Lisa Brokop

Biography

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When You Get to Be You, the debut Columbia Records album by Lisa Brokop, is more than a musical reawakening; it marks the birth of a personality. When Lisa arrived in Nashville in 1992 from Canada she was a teenage country star who was just beginning to explore her talent. In the five years since then, the full throttle vocalist has blossomed into womanhood, taken charge of her life and matured into a songwriter of impressive depth and capability.

The results speak for themselves. When You Get to Be You is not only a showcase for one of the country industry's finest voices; it is a statement of purpose from an artist, a composer and a person. 'The firestorm of emotion she unleashes on "How Do I Let Go," the project's first single, is an illustration of the passion and intensity that the "new" Lisa Brokop brings to her music.

"I have changed so much," says the lady with the big vocal impact. "And that's what this album is all about. When I approached Sony Music Nashville, I was just beginning to come out of my shell. I was just starting to become the confident person that I feel I am today. So I went in there to Allen Butler, President, Sony Music Nashville, and said, 'I feel like I am a new person and I'm ready to give this another shot.' I was still a little nervous, but this company gave me the freedom to really express myself Now I feel like I'm starting out brand new."

Never previously noted as a songwriter, Lisa Brokop created eight of the 10 striking songs presented on When You Get to Be You. Teamed with producers Paul Worley and Dann Huff she has emerged with an album that many performers twice her age would envy. It is, in short, her defining moment as an artist. It is the record she was born to make.

"I think I was born to sing country music," she says, reflecting on her path to stardom. "I don't remember discovering it, even though my brother and all my friends were into pop sounds. Country music was just always there. And it was always mine.

I was a 'different' kind of child. I remember I always loved music and had this burning desire to be in the music business even before I went to school. When elementary school lets out, you usually go play with your friends. But I'd rather go home ­and­ practice my guitar. As soon as I found out what Nashville was, I knew that was where I wanted to go."

Born near Vancouver, British Columbia in 1973, Lisa Brokop was just 4 when she was transfixed by the sound of the Glen Campbell hit "Rhinestone Cowboy." She was onstage at age 7, playing in a family band that included her drumming brother and accordion playing mother. Her childhood repertoire in Canada ranged from polkas to John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads" and Kenny Rogers's "The Gambler."

By age 11 she was sitting in with other Vancouver bands. She became a fulltime country professional at age 15 when she joined the Canadian group Sweetwater. A year later she formed her own band and issued the first of her string of teenage singles. At age 17 she won a "Nashville Songwriting Contest" north of the border. That led to the recording of her debut Canadian album, 199I's My Love.

As her career gained momentum, the provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan honored her with a series of trophies in 1990­95. She starred in the feature film Harmony Cats, which still occasionally pops up on U.S. cable channels. Despite her youth, she headed for Nashville without her parents in late 1992.

"By that time I had been all over Canada, so it was no big deal. I'm sure they worried about me being down here by myself, but I felt pretty confident with my talent. I thought, 'I'm good enough. I can make it.'

"I knew being an artist wasn't a totally glamorous life. In fact, it  usually wasn't glamorous at all. So I didn't come here with stars in my eyes. Well, maybe a couple of stars, because it is Nashville and it was a dream coming true. But once I'd done the tourist thing, it was time to get down to business."

It is a testament to her undeniable talent that the 18­year­old succeeded where so many others have failed. She scheduled a showcase in a local club and was offered a recording contract within a week.

Lisa Brokop was on her way in Music City. By age 22, she'd recorded her second and third albums and was spinning in the new artist whirlwind. Her life was a blur of activity. She sang constantly, but felt empty when she was out of the spotlight. She did her job, but never chatted, never relaxed and never looked inward. Lisa had been polishing her craft since childhood, but perhaps she'd neglected some of her personal, development.

"I was starting to forget why I was in this business to begin with," she reflects. "You get on this fide and you don't even know what you are doing. I love music and I love to sing. But after awhile I was thinking, 'Do I still love this? Where is my life going?"'

Fate stepped in. Despite a 1995 Top New Female Vocalist nomination from the Academy of Country Music and moderate chart success for singles such as "Give Me a Ring Sometime," "Take That," "Before He Kissed Me," and "She Can't Save Him," Lisa and her record label came to a mutual decision in 1996 to go separate ways.

She didn't seek another recording contract immediately. Instead, Lisa Brokop took a year off to "find herself' as an artist and as a person. She looked deep inside. She tapped into a hidden wellspring of songwriting talent. She gained self-respect, strength and determination. Then she did something that would have been unthinkable to her a couple of years ago. She marched into Allen Butler's office and walked out with a deal.

"Taking that time off was the best thing I could have done," she says. "It was the first time I was able to focus on writing. I had never done that before. I became so much better as an artist, and as a person.

"Everything worked out better than I could ever have expected. This is a true album, a real reflection of who I've become. Every song is supposed to be there.

"I guess I was really ready to take that time off when I did. But now, I see the buses coming into Nashville on the interstate and I go, 'I wish they were coming to pick me up.' I miss it. This is the way of life that I am so used to; and I can't wait to get out there again."

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WHEN YOU GET TO BE YOU CUT BY CUT

 

• "Love Is" (Stephony Smith/Melodie Crittendon/Robert Arthur)
  We already had quite a few of my songs that we felt were pretty strong. But we were still looking for material and Paul Worley brought this in, so I sat down and listened. There was just something so cool about the melody ­­ it's got lots of vocal range, which I love doing. Plus, I loved the message."

   

• "Cool Summer Night" (Lisa Brokop/Cyril Rawson/Ron Harbin)
  "Ron and Cyril and I seem to have a real chemistry as co writers. We work wonderfully well together and we all seem to contribute equally when we do. We've written four songs together and three of them are on this album, so I guess that's a pretty good track record. I think what I like best about this is that it has such a wonderful groove."

   

• "What's Not to Love" (Lisa Brokop/Cyfil Rawson/Ron Harbin)
  "This song came fairly late while we were doing the project. We'd gathered almost everything together, but we decided * that one more slot needed to be filled. And that was something uptempo, fun and maybe a little sassy. So the three of us got together again. Lucky for us we did. It wound up on the album. This one has some 'attitude' to it and has a lot to do with the new me."

   

• "Ain't Enough Roses" (Lisa Brokop/Sarn Hogin/Bob Regan)
  "We've done this one live a few times and the women just love it. They go crazy. It definitely has attitude. And it's cool because it's different than everything else on the album. What's funny is, the day we wrote it I said to Sam and Bob, 'Let's write something mellow. I'm tired of these songs putting down guys all the time.' So what do we do? We write a song that kind of does that, but in a fun way. I love to sing it ­when we recorded it in the studio, this is the one that came to me easiest."

   

• "Heart Be Still" (Lisa Brokop/Ed Ell/Sam Hogin)
  "The production on this really gets to me; I think they did a wonderful job on it. The dynamics are great. It's a little masterpiece. I guess it was partly my influence as a writer that it wound up being a vocal showcase. Also, Ed Hill is great on piano and that helped a lot with the construction of the song."

   

• "When You Get to Be You" (Curtis Wright/Dennis Robbins/Michael Dan Ehrnig)
  "I wish I had written this song, but I didn't. This whole album is about me getting to be me, so I just love this tune. If you listen to it three times, you're going to hear something different every time. I can't wait to do it live. It'll be a great song to do right at the top of the show."

   

• "Rain On The River" (Lisa Brokop/Sam Hogin/Bob Regan)
  "This song just feels good. People want to sing along with it by the time I get to the second chorus. I think they can relate to the light­hearted, innocent, first love feeling that's in it."

   

• "Better Off Broken" (Lisa Brokop/Ron Harbin/Cyril Rawson)
  "We were just sitting around one day without any idea of what we were going to write. All of a sudden, this title just popped into my head, 'Better Off Broken.' Cyril jumped right on it with a guitar line and we were off and running. It just sort of 'happened.' It's a hurting song, but with a positive spin to it."

   

• "How Do I Let Go" (Lisa Brokop/Karen Taylor­Good)
  "Karen and I wrote this song about two­and­a­half years ago, but for some reason it never got recorded on my last album. I think it was 'meant to be' for this one. Usually, it takes me a little while to 'get to know' a song I've written. But when we wrote this, I loved it immediately. I had the idea, but I remember being nervous to show it to her, because she's written so many great hits. I'm glad I did. It's a little more special than all of the others to me ­­ I feel like it really comes from the heart. It's a heartache number, and I love those. Plus, ballads are my favorite things to sing."

   

• "Land Of A Thousand Dances" (Lisa Brokop/Marcus Hummon/Wayne Tester)
  "I'm almost ashamed to admit ' that I didn't know there was a rock 'n' roll song with this title. Our song is very, very different from the pop tune. This number came together in the strangest way. Wayne and I were writing and we had some really cool music going. We thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if Marcus could get in on this? We called him and played it for him over the phone. He loved it, but he couldn't come and write with us that day. But he faxed us over some lyrics that fit perfectly with the song. He wasn't even in the room when we wrote together. There's something magical about that.

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