Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Brandt.
Hi Molly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started writing songs for the first time, beginning around 2020 and into the summer of 2021. Around this time, I taught myself the basics of guitar chords and used that skill to write 4 of my first-ever songs. This was the inception of my songwriting career in the Americana/country/rock sphere.
Before 2020, I’d always been super involved in music. I started playing/singing music as soon as I could talk. I started piano lessons at age 5 and continued a disciplined classical piano education throughout my school years. I always loved to sing and had a small karaoke machine in my bedroom that I used to learn disco, 2000s country, and Disney songs. I also joined choirs throughout middle school and high school. I was heavily involved in my high school’s choir and the show choir, often singing solos. I also participated in the Iowa All-State choir and participated in vocal and piano competitions. I was deeply connected to singing and music. Then, it was time to go to college. In my first year, I rejected music as a career choice and instead opted for political science and economics (I thought I would change the world, Lol). This track put me in the business school, which I quickly learned was not for me after a failed internship the summer after my first year. I swiftly changed my major to music come sophomore year. During those college years at Drake University, I was heavily involved in the Drake Choir and the Chamber Choir, spending 3 to 5 days per week rehearsing, performing, and practicing choir music.
I was also in voice lessons, learning opera arias, art songs, and musical theatre. I took classes such as music theory and history and continued a business minor. As I entered my junior and senior years, I joined the school’s jazz combo as a singer, started taking jazz piano lessons, and incorporated those skills into the jazz combo. After college, I formed my jazz combo, The Molly Brandt Band, and got booked at venues and events all over the Des Moines area, performing jazz standards and soul/r&b covers and gaining performing chops. In late 2018, I moved to Minneapolis, where all the cool kids are. So, in 2019, I moved into a place in south Minneapolis, started working at the Electric Fetus, and kept teaching lessons (I’d been teaching piano since 2013). Throughout this entire saga, I’d only written something original when the 2020 pandemic occurred.
I was able to start creating new work for several reasons:
- I was finally living alone for the first time and had the privacy I felt necessary to explore my creativity.
- I had a lot of time on my hands, being primarily unemployed during the pandemic and receiving unemployment benefits.
- I had friends and neighbors helping me hone this new craft of songwriting.
My neighbor in my building, Kalen Passa, lent me a condenser microphone, listened to my new compositions, and helped craft these brand-new songs. I showed the 3-4 songs to my long-time high school friend, Colin Loynachan, a musician and engineer. He brought me into the studio in September 2021 and helped me form a band for this small session. We recorded the first 4 songs I ever wrote. I released those songs starting in January 2022, continued the release of singles throughout 2022 and 2023, and my first album in July 2023.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road was certainly not smooth before I started writing my songs. I had no idea my path and no clue how to be a rock’ n’ roll/country artist. I struggled with self-doubt and jealousy of others, and I was also constantly working 3 jobs at a time or burning myself out with saying yes to too many things and not saying yes to my creative imperative. While I was in college, I dealt with domestic abuse, addiction, depression, anxiety, self-destruction, and burnout. I was almost always struggling to make the money I wanted. When the pandemic hit, I was laid off from two jobs in the nonprofit sector, which was a turning point. At first, I thought it was the end of my career that I had worked so hard for. But then I realized I was spinning my wheels too much, and this was a new opportunity to understand what life is to me. When I finally started creating my work, I started working through my mental health struggles and started to do away with my insecurities and self-doubt – I was finally creating! My life had meaning. I was making art that felt incredibly authentic to myself. I was going back to my roots: country and American music. And it finally felt right. Once I decidedly joined the music scene, there were many obstacles. First of all, I had no idea what I was doing. I had a hard time making all the decisions needed as a producer/band leader who was also doing all my booking, marketing, and coordinating art direction for the singles and the album. In early 2021, my mom was diagnosed with leukemia and then passed away just about a year ago, in Jan 2023. That was a severe struggle. While my music career is taking off and I’m busier than ever, my mom is struggling. There’s also the risk of Covid exposure to her weakened immune system – I didn’t get to see her as much as I wanted.
Then, when it came time that she was going to pass away, I felt I had lost the opportunity to see her because I was so busy living my life and chasing my dream. Other struggles along the way have been my health issues: I’ve dealt with stomach problems over the past 10 years and experienced chronic pain throughout this whole process, which affected my ability to hustle and make my goals happen. Then there’s the whole world telling you: “Don’t pursue a music career – it’s a bad idea,” and people always remind you how hard it is to do this. I hear lots of cynicism and negativity from those who’ve been doing it longer than me – and I can’t blame them! Choosing this career is an insane proposition. But I must keep pushing forward and reminding myself why I’m doing this despite all the reasons not to. A devil and an angel are on my shoulder, constantly trying to contradict the other. One day, I’ll be on top of the world and feel good about my art and myself; the next, I will feel like a failure. I’m sure all artists can relate.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an American singer/songwriter specializing in storytelling as a form of songwriting and continuing a tradition of American music while trying to stretch the boundaries of genre and style by blending varying influences to form authentic songs I believe in. I started writing songs at age 26, and I’m proud that one day, I just decided to start creating when I was mentally at a low point. I used songwriting to connect with my inner child, and when I began, I succeeded because I wasn’t forcing anything. I was engaging in a non-judgmental way towards myself and felt more like “playing” than an earnest endeavor. The first songs I wrote turned out great, and it’s because I’ve been gathering these songwriting tools my whole life. I’ve been gathering life experiences and listening to lots of good music, and it all came together one day, and I don’t know if I was ready to do that before. Things were just locked in place, and it was destiny. I’m proud that I worked with friends and colleagues, decided to take that leap forward, and kept saying yes to things that propelled me to more opportunities and experiences. What sets me apart from others is that I’m my person; no one else is me. I’m creating from the heart and utilizing all the influences from my life. In my next album, I am setting myself apart by stretching the boundaries of the Americana/country genre and not playing by any rules but by myself and those collaborating. I want to take risks: in the subject matter/content of lyrics, in the uniqueness of instrumentation/production, in how the stories are rolled out, and in the aesthetics/artwork of the projects. I set myself apart by being 100% and taking risks in the music.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I’ve lived in Minneapolis, and now I live in Saint Paul. When I moved to these parts, I instantly had a community. I loved working at the Electric Fetus, attending First Avenue shows, meeting new people, and having tight bonds with friends. I have had many life experiences here, and there’s always something or someone here to make me feel at home. Since joining the music scene, there’s been a constant flow of opportunities heading my way and people looking out for me behind the scenes. The infrastructure of the music scene in Minnesota feels extra special. As an artist, there are many ways to gradually grow in the scene, like getting played on The Current, playing the smaller First Avenue venues, and working your way to bigger venues. Growing up in Iowa, I have a special love for all things Midwest. I feel something intangible about this place – it just IS home. Ok, I can’t think of anything that I like the slightest other than we are too far away from my family in Iowa, and I also wish we were closer to other Midwest cities, like Chicago! Since I’ve only been here for 5 years, I need the context that others might have. I love it here, and it has drawbacks, like any American city. Sometimes, I want a more peaceful existence, but I love being close to the action!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mollybrandt.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themollybrandt/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Molly-Brandt-Music-100071914754234/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/themollybrandt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr5EWaHVXx4uMwpoclOkRfQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/molly-brandt-747785439
Image Credits
In the previous question, in order of upload: 1) Photo by Samantha Hammill 2) Photo by Tom Smouse 3) Photo by Tom Smouse 4) Photo by Madalyn Rowell 5) Photo by Tom Smouse 6) Photo by Sam Wagner 7) Photo by Max Demarco the photo in the question before the last, the photo is by Sam Wagner
