Meet Brittany Brook

We recently connected with Brittany Brook and have shared our conversation below.

BRITTANY, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?

My parents and my mother’s parents are deeply generous people. Every Sunday after church, my mom and dad invited one of the families over to our small ranch for lunch and music. It was the culture of our house to give of our resources and our talents: all four of us were expected to sing and play a musical instrument in the family band whenever company came over and I honestly loved every minute of it. My grandparents on my mother’s side supported those musical pursuits, along with any other passion we expressed, with diligent enthusiasm and financial help. I have always been provided for in profound ways by my family and giving is one of our love languages.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

When I graduated college, I left the country life of Central Montana behind and became an actor-musician in New York City. I spent a decade working professionally in regional theaters across the country, teaching children’s music as my day job, and performing with my sister, Jo Brook (fiddle), in our all-female Bluegrass-Country band. While it was often thrilling, I felt so degraded by the theater industry. Not simply by rejection, as you might think, but by the money-driven content and the subtle but ever-felt misogyny. Every women and femme that I worked with felt it too. We were in the room to be pretty, to sing, and to do as we were told. God forbid I ever pick up a guitar and lead my own song. That was the majority of my experience. Of course, there were some really decent male folx that I met along the way, but even they were reticent when it came to speaking out against the system.

These injustices gifted me my anger. And from that I pivoted to owning my own business and playing by my own rules. This turn coincided with the pandemic, strangely enough. In 2020, I formed Moonshadow Music LLC as a way to share my music with folx to encourage healing and build community. I was so lucky to stumble across the Community Resilience Initiative where my trauma-informed training began and continues today under the remarkable tutelage of Becky Turner. Everyday, I witness how that the act of singing and sharing music in and of itself can be healing of trauma and stress. So my parents were on to more than just generosity, but a way of processing pain together with community members.

Now I am able to say that I make all of my income from making music which, please understand, dear reader, is quite rare. From teaching parent-and-me classes at local community centers, toy stores and libraries in the Portland area to private guitar and ukulele instruction over Zoom to teaching kids how to play ukulele afterschool with The Ukulele Project, my days are full of rich interaction and lots of strumming. I feel like the luckiest person who has ever lived and while I do not make much money, I have more than what I need and a loving, supportive home base. I feel so passionate about continuing to help people find music for themselves so that they can strum, sing, hum, and dance their way through the tough parts of life. And for the simple pleasure that music brings our body, mind and soul.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I inherited from both of my parents an uncanny ability to befriend anyone anywhere. No matter how different we may appear, there might even be a language barrier or political wall between us: I can smooth it over. This is actually a running joke in my family–Brittany will always make a friend and then suddenly we are getting free drinks from the waiter or passed an extra blanket on the plane or shown around a foreign neighborhood by a local. I admit, I am stating this from a very privileged perspective: I am white, thin, generally attractive and female, so I can come across as non-threatening to a wide demographic of folx. For some people, it’s not as easy, being deeply introverted or shy and of course many communicate in different ways or present a certain way that make it difficult to navigate this world with ease. This skill may not apply to everyone but it can be practiced. Start by simply saying hello to a stranger (in safe, public places) and looking for a commonality to chat about, the weather is actually often a good starting point. It might dissolve into a brief exchange or it might lead to a new friend, experience, or opportunity. You never know! My parents say it and I am inclined to believe it too: most people in this world have goodness to share if you approach with a smile, curiosity and respect.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

It is my dream to have an all-femme, folk-rock band here in Portland. I am a lifelong singer-songwriter and while my work is with children and their caretakers, I desperately desire to collaborate with women and femmes who are highly skilled musicians. Being in my sister’s NYC band, The Snowy Mountain Sisters, taught me that what can blossom out of of rehearsing and performing music together is deep friendship, immense joy and technical skill. The process of playing songs over and over until they find a life of their own within the band can allow musicians to reach new levels that would be unachievable on their own. I dream of this band, gals!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photos by Matt Whitfield
Logos and cover art by Annette Navarro https://www.navarrophotodesign.com/design

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