Jesse Brewster

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..San Francisco Bay Area native Jesse Brewster began his music career touring, writing, and performing as a guitarist, riff crafter, and background singer for many Northern California rock bands from the mid 90’s to early 2000’s. His ability to create the right part, sing the right harmony and always maintain a positive and professional attitude made him a favorite in the Bay Area music scene. After losing his brother to the world’s most common hereditary disease, PKD, in 1998, Jesse’s inspiration as a lyricist, lead singer and front man began to take shape. In late 2002 he began work on a new record with the sole purpose of raising awareness and funds for research in finding a cure for the deadly disease that affects him and his family so profoundly. Appropriately entitled Confessional, the record was to be a collection of powerful ballads, catchy melodies, and touching lyrics with an intimate acoustic feel. Jesse brought together some of the best musicians the west coast has to offer to play, sing and co-write on his philanthropic debut CD. “Every part of the process in putting this record together was a positive and powerful experience. From the fund raising and logistics to the writing, producing and recording, everything just seemed to fall into place perfectly”, says Brewster of Confessional. Upon the release of the record in late 2004, Jesse, working closely with the PKD Foundation, set out on a mission of promoting and playing out in support of the record, which has consequently raised thousands of dollars for the foundation, and continues to raise awareness to a growing number of fans from across the country. “The response was great, especially from many of the estimated 600,000+ people who suffer from PKD (in the U.S. alone), they seemed to connect with the raw emotional place that all of the songs came from, and were extremely supportive and appreciative of my efforts to raise awareness to help find a cure. I was getting emails from everywhere from Alaska to Florida, which at first was a bit overwhelming,” he admits. Jesse has appeared at dozens of events and benefits for PKD, traveling out of state several times to help spread the word about his album and cause. In mid 2005, Jesse’s love of an edgier rock sound started to make it’s way back into his songwriting. The live shows slowly started to take on a different vibe. “I wanted to play my new material, and to be known as ‘the musician who also has PKD’ rather than ‘the PKD patient who is also a musician’. Playing only the songs from Confessional started to get tiring emotionally, and I was anxious to get back to a more raw electric sound.” And get back to it he did. With a solid and consistent cast of band mates behind him (drummer Ryan low, guitarist James Deprato, and bassist Angeline Saris), Jesse went back into the studio again in late 2005 to begin work on a new 7 song EP. His ability to write and produce had grown since the last record, and so had his ability as a bandleader. Entitled simply “Jesse Brewster Band”, this second effort was noticeably different than the first record. With a more aggressive and edgy sound, many of the songs from the EP are reminiscent of the Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, and Incubus. There were still remnants of Confessional, however, and songs such as “Long Enough” and “Used Up” reflect the same emotion and intimacy of many of the songs on that first record. “The album was a growing process for me that completely reflected the change I was going through as a musician. Both from the desperation and emotion of Confessional to a more raw, rock sound, and also from being a one-time singer/producer, primarily guitarist, to a front man and lead singer.” The record helped galvanize the band into a whole new type of live performance. If Confessional was about emotion and intimacy, then the new sound was all about energy and feel. From the opening track “You Will Lie”, a rock powerhouse filled with aggressiveness and grit, to “The Perfect Fool”, a funky irreverent pop song with an infectious melody, the new direction was unmistakably the right one for Jesse as well as the band. The EP was released in June of 2006 at Slim’s in San Francisco, one of the Bay Area’s premiere live venues. Since then Jesse and the band have continued to hone their sound, adding background singer and percussionist James Greenfield to the group. With each show getting more electrifying and powerful than the last, Jesse and the band have a new found confidence. Jesse, never one to rest on his laurels, has a new album in the works, with new songs to add to his ever-growing catalog. His ability to create catchy hooks with infectious melodies over solid musicianship is undeniable, as all of the new material reflects. “I finally feel like the pieces have fallen into place,” says Brewster of the current state of his music and the band. “With this new record, people won’t wonder for a minute what kind of sound I’m going for.” For Brewster, the future is bright as his songs continue to mature, the venues get larger, and his live show continues to wow audiences. Be on the lookout for new music in Spring 2007.
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