Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Russell.
Brad, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was lucky enough to be born into families (mom’s and dad’s side) that revolved their world around music. I started playing the drums at age three and once I decided I wanted to be a musician (that’s a shot at drummers) I picked up the guitar at 15. I immediately gravitated to James Taylor and any finger picking styles I could find. Once I got an electric guitar, I shifted my focus to the late, great, Oak Cliff’s own Stevie Ray Vaughan and the blues. I didn’t want to do anything else but play the blues but was crushed when my Dad told me “you can’t make a living doing that.” So, I put music aside and hit the road with my uncle building mall stores and small retail stores. [The Song “A Million Miles From Home” was written from these years of rambling.] Being an aspiring musician in his own right, he would drag me along to open mics all over the country to play lead for him. He was, and still is, my biggest supporter and I’m incredibly thankful for his belief in my music. I’ve always been a fan of the songwriter over the pretty face the industry needs to sell the art.
Fast forward eight years or so and I found myself sick of traveling and came back to DFW and ended up reconnecting with my soul mate and best friend from high school and starting a family [RE: “Looking Back In Time” off my latest EP]. Supporting a family and raising kids didn’t leave much time for music so I didn’t play guitar hardly at all for three or four years. I got the itch to start writing and performing my own songs in 2011 and it felt like a breach in the dam as the music poured out. With the exception of a 2-year break to start our own commercial construction company, I’ve been letting it flow since. I had the opportunity to record at Fort Worth Sound with the great Bart Rose and some of the best musicians this area has to offer and jumped on it. Once I got in the studio around that team, I felt like my confidence sky-rocketed as did my playing. It pretty much set a forest on fire inside of me and now, I’m making a push to mail in the business world and give my life to my music. My only goal at this point is to be able to wake up in the morning with two things to worry about, my family and my music.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If anybody ever tells you it’s a smooth road they’re either not trying to sell you something or lying. From having to sacrifice your soul’s passion, to alcohol abuse, to being rejected trying to book gigs at the smallest of venues, the struggles are vast! The biggest struggle I’ve ever had to overcome is the belief in myself. The acceptance of where I am as a writer, player and singer and the acceptance of my faults. My whole life I’ve always had confidence in my playing but coming from a musical family, I was always asked to “sing harmony,” as I wasn’t nearly the purest voice. So now, when people compliment my voice it’s hard to believe they’re genuine, but I’ve at least come to a point where I don’t cringe hearing myself sing, so that’s a plus. Baby steps!
Please tell us about your band.
Brad Russell Band is dedicated to not let honky-tonk music die. We like to say we are “ronky-tonk” as we have hints of rock and blues, but at my core, I’m a tele twanger, make-em-dancer in the spirit of one of my heroes, Dale Watson. We don’t need or want a lot of extra pieces, stage shows, fog machines, just a stage in front of the biggest dance floor you can find and we feel like we can handle the rest. One other note and nobody’s ever put me to the test, but I claim to know over 1,000 songs, which comes in handy when you’re filling 3-hour shows.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Being from a broken home, I lived with my grandparents for a while in my pre-teen and teenage years. My granddad became like a father to me. He always bragged that “if Brad says he’s gonna do it, he will do it as good or better than anybody.” I decided I wanted to start Tae-Kwon-Do and after a few classes, he saw another older gentleman in the class and decided he was going to start too! We would go sharpen knives at various restaurants in his van-mounted knife sharpening machine and then go get changed and head to Tae-Kwon-Do. I miss that man a lot wish he was able to hear my music.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bradrussellband.com
- Email: bradrussellband@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradrussellband/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BradRussellBand/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/14ttRBcIkftX8LUyoFwr5A
Image Credit:
Brooks Burris
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