Dan's Papers - July 27, 2007 - preview: jonatha brooke

For the past several summers, the Stephen Talkhouse has been graced by Jonatha Brooke, whose style is as one-of-a-kind as her first name. Unlike in recent years, however, Brooke will be performing with her full band on Thursday, August 2, enabling her to showcase not only her intimate acoustics, but also her funky, rock-n-roll chick persona.

"Every album I make has a dynamic range," Brooke said. "Some songs are intimate and there are always some rockers that really kick ass. I hate repeating myself from record to record. It's much more exciting to experiment and try new things."

Brooke, who has appeared on the David Letterman Show and the Conan O'Brien show, recently released her ninth album, Careful What You Wish For. The emotional and musical range of the record is classic Jonatha Brooke, with songs that explore the complicated dynamics of family relationships, faith and truth and the ravages and redemption inherent in love and romance. New to this album are several songs that touch on the perils of fame, such as the track titled "Beautiful Girl," a biting look at how beauty and celebrity can so easily become a trap.

Brooke had a brush with the world of insane fame while writing "Beautiful Girl," which was co-written with longtime Brooke collaborator Eric Bazilion and JC Chavez, one of the members of former boy-band *Nsync. She also wrote another track, "Keep the River on Your Right," with Nick Lachey (of 98 Degrees fame).

"Pairing up with these guys was one of the last things you'd expect from me, but it was so much fun," says Brooke. "I know JC's A&R rep at Jive Records and she's a fan of mine. When she suggested it, I jumped at the chance to do something new." Lachey had previously recorded another of Brooke's compositions, "Because I Told You So," produced by Brooke and Bazilion.

Another somewhat surprising pairing was Brooke and Disney. She wrote and recorded the song "I'll Try," which was featured on the soundtrack to the Disney animated feature, Peter Pan: Return To Neverland.

"Believe it or not, I have a friend named Bambi -- yes, that's really her name -- who worked at Disney," says Brooke. "She called to ask me to write a song for the movie that expressed the emotions and get into the mind of the main character, a twelve-year-old-girl. And since twelve-year-old angst is my specialty, I jumped right in," she laughed.

As with her last four releases, Careful What You Wish For was issued on Brooke's own Bad Dog Records label, which she founded in 1998 after leaving MCA. "Making and distributing your own material can be tiring and expensive, but I'm able to create the work the way I want without the constraints that major labels sometimes put on you," Brooke explained.

Careful What You Wish For was co-produced by the legendary Bob Clearmountain, who has worked with artists ranging from The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner to Paul McCartney and Joe Cocker, for whom Brooke opened on his 2005 tour.

"Joe Cocker is such an amazing, energetic performer and a really lovely guy," said Brooke. "I'm such a huge fan of his, so opening for him was a dream." Playing arenas for tens of thousands of people, Brooke took the stage accompanied by nothing but her acoustic guitar. "It was a bit daunting at first," she said. "But playing in front of such a huge audience that didn't know my music and receive such an overwhelming response was incredibly gratifying."

Brooke's unique rapport with her audience leads devoted fans to travel hours to attend her live shows. Unlike many performers, Brooke makes each concertgoer feel like a friend who's stopped in at her house for a glass of red wine, some chocolate (two of her favorites) and a private concert.

"I'm a real lover of live music," says Brooke. "I've always loved artists who make you feel like they're singing right to you. I try to make everyone feel that same connection when I'm performing."

For more information about Brooke's Aug. 2 show at The Stephen Talkhouse, visit , or call (631) 267-3117. For more on Jonatha Brooke and to hear clips of her music, visit www.jonathabrooke.com.