Artist Profile

Name: BrettGleason
Label: self-released
Location: Brooklyn NY

Biography:

Brett Gleason's first solo effort, 'The Dissonance' is a unique fusion of alternative rock and electronica, combining the low end crunch of industrial music with the melodic piano based style of a singer/songwriter. Both high brow and accessible, cerebral yet emotional, Brett Gleason's debut is getting impassioned responses and drawing comparisons to a wide array of artists including Trent Reznor, Tori Amos, Amanda Palmer, Antony Hegarty, Ben Folds and Joe Jackson.

A Brooklyn based artist from Long Island, Brett got involved with music early after a childhood accident left him with a severe speech impediment, leading him to a life of solitary contemplation filled with music lessons and literature, earning him not only a plethora of instruments at his command but a truly original and developed perspective.
After finishing his studies in music, writing and philosophy at the New School University in Manhattan, Brett dedicated himself to the recording process and now at the age of 26,has not only completed his first effort but written, played and recorded everything on it. As a self released debut, Brett Gleason's 'The Dissonance' is making waves and garnering notice from some of the busiest ears in the industry:

'What happens when you combine the passion of Kate Bush, the intensity of Trent Reznor and the charm of Conor Oberst in a debut EP? You are pleasantly rewarded with Brett Gleason's 'The Dissonance' - Matt Gross, 'The Music Slut

'Gleason here filters a piano-based sort of singer-songwriter/alt-rock album through a rather industrial filter to arrive at something approximating a weird, subdued complement to the likes of Tori Amos, Antony Hegarty, Amanda Palmer and Trent Reznor.' - MetroMix NYC

'Gleason mixes dark metal with post-bop and bright pop...the blend of light and heavy plays like the result of studying NIN at home and Duke Ellington at school. Imagine a prog-rock outfit covering the entirety of Joe Jackson's 'Body and Soul''
- Kathleen Fennessy 'AndMoreAgain'

'Brett's music has a strange peacefulness and at the same time a troubling restlessness. His words are thoughtful and his music is put together with a masterful flow of consciousness.' - Diana Olson, 'Skope Magazine

Background Information

Date Started Playing: 07/08/2009
Number of Members: 4
Gender of Members: Male/Female

Band Members / Instruments:
Brett Gleason: Everything on recordings, piano and lead vocals live
Elliot Kavee: Drums
Jana Fisher: laptop/keyboard/vocals
Sandra Branksy: Upright Bass

Musical Influences:
The Smashing Pumpkins
NIN
Tori Amos
Kate Bush
radiohead
Depeche Mode
The Cure
Fiona Apple
Elliot Smith

Other

Venues Played:
Crash Mansion, Delancey, Bowery Poetry Club, Arlene's Grocery, Fontana's Trash Bar

Most Frequent Venue: Fontana's

Favorite Venue: Joe's Pub, BAM, Bowery Poetry Club