November 2018: Featured Artist |
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Singer-Songwriter, Musician & Theatrical Performer:
Jonatha Brooke
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Photo Credit: Sandrine Lee
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Jonatha Brooke is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been creating and performing richly constructed, melodic songs with complex harmonies and poetic lyrics for more than two decades. A highly-respected artist, Jonatha has earned a vast and loyal following through ten solo releases (after two projects in the early 1990s with the duo The Story). She began her solo career in 1994, and her 1997 CD 10 Cent Wings earned Jonatha a review in Billboard Magazine: "10 Cent Wings is essential, like taking a deep breath after witnessing something magnificent."
In 2008, Jonatha completed The Works, a collection of songs she wrote after being invited into Woody Guthrie's archives by his daughter - Jonatha combed through previously unseen lyrics and set them to her own new music. In 2014, Jonatha opened in her one-woman musical My Mother Has 4 Noses off-Broadway in New York City at the Duke Theater. The critically acclaimed project documents the poignant journey of caring for her mother, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's-induced dementia, during the last two years of her life. In February of this year, the show ran for three weeks at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. |
In March, Senior Editor Nancy Burger traveled to Minneapolis to attend a performance of My Mother Has 4 Noses and sat down with Jonatha in her Minneapolis home to discuss its genesis, her life as a songwriter and future projects.
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The show has done well here in Minneapolis. Has it been fun for you?
It's been awesome. You know, regional theater has its own quirks - as usual, there's not enough money or people to do all the jobs at hand, but it's been awesome. The theater has been really supportive. Don't you think the divine feminine energy is on the rise? I hope so…the Goddess of Creativity, maybe. It's a weird, good time in all its horror. It really has brought forth a lot of activism, obviously, and female intuitiveness and ‘go-get-it-ness’ to the surface. In fact, the artistic director of the Jungle Theater just got one of five $250,000 grants to women artistic directors around the country to help with female-inspired, directed and written projects. So that's kind of cool. She and another woman I worked with in Houston at the Ensemble Theater got a grant. So, two people I'm now connected to have gotten these grants. |
Photo Credit: William Clark
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What about you? The music business is tough, so I'm sure you're finding ways to reinvent yourself as you move forward with your career, no?
I just wrote my first grant proposal because I want to just be able to work and not have to just be scrambling all the time. It's called the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based philanthropist that offers grants every year, four of which are for musicians. And it's not specific. They don’t say, "You must make a record about wind blowing on Lake Harriet." Instead, they give money because they believe what you're working on and want you to do what you need to do.
Did you know how to write the grant?
No! I asked a few people, but then I just decided that I had to make it sound like me and went for it. I explained that I am really into the scene here and am enjoying collaborating with Minnesotans. Besides the show at the Jungle Theater, I have a residency at the Dakota. For the first round of the grant submission process, you have to send a 4-minute MP3 of a song but can give no other information. If you get through the first round, then you can send a resume and an artist's statement.
Update: Jonatha has since received the grant and is a McKnight Musician Fellow for 2018.
Do the Twin Cities represent something of an artists' mecca?
Yes, there are more theaters here per capita than any other city. And the people here are wicked nice.
You were in New York City for many years. What made you decide to move here to Minneapolis?
New York was awesome, and then it wasn't. We had an amazing apartment, but the landlord started raising the rent and talked about selling it. We came back to Minneapolis for two family weddings and saw a bunch of 'for sale' signs, then looked at a couple of houses on a whim and realized how cheap everything was compared to the city. We didn't like any other city. Since Pat is from here, I wasn't afraid of it. And the theater scene…I mean, the Playwright Center is where we met Jeremy [Jeremy Cohen], who became my director and then championed My Mother Has Four Noses and got us a gig at the Guthrie, one of the biggest regional theaters in the country. We met him in the summer of 2013. He was incredibly intuitive and helpful about what was already good about it and just helped me elevate it - basically the mechanics of telling the story as an actor - which I had never done. We premiered the play there in December of 2013. I then took my life savings, found a couple of investors, and decided to take the show off-Broadway, even though people thought we were crazy.
You have said that your 2016 album Midnight Hallelujah was born out of your intense experience caring for your mom and watching her turn from the deep faith (Christian Science) that had sustained her all her life.
That was the irony of it, yes. It was devastating to see that faith disappear. She no longer recognized the psalms or got comfort from the hymns that she had been singing and reading her whole life. Like in any religion, you memorize many things so you can turn to them in times of need. But it just disappeared. Instead, she became fascinated by the L.L. Bean catalog and the wide range of colors and offerings there. She was an editor and a poet, and we would print out multiple copies of her poems because she liked to cut out words and painstakingly tape them together - she didn't like any white space between the words. She would spend hours, sometimes days doing this. She was editing. It was almost like this was replacing that other thing. This was the new psalm.
Was Midnight Hallelujah about more than how faith manifested in your mom? Was it about your own faith as well?
Yes I suppose so. The thing that really got me was how the Christian Scientists abandoned her. The second that any medicine was involved, those practitioners walked away from her one by one. But mom would still call them, sometimes many times a day. I had to come up with white lies to explain why they weren't responding. That's where my vitriol and deep anger comes from. I was a mama bear protecting my mom - my baby.
Let's switch gears a bit and talk about your songwriting process. You've been doing this a long time, but how do you keep yourself motivated? What's your creative zeitgeist?
I wish there was a formula. I wish I had more discipline. It's still such a mystery. Once in a while I get lucky, get hit with an idea, and I follow it. I'm more disciplined and a little less depressive about it now…and a little better about just getting in there. I have multiple projects going now which is better for me. If I have nothing going, I tend to sit on the couch and go into a deep, dark hole. If I'm busy and have assignments that are pending, I can fight the demons.
I just wrote my first grant proposal because I want to just be able to work and not have to just be scrambling all the time. It's called the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based philanthropist that offers grants every year, four of which are for musicians. And it's not specific. They don’t say, "You must make a record about wind blowing on Lake Harriet." Instead, they give money because they believe what you're working on and want you to do what you need to do.
Did you know how to write the grant?
No! I asked a few people, but then I just decided that I had to make it sound like me and went for it. I explained that I am really into the scene here and am enjoying collaborating with Minnesotans. Besides the show at the Jungle Theater, I have a residency at the Dakota. For the first round of the grant submission process, you have to send a 4-minute MP3 of a song but can give no other information. If you get through the first round, then you can send a resume and an artist's statement.
Update: Jonatha has since received the grant and is a McKnight Musician Fellow for 2018.
Do the Twin Cities represent something of an artists' mecca?
Yes, there are more theaters here per capita than any other city. And the people here are wicked nice.
You were in New York City for many years. What made you decide to move here to Minneapolis?
New York was awesome, and then it wasn't. We had an amazing apartment, but the landlord started raising the rent and talked about selling it. We came back to Minneapolis for two family weddings and saw a bunch of 'for sale' signs, then looked at a couple of houses on a whim and realized how cheap everything was compared to the city. We didn't like any other city. Since Pat is from here, I wasn't afraid of it. And the theater scene…I mean, the Playwright Center is where we met Jeremy [Jeremy Cohen], who became my director and then championed My Mother Has Four Noses and got us a gig at the Guthrie, one of the biggest regional theaters in the country. We met him in the summer of 2013. He was incredibly intuitive and helpful about what was already good about it and just helped me elevate it - basically the mechanics of telling the story as an actor - which I had never done. We premiered the play there in December of 2013. I then took my life savings, found a couple of investors, and decided to take the show off-Broadway, even though people thought we were crazy.
You have said that your 2016 album Midnight Hallelujah was born out of your intense experience caring for your mom and watching her turn from the deep faith (Christian Science) that had sustained her all her life.
That was the irony of it, yes. It was devastating to see that faith disappear. She no longer recognized the psalms or got comfort from the hymns that she had been singing and reading her whole life. Like in any religion, you memorize many things so you can turn to them in times of need. But it just disappeared. Instead, she became fascinated by the L.L. Bean catalog and the wide range of colors and offerings there. She was an editor and a poet, and we would print out multiple copies of her poems because she liked to cut out words and painstakingly tape them together - she didn't like any white space between the words. She would spend hours, sometimes days doing this. She was editing. It was almost like this was replacing that other thing. This was the new psalm.
Was Midnight Hallelujah about more than how faith manifested in your mom? Was it about your own faith as well?
Yes I suppose so. The thing that really got me was how the Christian Scientists abandoned her. The second that any medicine was involved, those practitioners walked away from her one by one. But mom would still call them, sometimes many times a day. I had to come up with white lies to explain why they weren't responding. That's where my vitriol and deep anger comes from. I was a mama bear protecting my mom - my baby.
Let's switch gears a bit and talk about your songwriting process. You've been doing this a long time, but how do you keep yourself motivated? What's your creative zeitgeist?
I wish there was a formula. I wish I had more discipline. It's still such a mystery. Once in a while I get lucky, get hit with an idea, and I follow it. I'm more disciplined and a little less depressive about it now…and a little better about just getting in there. I have multiple projects going now which is better for me. If I have nothing going, I tend to sit on the couch and go into a deep, dark hole. If I'm busy and have assignments that are pending, I can fight the demons.
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So, after My Mother Has 4 Noses closes, what's next?
I'm working on a musical called Switched with the playwright Geoffrey Nauffts, who is just brilliant. He wrote a play called Next Fall that got a lot of attention in New York a few years ago* and was nominated for a Tony Award. We've been working on it for about two years. It's about two women who were switched at birth and find out when they're forty years old. One of their moms knew all along but kept it quiet for complicated reasons that you find out in the course of the play. She becomes overwhelmed by the guilt of it and sends them a letter on their fortieth birthday. Note: The play participated in a workshop at New York Stage at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie in July. Jonatha is now working towards a fuller two-week development workshop in Texas at Theater Under the Stars, which is slated for late next summer/possibly September in Houston, TX. |
What else is on your plate?
I'm going on the road and also trying to figure out how to get back to Fort Wayne and finish two songs I started recording there.
Is there a new CD in the works?
I don't know, I mean that's sort of an ongoing question for all of us who do this.
Because streaming has eviscerated musicians, hasn't it?
Yes. A lot of us have given up and gone on to do other things, like returning to school. I mean, the middle class of musicians is dying. I'm lucky I can still get out there and tour. If I tour solo, I can bring home enough to make a decent living. But I can't bring my band anymore. I can't even bring my sound man. Teaching has been a new frontier for me, and that's kind of fun.**
In these songwriting workshops you offer, have you ever been in a situation where someone is just really bad at it?
No, because there's always a glimmer, something unique about every particular voice. Everyone has a story. It's about getting to that story and getting the clichés out of the way. It's so brave of these people. I cry every time on the first day because I know how terrified I am to sing a new song for someone, even Pat [Jonatha’s husband]. I'm the worst - paranoid, insecure and self-conscious - until I've sung it in a room quaking with my stomach in knots. If I get through it and it feels better, it might be a keeper. It doesn't get easier.
I suppose that tells you it's not about the accolades, it's about your own process. Do you agree?
Yeah, I know if I'm sucking, and it's brutal. Pat is absolutely honest, so I get the feedback I need right away. Everyone needs a path. Or sometimes I feel something in my gut, and I stick with it no matter what anyone says.
But don't you think there are many talented people who struggle with self-doubt?
Yes. They're afraid they're going to be found out - that they're imposters. In fact, that's the title of one of my new songs.
You've been heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Elis Regina. What do you draw from them?
Well, Elis Regina's vocals and phrasing are amazing, as well as the emotion she delivers in every note. It's so natural. The Beatles' songwriting and harmonies were brilliant. Stevie Wonder's hooks are ridiculous.
What drew you to the dissonant harmonies you and Jennifer Kimball crafted for your band The Story?
I don't know. It was weird that Jennifer and I both had that obsession. That's what drew us together and made us friends. We would be hanging out, listening to music, and would both hear the weird minor second above the melody.
Where do you find your sanctuary?
I just always think of Pat. He’s really “home” for me. It’s weird because we’re together all the time… and yet, I still can’t get enough. So, it’s that feeling, more than any place.
* Tony-nominated Best Play Next Fall, presented by Elton John & David Furnish, written by Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller.
**Jonatha has conducted songwriting workshops in Nashville, TN, Italy and Scotland.
I'm going on the road and also trying to figure out how to get back to Fort Wayne and finish two songs I started recording there.
Is there a new CD in the works?
I don't know, I mean that's sort of an ongoing question for all of us who do this.
Because streaming has eviscerated musicians, hasn't it?
Yes. A lot of us have given up and gone on to do other things, like returning to school. I mean, the middle class of musicians is dying. I'm lucky I can still get out there and tour. If I tour solo, I can bring home enough to make a decent living. But I can't bring my band anymore. I can't even bring my sound man. Teaching has been a new frontier for me, and that's kind of fun.**
In these songwriting workshops you offer, have you ever been in a situation where someone is just really bad at it?
No, because there's always a glimmer, something unique about every particular voice. Everyone has a story. It's about getting to that story and getting the clichés out of the way. It's so brave of these people. I cry every time on the first day because I know how terrified I am to sing a new song for someone, even Pat [Jonatha’s husband]. I'm the worst - paranoid, insecure and self-conscious - until I've sung it in a room quaking with my stomach in knots. If I get through it and it feels better, it might be a keeper. It doesn't get easier.
I suppose that tells you it's not about the accolades, it's about your own process. Do you agree?
Yeah, I know if I'm sucking, and it's brutal. Pat is absolutely honest, so I get the feedback I need right away. Everyone needs a path. Or sometimes I feel something in my gut, and I stick with it no matter what anyone says.
But don't you think there are many talented people who struggle with self-doubt?
Yes. They're afraid they're going to be found out - that they're imposters. In fact, that's the title of one of my new songs.
You've been heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Elis Regina. What do you draw from them?
Well, Elis Regina's vocals and phrasing are amazing, as well as the emotion she delivers in every note. It's so natural. The Beatles' songwriting and harmonies were brilliant. Stevie Wonder's hooks are ridiculous.
What drew you to the dissonant harmonies you and Jennifer Kimball crafted for your band The Story?
I don't know. It was weird that Jennifer and I both had that obsession. That's what drew us together and made us friends. We would be hanging out, listening to music, and would both hear the weird minor second above the melody.
Where do you find your sanctuary?
I just always think of Pat. He’s really “home” for me. It’s weird because we’re together all the time… and yet, I still can’t get enough. So, it’s that feeling, more than any place.
* Tony-nominated Best Play Next Fall, presented by Elton John & David Furnish, written by Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller.
**Jonatha has conducted songwriting workshops in Nashville, TN, Italy and Scotland.
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More on the musical:
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