BROOKE WILKES

“Surely all art is the result of one's having been in danger, of having gone through an experience all the way to the end, where no one can go any further.” ~Rilke~
La Music Awards RECORD OF THE YEAR WINNER, WeHo Awards nominee and Music Connection Magazine's TOP 100 Unsigned Act
BROOKE WILKES
was born right about show time; around 8pm her curtain went up for the very first time in Anchorage Alaska.
This 3rd Generation Danish Alaskan found many early opps to develop her talent. At 11, she starred in her first musical, received an Alaskan pageant win, began studio collaborations, received radio airplay, newspaper reviews and various night club performances opening for celebrities all before the age of 13.
Brooke wanted more.
Once in SoCal Brooke put her very first rock bands together, booking herself into various LA night clubs, needing to sneak in the back door (being an underage ambitious high schooler!) Her original band “Local Colour” booked appearances showcasing their signature sound Brooke fondly remembers as "heavy metal bubble gum."
By age 15 Brooke started molding her inner actress over a decades journey, portraying lead roles in productions ranging from The Wiz to Evita. The theatre boards helped to cultivate her powerful rock and cabaret stage persona while Brooke landed screen time on Star Search, lending her vocals to various TV shows, commercials and feature film soundtracks.
When the Wilkes family chose to head back to Alaska, the young dreamer stayed put and finished her senior year of high school renting her first apartment.
You see, Brooke just wasn’t done yet.
Tackling more musical theatre roles, touring with industrial shows in various rock and cover bands, training her voice to sing up to 40 songs an evening, sometimes 7 nights a week prepared her chops for what laid ahead.
During these "paying her dues" years, she worked with celebrities including the Beach Boys, Ben E. King, Jewel, the Pointer Sisters, Richard Carpenter, Greg Walker, Matthew Lillard, Wayne Brady, Vanessa L. Williams, Kristine W. and Doc Severinson all while filling requests to sing The National Anthem at sold out arena's for the LA Lakers and the Might Ducks.
Of course, there are always those moments where Hollywood newbees are faced with those too good to be true wheelers and dealers claiming to be connected and proud to have their very own comfortable casting couches.
“I knew I’d rather die trying for this dream on my own terms than sacrifice my morals and ethics, "Brooke said. "It was never an option for me to sell my soul."
Those eye opening moments inspired Brooke to take her livelihood into her own hands. She started her own talent booking company and began employing herself and dozens of other driven performers to entertain people everywhere from Caesars Palace to Disneyland. This newfound leadership gave Brooke valuable knowledge about the business side of music and instilled a deep respect and understanding for hard working agents, managers and publicists everywhere.
With that knowledge and experience gained, it was now time for Brooke to focus on her own original music once more.
She dusted off her notebook and began writing and working the LA club circuit again. Her first CD attempt, “Never Too Late”, was named one of the Top 10 Albums of the Year by Music Connection Magazine.
But Brooke still had more to say- and do- and be.
Brooke began living her life to the absolute fullest, stepping "outside the box," taking on new experiences and writing about them. Brooke embarked on an unexpected journey that would later be jokingly referred to as her "Fruitcake Year."
In the words of successful actor and old friend Matthew Lillard,
"Brooke’s CD, 'The Vanilla Life,' is anything but!"
This literal and lyrically daring album won Record of the Year at the Los Angeles Music Awards. The Vanilla Life also received the Founders Award for Brooke’s creative tongue in cheek art concept:
A wholesome 1950s Sandra Dee unabashedly celebrating her own unexpected non-vanilla adventures.
This award winning album's content and themes are inspiring a future theatrical show and Brooke's very first book.
The lessons of the "Vanilla Life" are fueling material for Brooke's next CD to be appropriately entitled, "The Mermaid Diaries."
In the meantime, Brooke continues to take on new and exciting challenges, whether it's stand up comedy, TV's America's Got Talent or Cabaret showcases.
As one of Brooke's fans recently put it,
“Brooke is my favorite super hero. She is part light, part dark. One half mothering angel, the other half naughty devil."
And guess what?
Brooke's not done yet.
..