Brett Benowitz, now quite the New Yorker, is very much aware of the ways in which his upbringing affected him in his adulthood. First in Newport Beach, California and then in Cartersville, Georgia, Brett grew up surrounded by the kind of music that made him want to create – one of his earliest memories, he’s proud to share, was listening to his mother sing Patsy Cline and Bob Dylan. He wanted to emulate the soul with which she performed, so he picked up a guitar and wailed to “House of the Rising Sun.” Those classic rock ‘n roll chord progressions ring through his forthcoming release, “Burn to Glow,” which features a range of fast-paced rock jams and soulful ballads.
Brett remembers when he decided to record this nine-track concept album – in a moment of mindfulness while he was on tour with Rockin’ Road to Dublin, a rock-Irish fusion show showcasing traditional Irish dance, he recognized his passion for making music and acknowledged how lucky he was to be building a career doing something he loved. He put that feeling of happiness, contentedness, and gratitude into “Something to Believe In,” now the ninth track of this album, and with that song launched the creation of “Burn to Glow.”
“Burn To Glow” in its totality was inspired by a quote by Victor Frankl: “What is to give light must endure burning.” “In other words,” Brett explains, “the difficulties we face are necessary to bring out our best. Each of the nine songs represents a different phase in the metamorphosis of enduring life’s hardships to become our best. The first four songs represent the burn: heartbreak, rage, indifference, and rebelliousness, while the final four songs represent the glow: closure, dedication, love, and belief in something bigger than yourself. In the very middle is the title song, Burn to Glow, serving as the literal transition from burning to glowing.”
Brett will be the first to admit that life is a never-ending cycle through those phases – that reaching the glow will not stop you from feeling the burn again. While he started the writing process very much steeped in the glow of the music business, he now feels he’s more in a “Meet The Ground” phase – the fourth track off this album – as he is determined and passionate about this next release, and the show to push it. “I believe we are constantly cycling through these phases in a perpetual cycle that varies in magnitude depending on what we’re individually dealing with. It doesn’t all follow the same sequence as I’ve portrayed on my album. My goal was to create an album that shows how struggle brings out our best; how we actually need difficulty in our lives because without it there can be no growth.”
To see Brett preview “Burn to Glow” and celebrate the release of this album, head over to The Bitter End this Thursday, October 12th, at 8:30 pm. Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1678945198784293/
Pre-order the album here: https://brettbenowitz.bandcamp.com/
