Brett Gleason

Today's subject is a talented young man whom I was introduced to by my good friend and great musician (and already presented here at GCL), Martin Del Caprio. His name is Brett Gleason and he's got a very interesting story to tell.

Brett is a New Yorker who has called Brooklyn and Long Island his home. His early life was hampered by a severe speech impediment, leading to a solitary childhood immersed in the arts. His struggle to communicate led to a mastery of multiple instruments and a fiction degree from the New School University in NYC. He is an out gay artist and he is also a bi-polar sufferer. "Does your bipolar condition ever cross paths with your creativity, and if it does, what happens then?", I asked him. Here's his reply:

"Being bipolar effects everything I do, it's a way of being, a pair of glasses I see and feel the world through. I don't know if I would have such a strong drive to make music otherwise. I've always had trouble expressing the extreme depths of my emotions and the arts have been essential in giving me an outlet."

As for being an out gay man, Gleason had this to say in a very interesting article in the Huffington Post:

"I never knew music had a sexual preference. I don’t sing about love or sex but they say my music is ‘gay.’ It’s not exactly a taunt, not quite the slur hurled at me as a child but like then, it misses the mark. More than gay I’m different, independent, a complexity summarized simply as ‘gay.’ This has become both a genre and a limitation in a culture that often divides and diminishes its artists and audience."

He later says:

"I’m gay. Just like I’m male or Caucasian. A quick Google search would tell any listener these things. But first I want them to hear the music, to interpret the lyrics through their personal experiences and make the songs their own. This is what I wanted."

And he closes with:

"After aligning myself with gay culture, the ‘indie’ media seemed to lose interest. Blogs stopped responding, reviews came to a halt. My music didn’t change but the outlets that shared it did, a few doors creaked open but far more slammed shut. I knew it was a risky venture to be so brazen but didn’t expect such a polarized response. It’s since become obvious to me why though there are brave, out artists far more are paralyzed by the fear of being ‘too gay’, too sexual, of crossing a line we’ve been warned not to straddle. I don’t advocate universal objectification but would like to see an atmosphere where gay artists can address the themes of sex and love with as much relevance as any straight voice.

As I’ve come to learn, a gay, sexualized image can be a double-edged sword that both intrigues and repels but if the artist is sincere, I believe they will find their audience. It’s easy to be silent but when we don’t speak our minds we risk speaking for nobody, ourselves included. I may have unintentionally been labeled a ‘gay’ musician but I credit this distinction as the first shared intimacy of many, helping me develop a deeper relationship with the listeners who may never have noticed me as just another moody guy making music in Brooklyn. Some may avert their eyes but with every email I get from a young man doesn’t identify with the homogenous, castrated version of gay culture acceptable to mass media, I worry less and less."

Gleason's first recorded music was an EP called The Dissonance (2010). Four years later he released his debut album, which was simply titled Brett Gleason. ReGen magazine was enthusiastic: "Intelligent and intricate songwriting topped off by precision production and performance helps to make this debut full-length an absolute winner."

Imposter, a song about the struggle against conformity, as well as against the emotional loss of control, is the perfect introduction to Brett; it's alt. rock meets cabaret in a very creative union:

Calculated goes for a harder sound; his vocals pay tribute to folk-rock troubadours from the late 60s, like Family's Roger Chapman and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, while the guitars have a grunge sensibility:

Destruction is best described by Brett himself: "How good can it be to feel bad?"

I Am Not is a lot of things, one of which is a gay empowerment anthem:

"For you tried to extinguish me.

Expel and erase all of me.

Extract and negate all I see.

Hide me and silence my dreams...

Break the mold,

Escape the hold!

Of a life of sadness

begging for your soul-don't

Fight the trend,

do not bend!

Weakness works with madness,

tempting me to end you!

I am not afraid,

I am not ashamed.

I will stand up to

obstructions in my way."

Futile & Fooled continues to explore a theme that is prevalent in Brett's eponymous album: trying to regain control of oneself:

"Marionettes are fine when they can see their

own strings die."

I was interested how his creative process works, so I asked: "Music or lyrics, which come first?". His reply: "I sit down at the piano and start with the music, a chord or riff. Once I have a basic melody I jump into the lyrics and then it's a living, breathing creature and the two can't be separated."

His follow-up album, Manifest, was released just a few days ago. Atwood magazine more than approved: "Brett Gleason’s Manifest is a perfect example of a great sophomore album that shows an artist truly finding his footing as a great songwriter."

The album's opening track is If I Could. Here's a live version:

Expiration Date is a breakup song that inventively utilizes strings along excellent piano work:

"I’ll break your heart, so I can put it back together, stronger than ever", Brett sings on Rough Love, daring you to face your truth and be better for it. Here's the demo:

The horn work in the closing track, The Urge makes for a great touch. The studio version is not available on youtube, so here's a live version instead (without the horn work):

I wondered what his thoughts about his professional future were, so I asked: "We know that now is a bad time to be a young musician. Selling records doesn’t work anymore except for the big names, same with streaming. Concerts can make money, but that too doesn’t come easy. Unless one is already well-established, or otherwise a talent-show kid, the facts of life are hard for a musician. How do you see yourself in this complex landscape? Where do you want to be 10 years from now?"

His answer was: "It's a tough time to be a musician if your only goal is making money. Of course, I would love to quit my day job and make my sole living off of recording and performing but ultimately, if I'm able to continue to record, release and perform my original music to an appreciative audience then I feel satisfied and motivated to continue. I teach music on the side, I have a small but enthusiastic fan base that generously funds my records - I don't make a profit but I'm able to realize my visions without going too far into debt, it's not bad. The future of music, for me, is about the direct relationship between the artist the fans. I'll be launching a Patreon soon which is a medium for artists and supporters to directly engage, collaborate and support the artists on a monthly basis as they create."

Finally, I asked him my standard question involving the gay lifestyle: Where do you stand between living freely and outside the system as a gay person (the romantic sexual outlaw notion) vs being recognized in society legitimately, and leading a life that's as close to the straight model as possible (monogamy, raising a family, etc).

His answer: "My default has always been a pretty quiet, monogamous life because it's a simpler way of living with easy to understand boundaries. Love is precious and not to be taken for granted and I'm yet to be in a relationship where I feel confident enough that if I step outside, I will be able to return with everything where I left it. However, every person and couple need to navigate their sexuality themselves. It's tempting to emulate what you see around you but that's just lazy. I've seen a lot of gay couples get married and try and copy straight relationships and that always depresses me but it's impossible to know the dynamics of anyone's relationship and the good ones are always changing."

As Oscar Wilde once said: “I like men who have a future and women who have a past.” I do believe that Brett does have a future.