Brooke Shive & the 45's

Podcast Interview w/ Matt Kacar will air on 12/14/11 at www.artistconnectionpodcast.com
Brooke Shive & the 45's, Brooke and Steve, the only father/daughter act in popular music, spent some time with international music journalist Matt Kacar last Thursday on his artistconnectionpodcast.com show discussing their upcoming album, the songs, the bands writing process, their relationship as father and daughter, and the evolution of the band among other subjects. The interview will be available there and archived on our web sites as well. Listen to the podcast starting Wednesday, 12/14 at: www.artistconnectionpodcast.com !! - www.artistconnectionpodcast.com

"In Philadelphia, the late Kate Smith was known for her renditions of 'God Bless America' at sports events. In the arena before the Saturday night's finals, Philadelphia area recording artist Brooke Shive delivered a stirring rendition of the National Anthem."

-Gary Mihoces , USA Today
March 21, 2011
- USA Today

"Dynamic", "Wide - ranging" "a dazzling performance" and "an eclectically influenced and experienced band"

-Joseph Zogorski, Bucks County Herald
December 2011 - Joe Zogorski, Bucks County Herald

"Brooke Shive & the 45s have become a household name on the region's music circuit since forming in 2007, and that fan base could be about to expand significantly with the Dec. 16 release of the bands impressive first album, Way Past Gone." - Andy Vineburg - Calkins Media - Courier Times / Calkins Media

By ANDY VINEBERG Staff Writer

Most adult women would shudder at the thought of their father watching over them on a regular basis.

Brooke Shive is happy to have three of them doing it.

OK, not exactly. She’s only got one actual dad in the band that she fronts, Brooke Shive & the 45’s. That would be drummer Steve Shive, an accomplished musician and longtime Levittown resident who has been playing in bands since he was 13.

But if that weren’t enough, she’s also learned plenty about the world of professional music from the other 45’s — bassist Jim Gilheany and guitarist Randall Thompson.

“It’s like having three dads,” Brooke says while sitting down for an interview alongside Steve. “They all take care of me, and they all offer something different. If I can’t express something to my dad, maybe I’ll go to Jim.

“I can’t imagine doing any of this without the three of them.”

The unique formula — Steve says he’s not aware of any other father-daughter acts in popular music — seems to be working. Brooke Shive & the 45’s has become a household name on the region’s music circuit since forming in 2007, and that fan base could be about to expand significantly with the Dec. 16 release of the band’s impressive first album, “Way Past Gone.”

The 10-song disc, augmented by a talented cast of supporting musicians and co-lyricists, showcases the band’s versatility. Though Brooke Shive & the 45’s is often pegged as a blues act, the group’s repertoire also includes country, soul and roots rock.

The disc features seven originals and powerful covers of songs by Elvis Presley, Etta James and Otis Redding. It ends with the sweet, low-fi acoustic ballad “Love Story” (not to be confused with the Taylor Swift hit of the same name).

The album even features a well-placed rap; a guest appearance by MC Theotis Joe on the smokey Memphis barroom ode “Royal Crown” is a surprise upon first listen, but perfectly fits the gritty mood of the song.

“I love all music,” says Brooke, a Pennsbury High School graduate and Newtown resident whose career as a professional entertainer began when she did a Jell-O commercial with Bill Cosby when she was 3. “As far as songwriting, whatever we’re feeling at the moment determines where we go. If it ends up more poppy than Nashville, so be it. We don’t have one particular style or direction.”

Adds Steve: “The lyrics and the band is what makes it cohesive. We’re like a ‘60s band that way in the way we embrace all influences.”

The band, which will open Beth Hart’s New Year’s Eve show Saturday at the Blockley Pourhouse in Philadelphia, also prides itself on its live performances. From the beginning, Steve had one goal in mind for the 45’s.

“I wanted us to be a killer live band,” he says.

He also knew, probably correctly, that if the 45’s were going to distinguish themselves in a crowded field of blues-influenced bar bands, he needed someone other than himself to be the face of the band — no matter how impressive his musical background. (His lengthy résumé includes working with Daryl Hall and Kingfish.)

It’s why after a nine-year hiatus from the music business, he repeatedly asked his talented singer/actress daughter, a vocal dynamo capable of bringing down any house she plays, to perform with him. She finally agreed in late 2006 — only after her then fiancé (now husband) Joseph Jamison said to her after hearing a recording by Steve’s band the Bluescasters: “Why aren’t you doing something with your dad?”

“It’s, like, when Dad asks, you say no, but when the the good-looking boyfriend says something, you listen,” Brooke says. “When I finally called him to tell him, he thought I was joking and hung up on me.”

Steve and the other band members had no problems ceding the spotlight to the much younger, much less musically experienced Brooke.

“I knew at that point, if I had a second shot at reviving my music career, she would be the star of the show,” Steve says. “My interest in this is I love to play and perform and write. It was a perfect situation for me and the other guys. We needed a young, fresh face out there.”

It doesn’t hurt that it’s also an attractive face, although with three “fathers” in the band and a husband who’s an assistant wrestling coach at Princeton University in the crowd, Brooke doesn’t have to worry about fending off drunks when the band performs in bars.

“I’m pretty well protected up there,” she says.

Besides, performing at bars comes with the territory for bands trying to build an audience from the ground up and make a few bucks in the process.

“I’ve played before a crowd of one before,” Brooke says. “I played a show for the bartender. Sometimes you’re playing and nobody comes out. You have to play every show like it’s your last show — because something might happen the next day and it was your last show.

“I just pretend it’s the (Wells Fargo) Center. I hide out until it’s time to go on and do my thing.”

The days of playing before crowds that small could be coming to an end for Brooke Shive & the 45’s. Songs from “Way Past Gone” have been receiving airplay on Internet radio stations, the title track won the Robert Hazard Award for best original song at the Montgomery/Bucks Music Awards in November and the band appeared Tuesday on the “10! Show” on NBC 10.

This is definitely a band on the rise. But no matter how big things get, the group will always remain a family affair, with Brooke’s mom Shelle and brother Ryan actively involved in the band’s day-to-day business.

“I’m lucky to get to work with my daughter,” Steve says. “It’s been like a second wind as far as my music career. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in music, and I can’t remember being with a better band.” - Courier TImes / Calkins Media

Entertainment
Brook Shive and the 45s: A father-daughter musical story

By Mary Cantell
Correspondent

“I’ve always dreamed of putting a band together and sharing the experience of writing, recording and touring with my daughter by my side,” said professional musician Steve Shive, who produces, manages and is the drummer for Brooke Shive and the 45s — an up-and-coming band making its mark in American roots-rock with bluesy soul-inspired rhythms.

Now on the road performing for just about two years, headlining their own shows as well as backing others, the father-daughter musical team is a dream-come-true. They perform their own spunky home-grown material as well as some of their favorites, which include Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards as well as Bobby Womack, Otis Redding, Etta James and Elvis.

Shive, a professional session player/sideman with 40 years in the biz, never thought his daughter would actually grow up to be part of his music world. He has recorded and toured with such well-known artists as Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates, Robbie Dupree, David Lindley from Jackson Browne, Skip Scarboro from Earth Wind and Fire and many others.

His daughter, Brooke, is the lead singer for the band. Known to leave her heart right there on the stage, her emotional soul-baring can be heard in every note she nails. In her own words, she likes to get “swampy” with the music.

A former Miss Bucks County winner in 2000, Brooke has had success as an actress and has appeared in numerous television shows, such as “Rescue Me,” “As the World Turns,” Hack, “All My Children,” as well as film roles, including “Homecoming” and numerous voiceover commercials.

She’s been hanging around the stage since the age of 2, fondly watching her father perform, and says that anywhere she can perform or entertain people is where she feels most comfortable. It’s where she belongs.

With her good looks and blonde hair, she stands out among the other 45s — all men — who are her dad’s talented musician friends and who, collectively, have their own successful history making hip music with such notables as Billy Preston, Steve Winwood, Steely Dan, Taj Mahal and Don Henley, to name a few.

They include bassist/vocalist Jim Gilheany and guitarist Randall Thompson. Their songwriting partners are George Tiboni and Rick Stafford. Guest artists Andy Goessling and Jay Davidson make special appearances.

“What makes us different is that we are the only father/daughter act in pop music today,” said Shive.

“But it’s like I have four dads,” Brooke jovially added.

The group is gaining a following throughout the Northeast in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Maryland, and the title song of its first album, “Way Past Gone” (Dec. 16 release date) has already garnered the 2011 Montgomery/Bucks Music Award’s Robert Hazard Award for “Best Original Song.”

When the group won the fan-based award, the band members were totally surprised and had no speech prepared.

“That was so crazy!” said Brooke. “It was almost like winning a Grammy.”

“Way Past Gone” has been a collaboration — Nashville style — two years in the making.

“It’s a love story,” said Shive of the album that features such tunes as “Kiss the Sky,” “Trying to Get to You” and “Lie, Lie, Lie.”

“There’s country, blues, rock and soul — like a bluesy roots-rock,” Brooke added.

It appears that Brooke Shive and her 45s are making strides in successfully marketing their brand throughout the region. Their award-winning song is already on its way up the charts, debuting at number 34 out of 50 as of Nov. 30 on Airplay Direct’s Americana Top 50 Album Chart.

You can see them live on Dec. 27, when the group is scheduled to appear on NBC-10’s “10! Show.” They’ll be performing their award-winning song “Way Past Gone.”


© Copyright 2012 Montgomery News, a Journal Register
- The Montgomery News

Brooke Shive & the 45's to make World Cafe Live debut!! They've been tearing up stages across the region for so long it's hard to believe the Bucks County-bred Brooke Shive & the 45's has yet to grace the venerable World Café Live in Philadelphia. -Naila Francis, Bucks County Courier
May 18, 2011
Read the Full Article - PhillyBurbs.com

A Fan review: by local musician Gary Jackere (Mount Holly, NJ, February 2010). "I was checking out other than the usual local bands last night (networking with club owners, etc.) and went to hear a band called Brooke Shive and the 45’s. I was completely blown away – a balls to the wall band. The band is fronted by Brooke Shive. Brooke’s singing quality and stage presence places her on the level of a Janis Joplin – dare I say surpasses Janis Joplin…yes! And yes, being the old fart that I am, I did get to see Janis Joplin perform at the Fillmore East, NYC. I’ll go so far as to say that Brooke’s performance is more like Janis Joplin meets Shania Twain. I have not seen talent and chops like this and playing in a local club, not in a very long time; well not since seeing Ronnie Kayfield & Co. This is no cover bar band – they are a group of skilled professionals on the rise and worth catching while still performing the local scene. I would hock my house to manage this band. This gal and guys put on a show comparable to early Elton John’s live performances of the early 70’s when EJ was backed by Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray. The drumming, bass playing, and guitar playing are nothing short of excellent. These guys are exciting, have showmanship, and musical chops and discipline. Listening to this band’s uploaded recordings does not demonstrate the exciting dynamics of their live stage show. This band … is a must see! - Musician Gary Jackere / garyjackere@comcast.net

Along with the regular Friday night fireworks display on the river, spon- sored by the New Hope Chambers of Commerce, John Danaher’s Merging Music Productions produced a dynamic riverside concert by the wide-ranging, Brooke Shive and the 45s.

Immediately following the dazzling performance by the former Miss Bucks County and her eclectically influenced and experienced band, Bucks County Playhouse owner Ralph Miller counted down the seconds until the start of the fireworks display with two of his children, members of the cho- rus of “The King and I.” Joe and Bridget Wingert of the Bucks County Herald were in on the countdown.
The gathering was at a barbecque to thank donors for the support of the fireworks, which have gone off every Friday night since Memorial Day. Local restaurants donated the food – Bitter Bob’s Barbecue, Marsha Brown’s and Havana of New Hope and Inn of the Hawke in Lambertville.

- Joseph Zogorski, Bucks County Herald

I sat and watched Brooke her band for the first time at McStew’s. Judging by the ovations she received from the packed crowd the Blues will be alive and well for a long time thanks to amazing singers like her.

She took complete control of the room and lead us all on a journey that we didn’t want to come back from. I never thought the Blues could feel or sound this good. Her voice became the eyes into her soul and we loved everything we saw that night. Brooke was at piece on that stage and we were just glad that she allowed us to be a part of it. - John J. Ruppert, Out on the Town Magazine

Brooke Shive is no stranger to the spot- light, but it’s only recently that she feels she’s found her home there. The Bucks County native has literally been in show business her entire life. “I started doing commercials as a baby and was acting and dancing as a kid,” Brooke recalls. “By the time I was 11 or 12, I realized I could sing and would audition for parts by singing Broadway tunes.”

In between landing roles in movies and television shows, she also spent a few years playing in local cover bands. The experience had its benefits – she learned how to sing rock songs rather than show tunes and grew comfortable fronting
a band – but something was missing. “It was monotonous, playing the same bars to the same people,” Brooke says. “There was no creative energy.”

The solution came from, of all people, her father. Steve Shive, a professional musician who’s worked with industry heavyweights ranging from Hall and Oates to award-winning producer Ken Scott, suggested they team up for years, but Brooke had always resisted the idea. Steve’s previous gig was drumming in a straight-ahead blues outfit, a style of music that didn’t interest Brooke. “I was into different music than him for a long time,” she explains. “I was listening to a lot of pop.”
But last year, after a close listen to one of his records, she noticed something different. The music was raw and full of feeling, light years from the studio sheen and heavy production she was used to hearing. “After that, I started listening to Bessie Smith and Otis Redding, and I felt like I could sing it,” she adds.

With his daughter on board, Steve went to work assembling a strong backline, featuring some of the area’s best musicians. Rounding out the band is bassist Jim Gilheany, who’s shared the stage with members of The Band and opened for the likes of Van Morrison and Taj Mahal. And according to Steve, guitarist Steve Gordeuk is “an undiscovered guitar phenomenon.” From there, Steve set to work writing songs and even reaching out to industry contacts for material. “We used the blues as a starting point, but it’s evolved pretty quickly into a rock ‘n’ roll band with blues and R&B leanings,” he says. “We know exactly where we want to go now musically.”

But whether on stage or in the studio, the band always offers listeners their distinctive take on classic genres. “We’re unique in that we have the youth of Brooke out front with really experienced and talented musicians behind a dynamic singer,” Steve says. “We’re all older, so there’s not a lot of ego positioning. We enjoy what we’re doing, and we like to see what she’s doing up front. I feel like we have something special to offer.”

The band’s sound is shaped by the music Steve grew up with: James Brown, the Temptations, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It’s given a fresh approach thanks to Brooke, who’s only discovering the many nuances of these artists now for the first time. “That’s the whole basis of our music,” she explains. “It’s the real thing. There are no drum loops, synthesizers or vocal effects. There’s a lot of feel and soul in what we do.”

The band’s one-of-a-kind combination of talent, experience and enthusiasm has allowed them to quickly build a following and reputation in the area. Together for just over a year, Brooke Shive and the 45s are already playing for packed crowds at venues like Puck Live, Chaplin’s Music Café in Spring City, Pennsylvania and booking the occasional “mini-tour” from New York down to Delaware. The band is starting off the year by easing off their schedule and laying down the ground work for their debut record. - Jack Firneno, DTown Magazine

Brooke Shive isn’t just another blonde singer from Bucks County. She’s been working hard not to be another cutesy pop songstress and has managed to break away from the mainstream into the realm of edgier blues and rock. You’d think with her beauty (Miss Bucks County in 2000) and her talent (she got an agent practically overnight) that she wouldn’t have to work so hard to get noticed, but once you do notice, look out.

If you haven’t caught her on the music stage yet, you can see her in an upcoming movie, “Homecoming,” due to be released next year. She’s also been a popular guest star on many television shows such as “Rescue Me,” “Third Watch” and “Hack,” along with several soap operas and voiceovers.

“She’s even done a Crest toothpaste voiceover,” says her proud father, Steve.

Brooke and her father, Steve Shive, a successful career sideman and session player, whose working friends include Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates, Robbie Dupree, Jimmy Jamieson and others, have worked for years preparing the foundation for their current band. They’ll be performing at Chaplin’s: the Music Café, Friday, July 31 and at Puck’s in Doylestown, Saturday, Aug. 8.

“We’re not a traditional blues band,” says Steve Shive. “It’s more of a rock band with a blues influence.”

In a world of pop, Brooke’s dad elaborates on his daughter’s choice to sing the blues. “I’d encouraged her for awhile by giving her some old blues CDs…Grace Potter and Sharon Jones…and she fell in love with [it]. She wanted to stand out,” Shive continues. At 5’2”, Brooke may seem diminutive, but when she opens her mouth, the raw and gritty soul makes her more like a 6-foot-tall Janis Joplin.

Growing up with a touring musician for a father, Brooke has had ample time to surmise the workings of the performing world and has known since she was a child that she was born for the stage. Whether it is in an acting role or a singing one, it doesn’t matter to her. Brooke Shive has come to know that she wants to entertain for the rest of her life.

Before the 45s, Brooke was in a couple of other cover bands, where singing pop music was more like putting on a persona for her. With the rockier blues, she’s come into her own element and feels that she’s “more one with the music.”

Focusing on blues, soul and rock ‘n’ roll, Brooke Shive and the 45s create their own tunes (some from “Bluescasters”— a self-titled album from Steve’s days in his own band) as well as revamp their favorites, including songs by Grace Potter, Etta James and Don Robey, to name a few. Speaking of the blues, “It has more substance,” claims Shive, who wants to evoke the visceral notes of the old-time original sound of Philadelphia. A future CD is in the making.

“We’ve made some remarkable progress,” says Steve Shive of his band. They’ve put together a group of professionals who work well with Brooke and complement her soulful style.

Laying down the rhythmics for the 45s is bassist Jim Gilheany, who is formerly of the band Quarter Moon. He’s a veteran in the Philadelphia blues music scene and has toured and shared the stage with music greats Sonny Rhodes and Rick Danko of The Band. As a member of New Jersey’s Kings in Disguise, Jim has opened up for talents such as Van Morrison, Taj Mahal, Steeley Dan, Dr. John and Don Henley.

Taking the lead in the band is guitarist Steve Gordeuk. A solo artist and member of Fragile and the Norm Band, Steve makes his living touring the East Coast, providing audiences with his mesmerizing style of blues and classic rock, as well as educating young musicians.

Performing with Brooke and her band will be Andy Goessling of Railroad Earth, who is known to be a one-man horn section, who has honed a special talent: He can play two saxophones simultaneously.

In addition, the Lightyears!, a pop group from London’ will be onstage. They’ve recently won Best Pop/Rock Act at the UK INDY Awards. - Mary Cantell, Montgomery News

There was no doubt about it. Brooke Shive was born to be an entertainer.

And not just a dancer, either, though she began taking tap, jazz and ballet lessons as a toddler.

No, her aim was for that much ballyhooed triple threat: to be a dancer, actor and singer.

The only problem was the Pennsbury High School graduate, who also began doing commercials as a baby, wasn’t sure she could sing.

Never mind that she would line her stuffed animals up on the lawn just below the balcony of her family’s apartment as a child, crooning to her adoring audience.

“I would sing Cyndi Lauper and Madonna songs and wave to my fans down there,” Shive says, laughing at the memory. “I was 5 years old and I honestly couldn’t hold a tune.”

But 23 years later, the Newtown resident is fronting her own band, Brooke Shive & the 45’s, which she formed with her father, percussionist and songwriter Steve Shive. And not only can she can sing, the petite bubbly blonde can belt out tune with such searing emotion and conviction that the name Janis Joplin has been tossed her way more than once.

Though Shive, just shy of 5 feet 2 inches tall, insists that she and her band have a distinctive sound all their own, she gladly accepts the comparisons to one of her icons.

“Every (Joplin) song that I listen to comes from her soul. It comes from her gut,” she says. “And I love her grittiness. She feels every single note, every melody, every instrument, everything.”

Shive can relate to that state of transcendent immersion. It is one of the reasons she performs barefoot — and, no, Kelly Clarkson and Joss Stone are not to be credited for such inspiration.

“I’ve always done that,” she says. “I give Beyoncé all the props for doing what she does in high heels. I don’t like to wear shoes on stage. I want to be comfortable. I want to feel the vibrations from all the instruments come into my body.

“I’m very uninhibited on stage. I let it all come out — my soul. It’s weird. I just go into some other place.”

So how did Shive, who performs with her band at Puck in Doylestown on Saturday, overcome her certainty that she couldn’t hold a tune? She has her eighth-grade chorus teacher to thank. Shive, who for years had been doing a jazz dance routine for the school’s talent show, couldn’t have been more surprised when she was asked to sing a solo instead.

“I said, ‘OK, but when I tell my mom, she’s going to laugh because I’m a dancer. That’s what I do,’ ” recalls Shive, who began taking voice lessons after school to prepare.

When the night of the show came, she finally told her mother, Shelle Shive, that she would be singing. A wonderful singer herself (though not professionally), her mom, worried that her daughter would embarrass herself, begged her not to. She remained doubting even when a math teacher sat next to her and assured her that her daughter was very good. And then Shive took the stage and sang “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid” soundtrack.

“My mom said her mouth dropped 50 feet. She almost dropped the camera,” says Shive. “I always wanted to be an entertainer. I wanted to act. I wanted to sing. I wanted to dance. But I never knew I could sing until that moment.”

Relieved that she hadn’t fallen too far from the family gene pool — in addition to her parents, her family also boasts the talents of Anna Bellman, her grandmother, who sang with the Philadelphia group Penny and the Boys — Shive continued to sing and dance her way through high school. She also returned to acting, which she’d stopped doing as a young girl, struck by a sudden case of shyness, even going on to attend New York City’s Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre. In addition to appearing in several local theater productions and auditioning for Broadway, she briefly jumped on the pageant track and wore the last Miss Bucks County crown. Shive also has landed several film and television appearances, including a role in 1999’s “Jesus’ Son” with Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton and an upcoming role in the 2010 drama “Homecoming” with Josh Hamilton and Joseph Cross. She will next appear in an episode of the FX drama “Rescue Me” tonight at 10.
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After serving as the lead singer of two local cover bands, Dirty Blonde and Exit 28, she came to Brooke Shive & the 45’s somewhat reluctantly. Her father, who founded the nowdefunct rock and soul-based blues band the Bluescasters, had always dreamed of one day performing with his daughter. But besides being more into pop than blues, Shive had her own reservations about being in a band with her dad — until one day, he gave her a CD with a mix of classic and contemporary songs from artists such as Otis Redding, Bessie Smith, Joss Stone and Taj Mahal, and something just clicked.

“I said, ‘Dad, I think I’m ready to do this,’ ” says Shive, who notes that she’d felt like she was “putting on a persona” to sing contemporary pop hits with her cover bands but connected with something more authentic in the blues, soul and rock stew that she and the 45’s are creating.

Along with her dad, bassist and backing vocalist Jim Gilheany and guitarist Stevie Gordeuk, she serves up a mix of originals — co-written with the band — and covers, including a few Bluescasters tunes. The band is working on its first album with the goal of eventually becoming an international touring act.

Steve, who has recorded and toured with artists such as Daryl Hall, Robbie Dupree and Kingfish, says the band is looking to evoke the sounds of the musical era he grew up in, when acts like The Intruders and Brenda & The Tabulations were helping to define “The Sound of Philadelphia.”

“That was the greatest pop music ever. How can anything even compare with James Brown, Aretha Franklin, the (Rolling) Stones, the Beatles — all that incredible, visceral music. It will never be duplicated,” he says, “but we’re trying.”

For Shive, that means that whatever song she sings has to strike a deep emotional chord.

“I become one with the song. I can’t even describe it. It’s the most amazing and strange feeling,” she says. “Whether I’ve been through that song’s situation or not, I have to understand and feel the song … to feel the lyrics first and foremost.”

She hasn’t given up acting but for now is finding greater satisfaction singing.

“Acting is really becoming someone else. You try to pull on your own circumstances and go into someplace where you can connect to that experience, but ultimately in the end, you’re playing somebody else. Singing on stage — that’s me,” she says. “If I could be that way every single moment of the day, I would.” - Naila Francis, Bucks County Courier Times