By JENNIFER K. BAUER of inland360.com
Facing age 34, Chad Bramlet says he felt he had to make a serious decision about music — tackle it full force or let it go. His choice has led to an interesting summer.
After releasing his first album, “This Side of Time” last spring, Bramlet auditioned for the producers of NBC-TV’s “The Voice” in June and recorded a new album in Nashville. July 9 he opened for Rodney Atkins at the Clearwater River Casino outside Lewiston. Saturday he will perform the national anthem to open Rockin’ on the River in Clarkston.
“This summer has been a blast,” says Bramlet. “The support I’ve gotten in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley has been incredible.”
Bramlet lives in Lewiston with his wife, Alicia, and their combined family of seven children ages 6 to 13.
He took to the spotlight as a child. His father worked as a public speaker traveling the Northwest talking to elementary and junior high school students about drug awareness. He convinced his dad to let him perform a karaoke song at a conference and fell in love with performing
“I have a song or some kind of melody in my head all the time,” says Bramlet, who writes his own songs in the vein of country and contemporary Christian music. He draws inspiration from his past experiences, including struggles with drugs, alcohol and addiction.
“I felt like it was my responsibility as a songwriter to be open and honest and transparent about some of that stuff to be able to touch people through the music, and my experiences, and my faith. I try to stay away from songs about things like ‘my truck’s bigger than your truck’ and drinking beer down by the river,” Bramlet says.
In June, producers from “The Voice” invited him to a private audition in Denver after he submitted an online application to the TV music competition’s website. The experience was different than what he expected, he says. He and numerous others who had submitted online forms performed for producers. Bramlet prepared three songs and got time to sing one. Unlike most of the others, he got to sing his entire song before being cut off.
“They were really encouraging. They said they liked my passion,” says Bramlet. “It was kind of eye-opening how talented some of the other people out there were.”
It’s possible he could be called back to perform on the show, Bramlet says, but as of now it doesn’t look like he’ll be moving forward.
Overall, he believes it was good experience “in terms of what the music business entails.” “You’ve got to market yourself. It’s not about just being a good singer or having good songs.”
Bramlet recorded his upcoming album, “What Makes Me a Man,” in Nashville in hopes of getting another step ahead in the music business.
“It turned out amazing. It exceeded my expectations of quality. The bass and guitar player are in a band with Wynonna Judd. The background singers are Alan Jackson’s background singers. They’re the top of the heap as far as studio musicians and they did an amazing job at capturing individual songs.”
Bramlet wrote six of the songs on the album, along with covering “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers. One of the songs, “Hometown,” is about growing up in Lewiston with mentions of places like Bengal Field and Sunset Park. It’s gotten local radio play. He hopes to have the CD available for sale by the end of the summer. Information about Bramlet’s upcoming shows is available online at www.chadbramlet.com.
Bauer may be contacted at jkbauer@inland360.com or (208) 848-2263.
