What's in a Name?

Since the studio is still in flux, (can't find my audio gear) I thought I'd pause to share a song by Holly Brook. I ran across her music two years ago. Singer-songwriters tend to be my music of choice to listen to most days. And hers is an interesting story. She no longer goes by Holly Brook. This intimate tune like many of her others as Holly Brook, are replaced by Skylar Grey and her hip-hop/rap collaborations. Her Wisconsin girl-next-door persona has been replaced with an edgy, black fingernails, leather, and hair vibe. Her translucent vocals are now buried in heavily-produced arrangements. She used to hang out with Duncan Sheik, another singer-songwriter sort. Now she is kickin it with superstars like Dr. Dre, Rihanna, Eminem, and P Diddy.

I admit to my disappointment. Not because I'm against hip hop or rap. But because the heart of what she writes is buried so deep in this new persona and career that it's hard for me to access now.

But I don't blame her. In an interview I'd read, she said she was tired of doing music and being ignored. She wanted people to hear her music. No surprise she bailed for the footlights of commercial music. Her plays on YouTube went from the one or two thousand as singer-songwriter Holly Brook, to ten million + plays as the featured artist with the big guns of popular music.

This is a tough choice for artists to make. There's not much of a living to be made unless you choose a path like Holly Brook took. It comes down to the question. Why do you do what you do?

: )