news spring 07:

"A song for me, a song for you" finally finished! December 2006 and january 2007 mixing dates by stewart myers left one final stage, mastering, completed by Doug Diamond in March 2007.

Scott's new album will soon appear as a digital downloads release, via Lost Cat Records. It will be available through I-tunes and other download providers, including emusic. Jerry jodice promises a promotional juggernaut and a spiffier web presence.

Along with the music files, music consumers will be able to download the elaborate accompanying booklet, designed by Ken Hamilton, free of charge from either the Lost cat site or this website. scott's two previous cds and their booklets will also be available.

some more indie radio airplay happened early in the year. Thanks to Doug Golonka and his "hi fidelity" show on Memphis' WEVL in february. every once in a while scott is heard on richmond's own wrir. Thanks to the "river city limits" show and Allan coberley for some early 07 airplay.

plans for new recording with the same crew: Anthony, palmer and jack are slowly evolving for the late spring. The first songs recorded will likely be "Summer's two weeks' notice," "daisy von zeppelin" and, a recently unearthed treasure, "Three doors down," featuring the mighty lowrey organ.

news fall 06:

on, I think, the very last day of 2006, Scott became the final musician on earth to give in to myspace. Yes, there is now a scott brookman myspace page. It has recently been updated by jerry jodice to promote the new album.

recording for the new album called, "A Song for me, a song for you" wrapped up with a drum performance by Palmer wilkins. Palmer recorded himself on "Home school" a tasty number for sure.

a few indie radio shows played older music by scott during the fall, including "The Pyschedelic circus" from Fairfax, va's WEBR. The show, due to its own construction, is a truly mind altering experience itself, even without music. Matthew Moore, the host, devoted a whole segment to Scott's songs on the August 26th broadcast.

News Spring 06:

The recently unearthed demo of "Real Estate Man" is undergoing a facelift in hopes that it can secure a spot on the new cd. On May 14 Jack Shannon laid down some tasty electric guitar chops using his trusty Gibson ES-335. Recording engineer was Palmer Wilkins, who has pledged to man the drum stool in the near future. Scott, meanwhile, recorded some backing vocals for the chorus at home, then discarded those, and recorded some more.

Stewart Myers mixed six songs ("Bottom's Up," "Seabird," "Lemon Lane," "(Don't You Want to Know) The Way it Feels to Lose," "It's Too Late, It's Friday," and "This Little Samba") sometime during the period March 16-18. There remain six or seven more songs to mix before we are finished with the next cd.

Scott is very pleased that his best ever power pop song, "Kidz in Service for Satan," has turned up online. Sometime in the 90's (?), the song was submitted to Bryan of indie music/hometapers magazine Gajoob to go on an obscure compilation. Bryan's current site, homemade music, looks to continue his fine work to give everyone a spot to show off their creativity. An explanation of the song's title for those over 60: The name of the rock band KISS, according to legend, was supposed to be an acronoym for "kids in service for Satan", such was their demonic demeanor. The song is from the point of view of a kid attending a concert by this band (or any other really).

News Winter 05/06:

Jan 22 saw more recording action, this time at the Richmond home studio of Palmer Wilkins, a helluva nice guy. We focused entirely on "Seabird" this time. Scott laid down a few more keyboard tracks using Jack Shannon's 1979 vintage Rhodes Mark 1. Jack ran the "Seventy-Three" through a tremelo pedal and got a nice sound down in the basement. Takes ranged from metronomic to semi-funky. Then it was Jack's turn, wielding his mighty Gibson ES-335, the same guitar he used last summer on "Bottom's Up," to improvise a new guitar solo. The result is certainly a keeper, causing Palmer to note the similarity to Steely Dan. Perhaps this is a premature statement, but recording might be complete for the second disc at last! If you are interested in hearing it, consider donating to the cause. Mixing is going to cost quite a lot.

News Fall 05:

More recording took place at Keup's Farm December 14. With the able help of Stewart Myers, Scott completed recording of "Charmion Chandler Cheese," laying down percussion (elderly bass drum, snare and shakers), a piano bit and a track of weird vintage "family organ" by Sears, of all places. The Sears organ has chord preset buttons, not just majors and minors, but even sevenths as well. "It's Too Late, It's Friday" now has its definitive lead vocal. Tasty Rhodes filler now graces "This Little Samba." "Seabird" proved more challenging. Attempts were made at recording the main Rhodes track. Time will tell if the results are useable. Another fun if slightly less productive date.

Various of Scott's songs have been played in the last months on The Great American Music Hour on WRIR in Richmond. It's a particular honor to have been played on the Halloween show. Check out the podcast of each show and drop host Jerry Jodice a line to show your support of his efforts.

Ultimo Volume offers more radio play much further from home. The show emanates from FM 99 at Catholic University in Curitiba, Brasil, and, during the week of Oct 28, features a special block of four of Scott's songs including the not yet released "Getting Involved." According to host Neri Gonçalves da Rosa, the show is well-beloved with thousands of listeners in this city of more than a million. Each show is archived on the website.

Also...don't miss the new shirts at Cafepress.com! Scott's drawing of Ringo Starr now adorns many varieties of shirts in the brookmania t-shirt shop. They make dandy gifts and the profits go in the recording and mixing fund for cd #2.

NEWS Summer 05:

More recording toward the second full-length cd took place at Keup's Farm June 12. This time Jack Shannon took his turn. He recorded two guitar leads and played "live" alongside Scott on "This LIttle Samba" and "Charmion Chandler Cheese." Jack's awesome Steely Dan-ish chorus riff and lead really shine on "Bottom's Up." He also ran the foot pedal while Scott played Hammond on a few more songs. It was another fun and productive recording date with Stewart Myers, paid for by the kind donations of a few friends including Danny Conner, Rob Woodrum, Ashley Bell, Cece Bell, Shari Allen and David Smith (hope I didn't leave anyone out).

Scott shocked those who are used to his shyness by turning up at WRIR in Richmond (June 8) for a pre-recorded interview and performance of three songs: a version of "Karen" especially adapted for guitar, "She Said: Some of the Laws are Good for You Man, Yeh," and "Charmion Chandler Cheese." He talked with music director, "tinydj" who's been playing cuts from For Those Who Like POP and getting positive feedback from listeners. The station is Richmond Indie Radio, a local FM station that covers and plays what the other stations here do not. They are very supportive of local artists. Please give 'em a listen and consider donating to their cause as well as ours. Check back here for the broadcast date and time of Scott's interview and performance. In the mean time you can listen, of course, through the miracle of streaming audio.

And finally, Scott and webmaster Ken Hamilton have put-up a t-shirt (and other merchandise) shoppe at cafepress.com! So far there are three hilarious self-portraits by Scott and a really neat bird design by Ken. If you are unable to fire off a check to support the cd production, at least consider buying one of the shirts! I promise you will be amused by these shirts! Artists (and even non-artists!) are encouraged to submit their own designs to help support this thing we call a second cd. Contact Scott for details.

Speaking of cafepress.com shops, you should visit the one put up by Jim Johns. Jim can be heard playing drums on both Man from Operations and For Those Who Like POP. Jim's shirts were only meant as a humorous comment on a local event, but the t.v. news branded him a dangerous radical, which should make you want to own one of his shirts!

NEWS Fall 04/Winter 05:

The big funding drive is in full swing! That's right. Scott is openly asking for donations (or long term loans) to finish his second full-length cd. The core of the release will be six tracks begun last year with Stewart Myers and Anthony Allen. Better sounding home recordings by Scott will fill out the disc. Stewart Myers will mix in ProTools. A more organized campaign will begin soon, though Scott is happy to have received several substantial checks already. This promises to be a great disc, so if you're a fan please consider donating. Any amount is useful. Gifts of at least $25 dollars will be rewarded with a free cd. Contact Scott for more details including costs per day, what your money will go for, a proposed track list, and just how much the previous full-lengther made in sales. Oh, yeh, and your perks. PayPal members can use it to contribute, but please be advised that it will not accept credit cards at Scott's level of service. Scott's login/account name is his email address: sbrook@vcu.edu

The biggest news of the fall was that Stewart Myers laid down his bass tracks. Tasteful, dead-on, and, because of the stylistic diversity of the songs, versatile: There's a great groove with Anthony on the Steely Dan-ish (?) "Seabird," the XTC-style rock of "Lemon Lane," and the lite jazz feel of "Bottom's Up." You'll only hear these, of course, if the disc reaches completion.

Once in awhile, a weird thing happens to Scott out of the blue. Such a thing happened this fall. Marc Perlman, an ethnomusicologist at Brown Unversity contacted Scott about the Internet and music. He was specifically interested in the dawn of music on the 'net and the Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA). Scott appeared in news stories about this briefly lived music database. Scott put his two cents worth in about music and the internet today, and supposedly actual Brown students will make use this in future semesters.

Also in the fall, evil spammers took over the message board within a 48 hour period, and so we took it down. The same thing is happening all over to musician guestbooks and message boards.

NEWS 04

Summer Update:

Scott is now father of a second daugther, Juliette. The family is currently healthy and enjoying living on their ex-horse farm..

A recent check of web host stats is revealing. Though no one ever responds to the periodic emails about updates to this website, between 400 and 500 of you do indeed check out the site immediately following email notification of changes. Downloading of .mp3s is the favorite option.

Please see "This Place for Comedy" (now the last item on the "Words" page) for hilarious non-musical humor by Scott.

In the pre-new baby mode back in May and June, Scott was furiously demo-ing some songs that seem to have been left behind in the last few years, all guitar songs. Since the end of May he has made demos for "Charmion Chandler Cheese," "Gah-Kee-Deek," and first daughter Madeline's favorite, "Monday Shirt," a very silly song about Scott's incredibly undiverse wardrobe. She makes her recording debut on this track.

Recording of a way more professional nature took place May 15. Drumming sensation Anthony Allen performed drum and vibraphone tracks for six songs: "Bottom's Up," "Seabird," "Don't You Want to Know the Way It Feels to Lose?," "This Little Samba," It's Too Late, It's Friday," and "Lemon Lane." He was recorded by Stewart Myers (Agents of Good Roots) of Wishlist Recordings at the Keups Farm in Louisa County, Va. These recordings were a way of salvaging the time spent on a "live" appearance project (which would've been Scott's first since the late '80s) which ground to a halt earlier this year. Jack Shannon, the original idea man behind the proposed gigs, was also on hand, though, sadly, there was no time left to record his awesome guitar work. Anthony is a fantastically gifted musician and a consumate professional. Everyone reading this should check out his website drumsallday for a sample of the many projects he's involved in.

The most recent free mp3 is a 1999 (?) version of a very old song, "Waterplant" with Jim Johns as the drummer. It was recorded a few months after the main work on For Those Who Like POP was completed. This song, a paranoid vision of nefarious night time doings a-happenin' at the Salem, Va municipal water treatment plant, is really old. It was performed "live" by the Apes of Wrath in the mid-80's and was quite a crowd pleaser. This younger version attempts to make the song into a bossa number and also adds a new country-pop bit toward the end. Country McCartney style, that is. Let us know what you think.

Jon Huck, in his role as music supervisor, apparently pitched some of Scott's songs for a t.v. commercial out in Los Angeles.. No takers, unfortunately.

Dave Winer, a busy Chicago free-lancer, has recently voiced interest in working on a, hopefully extensive, re-mix of the old unreleased number, "Why Don't You Start Living Your Life?" Interesting ideas have been exchanged via email.

Sometime late in '04 or early '05, Scott's brief collaborative effort with Jean-Emmanuel Dubois will see the light of day. JED himself says that, in addition to the piece written with Scott, "My album will include contributions by Sean O' Hagan (High Llamas), Van Dyke Parks, The Witch Hazel Sound, April March...." Scott has recently offered JED and Xavier, JED's music partner, a completely different song, a perfect pop tune Scott wrote in one sitting. It never had words and now JED will write some in French! JED will also arrange the song and, possibly, sing it as a duet with a worthy female vocalist.

NEWS 03

Dragonfly TV has used a few more of Scott's songs ("Emma Peel" and "Swing My Way") in 2003 episodes of the show. This has meant BMI checks for four consecutive quarters now!

Chicago's own Dave Winer has finished his re-mix of Scott's old rocker "The Man from Operations." We are proud to offer it to you here at brookmania.com. Go listen on the .mp3s page and let us know what you think. Guaranteed enjoyment! (We're told that Dave may continue tweeking this re-mix in the coming weeks, so copy this version now if you want.)

Brazil's Luis Carlos Pavan has been playing cuts from For Those Who Like POP on his new radio show, Mosaico. His show, which seems to take the proper multi-generational international approach to spinning pop, airs at (East Coast US: Sunday 9-11 PM, West Coast US: Sunday 5-7 PM, and Japan: Monday 10-12 AM). Check it out and let him know if you dig what you hear. (Thanks for the latest airplay on the Sept 21 show!)

Issue #2 of Ian Stewart's Mouthy is out. It contains an interview with Scott, and others including Louis Philippe. The publication's website shows how to purchase a copy.

Though the Jon Huck collaboration has slowed, the one with French pop impressario, Jean-Emmanuel Dubois has met with some fruition. Details when available.

If you're in Frankfurt, Germany in April, be on the lookout for an Apricot Records-sponsored "live" d.j. show. According to label boss, Johannes Schneider, at least one song from Scott's For Those Who Like POP will be spun. In Johannes' words: "It will be a DJ-night in a theatre in Frankfurt; we are invited to spin "kitsch"-records. I always think of kitsch as a compliment."

Work was finished in January on additional backing vocals for a wonderful Fur Ones track,"Whirlybird." Scott sings with Julia Wolff, Christina Blackaller and Jonathan Palmer. Hopefully, this track will be released in 2003. Maybe whenever Jon Huck finishes mixing his latest bit of aural genius, he'll let us put up an .mp3 on this website.

NEWS 02

PBS kids program Dragonfly TV used four of Scott's songs (Ballad of a Boy Named Dracula, Polka Dot Bridge, Swing My Way, and The Undersea World of Sherlock Holmes) as background music in six episodes. The episodes began airing from January through April this year. If you see one of the episodes, drop Scott a line.

One of the world's greatest pop songwriters, Louis Philippe, has mentioned Scott's music on his website, Sunshine. His comments appear in the August edition of Louis' playlist. This is quite an honor, and all pop fans should visit Louis' site often.

It is midly sad news that Scott's old Lowrey organ, heard on the Twee Kitten 7" The Busy World of SB, and a few other older tracks, has been sold. Fair thee well olde friend.

Though his written comments didn't make the final cut, Scott made the thank you list in Kingsley Abbot's new book about Pet Sounds

This spring "(Don't You Want to Know) The Way it Feels to Lose," "Then You See Her" and others made the playlist of Tokyo Take-away on 107.3 FM Sydney, Australia.

Don't miss Scott's "Guilty Pleasures" column in Cool and Strange Music Magazine (#24). (Photos by Kenny Hamilton, your web designer).

It almost happened...Music Link of Richmond conducted an interview with Scott, and then disappeared from the web. Brazillian music website Modular Online showed interested, a review of For Those Who Like POP was written, and then...nothing.

News 01

Japan's great magazine, Beikoku-Ongaku, features a new song by Scott, "(Don't You Want to Know) The Way It Feels to Lose?" in its issue #19. This is an exclusive release.

Fumiyuki Sato and Tomoyuki Kawamori of the awesome group Eletronico are currently working with Scott on recording and mixing some new songs.

News 00

Scott recorded backing vocals on an as yet unreleased song by Fur Ones called "Whirlybird."

News 99

The big news at Brookmania is the licensing deal with Vivid Sound Corporation in Tokyo. The Japanese record label will be released "for those who like POP" in November. Their release will include three extra cuts: "Sometimes" (from the feature "Golfballs" ), "International Pop Overthrow," and "Penelope Chan: Action Figure."
The feature film "Golfballs" includes a song specially-written for it, "Sometimes." It is now out on video.
There's been lots of press lately. An interview will soon appear in Twist & Shake, and another will be used by Vivid Sound in Japanese promotions. Local coverage by Sonic, Style Weekly, and Richmond Magazine all came quickly this summer. Scott was quoted extensively in a Roanoke Times article about the community that used to contain the actual Polka Dot Bridge.