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Brandis Story

Ethan Wilson
Professor Grey
English 5
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If you start a band with me, Ill get us signed and on the road within a year. Those were

Brandi Carliles famous words to two twin brothers in a failing rock band. Little did they know

that the spunky country girl from a small town in Washington would lead them to international

success. Their success would come with countless hours of humanitarian work for the LGBTQ

community, women, children and anyone else they could help.

About 30 miles south of Seattle lies the small, wooded town of Ravensdale Washington,

home to only about 1,000 annual residents. It was here where Brandi Carlile was born on June

1st, 1981. Brandis mother, Teresa Carlile was a singer and taught Brandi from a young age. With

her mothers help, Carlile began performing in local bars and coffee shops from a young age.

Throughout her childhood and teenage years she performed locally in clubs, coffee shops and

even street corners in Seattle, playing country songs such as Johnny Cashs Tennessee Flat Top

Box. As she grew up she performed six nights a week for local bars and clubs around Seattle

such as The Tractor, Dukes, The Crocodile, Madines, The Dubliner, Salties, The Paradigm and

many more. Before moving to Seattle to fully pursue her career in music she even served as a

backup singer for her fathers friend, an Elvis impersonator.

From here she met Tim and Phil Hanseroth, two twin brothers who played guitar and

bass for the Fighting Machinists, an unknown and failing rock band. Together, the trio produced

their first album, titled Brandi Carlile. The album put her on Rolling Stones Ten Artists to

Watch in 2005 and was ranked number 80 on the Billboard Top 200 (Billboard Music). The

groups breakthrough album however would come from their second album, The Story. Recorded

in just eleven days, The Story was featured in multiple commercials and an episode of the hit

tv show Greys Anatomy, pushing the title song to number five on itunes. It peaked at number

41 on the Billboard Top 200 and number ten on United States Rock Albums (Billboard Music).
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The album was received with great praise, including The New York Times, who stated the album

evinces a pop instinct even at its most rustic. A useful parallel would be the Indigo Girls

Following this breakthrough, Carlile toured with bands such as Maroon 5, OneRepublic and the

Avett Brothers as an opening act. She would go on to collaborate with Grammy award winning

producer Rick Rubin and perform with Elton John, a person she calls, my greatest hero of all

time (Dallas Voice).

From a young age Brandi Carlile identified as a lesbian. In an interview with the Los

Angeles Times, she stated, I dont have a lot of formality around it there were people before

me who paved the way. Growing up in the secluded community of Ravensdale, when Carlile

came out at 14, she did so without ever having met another gay person. She seeked guidance and

looked to celebrity and political figures for inspiration such as Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John and

the Indigo Girls as examples of how her life could and should be. It was their inspiration that

pushed Brandi further to learn how to play the piano and the guitar while chasing her dreams and

becoming a star. While she credits her idols often for her inspiration and success, The waves that

Brandi has made in the music industry are unforgettable. Her newer music, such as her album

The Firewatchers Daughter is officially listed as a country/folk album. This is monumental

because there are very few gay and transgender artists in the country genre. Country music is

stereotypically a very traditional and even conservative genre of music but the impact that Carlile

has made is opening the doors to change that. For example, it was only in 2009 when Darius

Rucker became the first African American man to win an award at the Country Music Awards.

Her music eloquently delivers her message in her fight for equality and recognition for people of

different color, culture and sexual orientation while addressing the hardships they face. In her

song The Eye she states I am a sturdy soul and there aint no shame, in lying down in the bed
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youve made. Can you fight the urge to run for another day? In this verse Brandi is referring to

how she has no shame in being who she is, a lesbian. She is holding true to what she believes and

wants those who face similar difficulties to stand up and face their fears with her. The song The

Eye is all about her journey jumping into a new life, risking who she is to be free of those who

will not accept her and love her. Furthermore, in her song Pride and Joy Brandi sings to her

loved ones in a sort of letter as she states Do I make you proud? Do you get me now? Am I your

pride and joy? While she never clearly states who she is singing to it is clear that the person she

is speaking to did not initially support her coming out or her career choice. Now that she has

established herself in the music industry and holds a serious relationship with her wife and

daughter she wants to know if that person accepts her now and wishes they would. (**) While

changes are being made, Carlile is certainly a leader in the renovation of country music. With her

continued success, Carlile has put together an organization that helps many people across the

world.

Established in 2008, The Looking Out Foundation was put together by Carlile, the

Hanseroth twins and a handful of their closest friends. Their foundation fundraises, collects

donations and gives their own profits from tours to other organizations that they support closely.

Some of these organizations include; The American Red Cross, Urban Peak Youth Shelter, the

Sophia Way, Apne Aap, Veronicas Voice, Womens Bean Project, The Womens Funding

Alliance, JUAF, Out for Immigration, Beyond the Bridge, CLAWS (Civil Lawyers Against Sex

Slavery), LGBTea Dances, Safe House of Hope and many more (Looking Out Foundation). They

have also partnered with groups such as The Indigo Girls, The Seattle Police Department, and

local self defense studios to support the Fight the Fear Campaign, a community-oriented

violence-prevention initiative that partners with the WAVE Foundation to provide training in
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relationship violence education, sexual assault awareness, self-defense skills, as well as gives

access to resources for survivors of abuse and violence. The Looking Out Foundation has no set

group of people they want to help but rather they act as a blanket, serving groups across every

aspect of humanitarianism. For example, they donate to Veronicas Voice, a program aimed to

help women who are victims of prostitution and providing them with services and care that they

need to recover and prosper again. They also donate to the LGBTea, a non-profit organization

seeking to revitalize the gay community in Chester county Pennsylvania. Carlile and her band

have used their earnings to give back thousands of dollars to their community and people around

the world. In 2008, General Motors used one of Brandis songs to run an ad. In return, Carlile

donated 100% of her earnings to grassroots environmental programs seeking to combat global

warming and preserve the environment. In the last decade Carliles humanitarian work has made

a big impact on many organizations, small and large.

Through the Looking Out Foundation, Carlile has also brought together artists such as

Adele, Dolly Parton, Pearl Jam and many more for one epic project. Carlile is making an album

called Cover Stories which will feature covers of all her songs from her famous album, The

Story. All the proceeds from the album will benefit the War Child Foundation, an organization

helping children whose lives have been devastated by war. The album will be available for

purchase on May 5th, 2017.

Brandi Carlile is certainly an amazing human being. She used her life and her talent to

help anyone and everyone that she can. Her voice carries not only in the minds of those who

listen to her music but also in the hearts of those who have been touched and inspired by her. She

went from a small town country girl to an international success all while managing to stay true to

her hometown roots and help anyone she can.

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Work Cited

ANN POWERS | POP MUSIC CRITIC. "With 'Give Up the Ghost,' Brandi Carlile Just May
Gain the Crossover Fans She Covets." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct.
2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

"Brandi Carlile."billboard.com Billboard Music, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

"Brandi Carlile."billboard.com Bill, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

"Brandi Bio." Brandi Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Bendix, Trish. "Morning Brew - Brandi Carlile Welcomes a Daughter." AfterEllen. N.p., 24 June
2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Chinen, Nate. "A Little Bit of Country Infuses a Pop Instinct." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 29 Apr. 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

"Conversations at KCTS 9." Interview by Enrique Cerna. Youtube. KCTS 9. Seattle, Washington,
22 June 2012. Television.

Conor Christofferson Tue., May 29 2012 at 12:00AM. "Brandi Carlile: Loud & Proud." Seattle
Weekly. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

Deming, Mark. "Brandi Carlile | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links." AllMusic. Complex
Music, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

Fight the Fear Campaign. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

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GENE STOUT, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER POP MUSIC CRITIC. "A Shot of Brandi:
Ravensdale Singer Defies Labels, except 'rising Star'." Seattlepi.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Apr. 2017.

Jones, Arnold W. "The Gay Interview: Brandi Carlile." Dallas Voice. Dallas Voice, 11 June 2012.
Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

Powers, Ann. "With 'Give Up the Ghost,' Brandi Carlile Just May Gain the Crossover Fans She
Covets."Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

Pride_site. "Brandi Carlile and Girlfriend Catherine Shepherd Are Engaged." PRIDE.com. N.p.,
15 June 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

"Tim and Phil Bio." Tim and Phil Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

"War Child." War Child. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

"War Child UK." War Child UK - "I Asked My Heroes and Friends to Help Me... N.p., 21 Feb.
2017. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.