Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I come from a family of music lovers, songwriters and musicians. On both sides, my family sang in church. That was definitely an inspiration to pursue my love of singing. I was a 90’s kid in Texas. There was a lot of great country music that my parents listened to on the radio. Once I got older and got a band together, camaraderie is one of the things that keep me going in the music career. But if Garth Brook’s “The Thunder Rolls” didn’t do it, I don’t know what did. I just love great songs and being in a band.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: I do not have formal training. But I would probably be a better singer and guitarist if I would have. It’s still something I would like to do.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Broke String Burnett’?
A: My first musical influence was from gospel and country music. I still carry that gospel tinge in my songwriting, I call it southern gothic. My strongest influence was probably punk music. Bad Religion, Misfits, Dead Kennedys, punk music grows and changes but is always relevant. Punk music inspired me to keep going, keep playing music no matter what. I earned the moniker ‘Broke String Burnett’ from playing shows. It was a testament to how much time I spent with my songs and playing live, breaking strings, and learning to change guitars on stage, sometimes in the middle of a song. It stuck.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Got It Bad’. Is there a story behind it?
A: The story behind our new single, Got It Bad, starts toward the tail end of the pandemic in late 2021/ early 2022. My long time friend, and Fort Worth songwriter/ composer, Calan Rawl, and I started collaborating and talking about the possibility of an album. I was sending demos and he was sending me some stuff back that was blowing my mind. Anyway, from the twenty-something songs I sent to him we began to narrow down.
We found a vibe that we liked and we actually had an idea to flesh out the concept by writing songs that were in juxtaposition, or reflection of each other. So, Calan sent me the line from another song on the album, “Cross Me Off”, as a prompt to write a new song in reflection with opposing Major / Minor keys. Basically write a moodier, darker tone song using the line “You’ll never change”. We wrote “Got It Bad” in like a few days, if that. It really informed the production, with its vibe reverberating throughout the rest of the album. That’s why we chose to release it as the first lead single. The song itself was conceived as a seedy, neo-noir, a love story gone bad.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: We will be releasing our full-length album, Doppelganger, this Winter 2023.
Before then, we have a second single, “She Turned Into a Shadow”, coming in December.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: The key elements in my music that resonate with listeners are the moody atmosphere and earnest lyrics. Each of my songs take on perspectives of flawed and broken characters. Following these stories takes the listeners to interesting places. I would describe my own sound as Cosmic Country.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: When you start to get recordings back on a new album, there is no other feeling compared to when the songs work out, it comes together and feels like your voice is finally expressed- through collaboration, especially. As someone who writes a lot of songs and spent hours, months and years on just one song, and others that were written in a fraction of that time, it just goes to show, you can’t compare your art to others- or even to yourself. My goal is to make albums and go play those songs on stage. I expect more in the future because I know I’ll be working just as hard as ever for my goals.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: My creative process usually starts by latching onto a guitar riff or a lyric or even the atmosphere of a movie or tv show. Things will grow from there, sometimes quickly, over a cup of coffee, and sometimes one idea will conjure up an old idea and it’ll fit, over a matter of months or even years. My process is pretty chaotic. But that’s one of the really fun parts for me. If the idea isn’t fun I’ll lose interest. Shaping the ideas into something complete is something I like to do as fast as I can to get an idea for what song might come next in a set of songs or concepts. I like to write multiple songs at a time so I record everything just in case I might inspire something else.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: As everyone knows, each family had their own experience during the pandemic. Being a gigging musician, I have learned how to roll with the punches, but between gigs drying up and health crisis within my family, It was a difficult time.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: A successful album release party is always a proud moment for any musician. I’ve been lucky to have at least a couple great album releases with friends, family, and bands I love. During the pandemic I wrote, recorded, and released a solo album under my own name, Brandon Burnett. It was a significant point in my music career because it gave me the confidence to move on with my songs and find a full band under the moniker “Broke String Burnett”.
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