Annie Brooks

Many thanks go out to GFP reader Dan who introduced us to the delightful Annie Brooks, a female singer-songwriter who works up playful guitar-plucked pop/folk songs on sweetly aching melodies that invite you in with an effortless ease. The latest album, June, was released on September 11 and is full of charming lyrics and infectious vocal licks that echo the likes of MoZella and Ingrid Michaelson. Annie was kind enough to answer a few of our questions and told us that we could edit however we liked, but even removing one sentence seemed like robbing you of the wit and awesome that Annie Brooks radiates, so enjoy her fun responses in their entirety below:

GFP: What inspires your songs?
AB: About 3 million and 62 different things inspire my songs, give or take a thousand. I love songs that write about grand and honorable things, you know, songs that share some outrageous epiphany that makes you want to sell your belongings and hug your mom. But I also love those songs that just talk about tiny things. Like Simon and Garfunkles' "A Poem on the Underground Wall." It's just a song about some guy tagging a wall. That's it. The small things are just as important. So, everything is worthy of a song. Even potato bugs...hmmmm, there's an idea.

I am partial to the whimsical though. Classical things, like phonographs and teacups, described with slight comedy rather than deep nostalgia. Those things inspire me. They fit with my voice, I think. I try my best to inspire people, too. I love singing in churches because I can really talk to people about the songs, and tell their stories. I hope that I'll not just be a singer/songwriter, but a breath of fresh air. The main thing I hope I'm communicating in my songs is that life is far too short to not fill it with people, adventure and laughter.

GFP: Do you find yourself just picking up the guitar and plucking out songs, or does it take a while to carefully construct them to your liking?
AB: Usually a lump of delectable ideas will start sticking together in my head. Some songs are easy to write, like songs about road trips...all of the ideas are already stuck together. But other songs are pasted together. "Creme de la Creme" came about because I wanted to write a song about some of the things I love (postcards, old fashioned gloves, tea, sketching, dinosaurs) and I really wanted to say "Creme de la Creme" in a song, too. Isn't it a gem of a phrase? So, next come the chords. I have to just wait until a tune and set of chords comes along that fits. I have banks of lyric ideas, guitar parts, and melodies that I have to play match with. All of this sounds very systematic, but it's not. It happens quite naturally, thank heavens. Sometimes it all happens at once, and I feel very outrageously cool on those days. Other times, a song grows over months, and it feels like waiting for a package in the mail.....simply unbearable.

GFP: What's your current guilt-free pleasure?
AB: At the moment, I'm really enjoying the pomegranate. It's a lovely fruit, and quite tasty too.


If you are lucky enough to live in Colorado, future shows are in the works and will be posted on her official website sometime soon. Until then, Annie plays every Tuesday at the Durango Coffe Company in Durango, so catch her there now before she undoubtedly hits the bigger venues.

June [mp3] (iTunes)