think I think I ended up doing like sixty some odd shows,
like every Monday I was doing this show started my kitchen and then I moved
up here because the acoustics are better. But it really saved us. I
mean, the Venmo and the PayPal that was like that was a real thing
and it got us through because I mean, neither neither my husband and I
could be working like he manages recording artists and I'm a recording artist, and
we were grounded. So it was huge, and it was also you know,
kept me a little bit sane. Even though I couldn't tell. I
could see the numbers on the thing on the side of like, oh,
six hundred people this time, yay, And there's Netherlands in France and Morocco
and there's a Japanese person and a Philippine person and this is awesome, except
it was just by laptop in the little green light here. I just would
pretend that it was you know, hundreds and hundreds of people, and but
it was, and it was, and it was it was just like I
just had to pretend. You have to pretend it's it's daunting, you know,
because you're literally you're alone in your room and that's got to be hard.
It's yes, this thing, it's a really good training. How did
you just have to be like all right, I'm I. There are six
hundred people here and we're going to do this thing. And it it got
over and people I think want like they're excited about it and they're getting an
opportunity to be a part of something. I think it builds community too,
because you can look in the chat and you can see right. I mean,
I know for us, for me and Lynette and Kaylin. The thing
that kind of changed the game for us as a as podcasters was the Facebook
group. And it was like we had a Facebook page, but when we
started a group, that's when all the fans started talking to each other.
And it became because I was I would say to Lynette, like, how
come like we put out an episode that's super funny or you know, a
great episode, and like nobody really talks about it in the comments. And
then I asked one of the like a face, I was like, how
come you guys never comment? And they said, because it comes up.
It comes up in our in our feed, and like sometimes we it's like
personal. I don't want everybody reading it. So we were like, well,
what if we did a Facebook group private? Yeah, not secret,
but just a private group that they have to enter because they like you.
And then they all all it went crazy, like we had thousands of people
and then they all were talking to each other and it's like beyond us.
Yeah, but I feel like your fans like feel special because they feel like
they have not a secret. I mean, you're you're fairly well known,
but I mean when they they're like, oh, when you love Jonathan Brook,
you love Jonathan Brook. I don't know if you can tell I love
Jonathan Brook. So when they you know, it's I'm sure of feeling at
your shows at like when you were intivid. Yeah, it's an intimate feeling,
and they want to talk to each other and get in and like,
you know, meet each other and feel part of something. Yeah, it's
an incredible community. And the Kitchen, COVID, the you know, the
COVID concerts were really so reassuring. I felt so bolstered by everything you just
said, like it was a real community. And so every time I would
sit there for hours thanking every single person who like pitched in on Venmoe.
You know, there was one girl for her name is Amy Lotsburg. I
think every single show she gave me five dollars and it meant the freaking world
to me because I knew she couldn't afford any more than that, but she
was there every week. It's makes me cry even now, like it just
was like the most sweetest thing. So every weekend, thank you, Amy,
you love me so much. Thank you. And then you know,
there were other people who were like super super generous and lovely and they would
just be like, it's it's okay, don't worry, I can afford this
and I really want you to have it. And that too was like,
oh my god, you saved you saved us. That's great. And now
that I'm out and about actually able to tour again, every show somebody brings
it brings up the COVID concerts. They're like, and and thank you for
the COVID cousin. It was just so nice to have. They were every
Monday, right, if I'm remembering it correctly, every Monday, and the
kitchen you call it the kitchen COVID COVID concert. I mean it was so
fun. Yeah. Oh and it's actually one fan from La made me this.
You see that wooden thing? Oh is that a painting? It's like
content. She made me my own plaque. Oh cute, says Kitchen on
the background. I love that. So when COVID started to like dwindle a
little bit, did you ever have like people come over to be your audience
or did you always just do it? Yet? I never did that.
I had my cello player came over, so she was We did some cello
song stuff and that's that was the only time that there was. Oh and
then my stepdaughter Lily came over and she was a guest one. I saw
that she was a guest host one I didn't go to like Jerry Dooty or
doctor's appointment or something. I think it was Jurry Dooty. So did you
do you feel like you had to learn a bunch of tech and like,
how did you figure it all out? Because I'm the worst with that kind
of thing. Well, clearly I suck at it too. Because I had
a friend who lives here, Kelly Lynn Nott, who was doing a lot
of facilitating the techie stuff for people. She figured all the ikey stuff out
for me. She got me this little mixer here, and you know,
I bought this microphone and you know, because there were a lot of audio
files among the fans who are like, year, there's too much echo on
your microphone. You need you need some sound baffling in your room. And
I'm like, okay, all right, so what okay? So you're touring
now, I mean we'll we'll get we'll name some of your tour dates.
But I'm coming to see you in November at McCabe's for our LA people.
I'm sure my friend Jonathan Borne, another super fan of yours, will will
come meet me there. I'm mix I'm gonna go. I want to go
for sure. So good seen you at McCabe's. Now a few times,
Uh made you sign my mother as feign noses to give to my my husband's
sister. Their mom passed from Alzheimer's too, And yeah they were going through
it for like ten years. She had a Yeah. But so what so
before we it to like another song, what have you been working on?
Like right now, I have been working on two musicals and actually three.
She's a girl, and I'm trying to remember how to write normal songs so
that I hope to make a new record at some point. I'm not sure
with what money I will make it, but I would like to make another
Jonathan record before it's too late. But I'm kind of deep, deep into
these two front Burner musicals. One of them is called Switched. It's about
two women who are switched at birth and they find out when they're forty and
then the sort of play starts with them getting these letters like did you ever
think you were? Maybe, well it's true you were, and then like
boom, you know, the show starts and we circle back to them as
kids. And that's a really cool project. So I'm working on that pretty
diligently. And then there's another musical called Tempest t E M p U s
as in Tempest Fujit Time Flies. That is a commission from two New York
producers. So I'm co writing that with a woman Namedjaqueline packas Killer play right.
So we're working on that, and that's front Burner as well. Wow,
pressure, that's great, Yeah, terrifying. Well do you want to
play us another song? I'll let it be your choice, So I don't.
I don't make you ten your guitar for twenty minutes. Do that?
Let me see the other guitars tuned to something more normal. Hold on,
put the gun down, contact me, got a lot of nerve, your
freed, see your head in rough. Everybody got their cross, So your
bearing, You seek your prophets, tell you love ones, and you carry
on, carry on, carry on, carry on, carry on, carry
on. Nobody has done you, so you'll carry on. And you put
the gun down? Was your daddy mean mamma couldn't be saved one? Keeping
new clean isn't just attention that you crave. Put the gun down. Nobody
asks to lose. You got no except forgiveness. You better choose loose.
And you carry on, carrying, carry on, carry on, carry on,
carry on. Nobody done you row. It's Tuesday, make it too
Wednesday, Thursday. You might feel the sun Friday, nor something bound Saturday,
Sunday. Don't need no gun, don't ain't don't swing. No money
has to please, no fami lady gonna sing. You may never get what's
need to carry on? Carryall, carry on, carry on, carry on,
carry on. No man done you rolle? So you carry on?
They carry on, carry on, carry on, carry on, carry out
and carry on. No maney done you rolle. So your carry on and
you put the gun down. The gun down. Wow, so beautiful,
such great lyrics, very interesting, very another one. I've listened to you
over and over and over and over with your music. Oh my gosh.
I feel so honored that you came and did our podcast and let's send our
audience. Yes, first of all, can you I was sent your tour
dates, but do you know any of them off hand? I do?
Okay, let's see. Well this weekend I'm playing with Patty Griffin. I
know, Wow, I know, and I haven't seen her in years.
She was kind of came up in the Boston scene right when Jennifer and I
were starting out. So we go way back. The first one's in hammond
Sport, New York, which is the Finger Lakes region. I think it's
at this like winery, fancy outdoor place. It's a it's a daytime show
on the seventeenth. The next one's Annapolis, Maryland on that twenty eighth,
and no, on the seventeenth, sorry, Annapolis is the seventeenth. And
then I'm out on the road with my sixty hot guitar player Sean, who
also sings his butt off. We're in New Hope, which is outside Philly,
New Hope, Pennsylvania. On the twenty eighth, we're in Portland,
Maine. The twenty ninth, we're in Natick, mass My old stopped grounds
Natick on the thirtieth, and then we do Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Then
we do Vienna, Virginia. I mean it's my website jabook dot com.
Yeah, and Jonathan Brook dot com on Instagram. On Facebook, you have
a Facebook page, YouTube channel Jonathan Brook. So everybody just go to her
socials and when you go see her in concert, go wait in line with
your thing to have signed and tell her fcol yes, yes, so she'll
fl Yeah, thank you. I love that. That's the name of your
podcast. I look for crying. What's such a great I might have to
steal that and make a song. Oh please, we would love that.
I was just gonna say we write a song. It was kind of kind
of because I told you so, like for crying out loud, right right?
Yeah? Yeah, well we were. We started as basically a parenting
podcast. I have twins. I have twins and as older one, and
Lynette has twins, and so when we started, our kids were really little,
both of us, so we were like overwhelmed with it, and it
was we love to like complain, right, It's like our thing that we
do vent and complain about parenting. So yeah, so that's where we came
up with all you know, knock it off, don't make me hit you?
All right, thank you, Thank you so much, Jonathan. We've
been great. We really appreciate you're thinking of me. Yeah, thank you
so much. It's been fun talking to you. Okay, all right,
everybody check her out. Thank you, Bye, letting go,