A Conversation with Jonatha Brooke (continued)

PM: Now, what kind of cameras did they fly in with, do you know?

JB: I know the one guy did have one of those ones that you wear the belt, and it floats.

PM: A steadicam guy.

JB: Maceo. And that was his own camera. Everyone basically brought their own camera. So they were basically nice DV cams.

PM: Right. Now were they like $2,500 DV cams, or $1,000 cams, or five grand cams? Do we know?

JB: Who knows? Probably--

PM: Yeah. Because I'm getting into all that stuff, is why I'm interested, yeah.

JB: Probably like medium ranged ones, because they're all struggling artist types.

PM: But it was before HD. It wasn't HD cams.

JB: No, God no. No, no, no. I think Maceo had the nicest one. He was the steadicam dude.

PM: Right.

JB: But I don't know how much those cost.

PM: Those are expensive rigs.

JB: Yeah. I think he had one of those. That's his, and that's his work.

PM: Right. That's a nice guy to have on your team, a steadicam guy.

JB: Oh, my God, what a sweetheart, too.

PM: Yeah. Because he got a lot of the really good shots, too.

JB: Yeah. And then we had, of course, Pat's nephew, Blake, who had come to all the rehearsals. And he's the one that did all the off the wall--

PM: Oh, he's got the behind-the-scenes footage.

JB: Yeah. Anything that's out of focus, or moving around, or jerking, that's Blake.

PM: [laughs] Yeah, because from time to time I'd be watching it, and I'd think, "What the hell was that?"

JB: And some of it is like so bad that it's cool. And Emily, our brilliant editor, who's only twenty-five and is the most amazing thing ever--

PM: Really? I need to ask for her number.

JB: --who worked for next to nothing, also, was able to edit the bad stuff in and make it rock 'n' roll and look cool, from time to time, when the camera is just obviously falling, she's cut that in at a cool moment.

PM: Someday soon I might ask you for her number.

JB: Oh, she's awesome.

PM: Because my brother Jon is shooting a lot of TV in Beijing at the moment, and he needs a good editor in New York.

JB: Oh, well, she's a doll. She basically edited the whole thing. She came over every day to our apartment, because we were thinking, "Okay, we can't afford an editing studio. How about if I buy Final Cut Pro, and you come over and do it on my computer?" And she said, "Okay, cool." So she schlepped over here from Brooklyn and edited for like three months straight.

PM: Wow. No, I'm not kidding, J, I need that chick's number.

JB: Totally.

PM: So--it's such a very well-honed and talented band you're leading.

JB: Aren't they so sexy?

PM: Well...

JB: [laughs]

PM: That rhythm section.

JB: And of course, you know Annie, everyone in is love with Annie. [laughs] [Ann Marie Milazzo--she sings divinely, and plays keys, guitar, percussion and clarinet.] Anyone who's seen her is like, "All right, I need her number."

PM: Oh, I wouldn't be so presumptuous. But yeah, she was a real chore, visually.

JB: [laughs] Are you kidding?

PM: I got through it somehow, but...

JB: [laughs]

PM: But yeah, she's a rare blend for your beautiful voice.

JB: Oh, she's hot.

PM: And so much more. I mean, she's adding good keys.

JB: Yeah. She never played keyboards before. We had to sort of twist her arm. I don't think we ever had a full-on shot of the keyboard. But [laughs] she had the name of every note Scotch-taped to every key--

[laughter]

JB: --because she's never played keyboards.

PM: [laughs] Oh, that's funny.

JB: She was so nervous about it that she just had to see which notes they were. It's the cutest thing, ever. She's so good.

PM: Now, where did you find her?

JB: Let's see, a bass player named Richard Hammond, who I'd worked with a few times--he is basically New York's network dude, call him if you need anything.

PM: Ah.

JB: He's like, "You've got to call Annie. Just trust me. Call Annie."

PM: Oh, so he's a guy to know.

JB: He's definitely a guy to know. He's this lovely bass player, plays with everybody in New York. He's from Australia.

PM: Good. So I hope if he reads this by chance, he'll drop me a note.

JB: Yeah.

PM: So he turned you onto Annie as what, as a vocalist?

JB: As a vocalist, yeah. I mean, most importantly was someone who was a kick ass vocalist, who could blend with me, hold the half step and whole step harmonies, and not freak out.

PM: Right. "Because I know it's dissonant, yeah, just hang on there."

[laughter]

JB: Like that's the point.

PM: "I made it that way," yeah, right.

JB: She was just fearless. And she could alter her tone and her vibrato, and whatever, she could just match anything.

PM: Yeah, because when she'd go into her own little vocal cameo section you could tell like, oh, oh, that's more like your natural tone--

JB: Yeah.

PM: --and then she goes back into blending, very nicely.

JB: Yeah. She's so awesome.

PM: So what was her background before you ran into her? Do you know?

JB: Well, she is a killer playwright. She's a musical playwright. She's written a couple of full-length things that she's been really close on, for Broadway, getting workshops, and Off-Broadway kind of little sessions. It just breaks your heart because she's so frickin' good. One is called "Pretty Dead Girl" which is just awesome. I've seen it three different times workshopped; I just think she's brilliant, and it's just a matter of time.

PM: Wow.

JB: Right now she's working on--I think she's doing the lyrics for Carmen. They hired her to help with the lyrics for this Carmen they're trying to put up on Broadway.

PM: What do you mean? They're kind of redoing the lyrics, or--

JB: I think so, or translating it into sort of more of a pop vibe.

PM: Interesting.

JB: I don't know. But it's a gig. She always figures out a way to cobble things together. But she's the hardest working girl I've ever met.

PM: Wow, really, really something. Let's talk about that rhythm section, that Rich Mercurio on the drums.

JB: How hot is he?

PM: He's a devil.

JB: He's so cute, too. And he's like political ranter. Like we'll be in a minivan going to some gig, and he'll just go off about Bush.

PM: [laughs]

JB: And all you can do is just listen.

PM: There's one in every crowd.

JB: Oh, yeah. It's always the drummer.

[laughter]

PM: Oh, that's true, isn't it?

JB: It's true. And then Darren [Embry] the bass player, is more like our lefty subversive, he's the conspiracy theorist.

PM: Oh, really? He's the secret government guy. [He's also a superior player, and a standout singer.]

[laughter]

JB: He's the secret government guy. And then Geoffrey [Geoffrey Moore, the fine guitarist] is like the guy in between, who's like totally not political, never gets into a fray. He's just like totally calm, cool water.

PM: Wow. So where did you run into those guys?

JB: Geoffrey and Darren are L.A. dudes. And I met them in--wow, I think I method them in like '98 or '99 when I was first living in Los Angeles. I saw Geoffrey playing with somebody at the some Triple A Radio schmoozefest. And I told him, "All right, dude, I'm calling you." So I kind of stole him when I got book to L.A. from the schmoozefest. And then he introduced me to Darren. They've been best friends since they were nine.

PM: Wow.

JB: Yeah. They had a Kiss cover band together.

[laughter]

JB: Yeah, I make them sort of do a little bit on stage once in a while. And then Rich is the most recent one, because when I moved to New York, I figured I should at least have somebody on this coast.

PM: Right.

JB: So I auditioned five or six drummers once I got here, again sort of recommended by Rich Hammond, the bass player, who knows everybody.

PM: Wow. How interesting that he's not even American.

JB: I know. But he's been here for a long time.

PM: Right. He's just one of those guys.

JB: He's just one of those guys. And Rich got the gig.

           continue


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