• About

residentbryan

residentbryan

Search results for: bethany

Sam’s love story: First date pt. 1 by Bethany Brandt

12 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by residentbryan in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

   Sam is getting ready for his date now; let’s look in to see how he’s doing. Sam, freshly showered, finds some clean clothes, not really noticing what he’s putting on. He musses up his hair with his hand and takes a quick look in the mirror; he seems taken back for some reason. Perhaps he realizes he has been to cavalier with his clothing choice. I look like I’m about to mug her. What’s wrong with me?, Sam thought. He took off his black punisher shirt and black jeans, throwing them back into his “clean” pile to opt for something less threatening, blue jeans and a black button up shirt.  

   They meet outside the movie theater where Sam had been waiting for quite a while. There is a brief hello and exchange of polite conversation before awkward silence where you can actually see Sam racking he brain for something to say or a question to ask. Briana smiled, “Should we go inside?” Slightly startled out of his thoughts, “Oh, yeah. It’s getting a little cold out here anyway.”

   We see them move through the ticket line not really talking, just nondescript smiles at each other when Sam actually does makes eye contact with Briana. This pair is quite funny together; Briana having bright colors and heavy eye make-up juxtaposed to Sam who is in black with his hands jammed into his pockets, making him look smaller than he actually is. Sam buys their tickets and they now wait in another line with more awkward silence. It’s a good thing they are going to a movie where they don’t have to speak to each other.

   I don’t remember it being this hard to talk to her before, Sam thought. They sit in the back of the theater, which is sparsely populated. “Here”, Briana moves the arm of the chair back and places the popcorn between them. “This will be easier, right?” Sam silently panics while he grabs a handful of popcorn. “These seats are made for lovers! People cozy up like crazy with these stupid moveable armrests”. Sam knew he didn’t want to be too forward and weird out Briana who, now that he looked at her, is dressed adorably. Sam unknowingly smiles goofily as he realizes she dressed this way for him, him specifically. He changed his clothes once, and she must have done it a thousand times. “What? Did I do something funny?”, Briana asks as she quickly pats her hair to make sure it isn’t out of place. “Oh sorry, no.” The music gets louder and the movie starts to play.

   Briana moves the bag of popcorn to the empty seat beside her and begins to make fun of the actors on screen until she gets shushed by one of the ten people in the theater. “Come closer so I can whisper and not get in trouble”, she says with a smile. Sam moves as close as he can which means he is on the plastic divider between the bottom of the seats. How do couples cuddle with these?, he thought. He is very uncomfortable, but Briana is speaking freely in his ear, sometimes tickling it with her breath.

  Sam starts laughing and getting in some jokes too. In a flash of a moment, Sam’s heart stops because they both try to whisper something to each other making them centimeters apart from each other’s lips. Sam unknowing of what to do, turns and leans his ear towards her. She whispers, “For a second, I thought you might kiss me.” Sam slowly looks back at her and asks, “Do you want me to?” Briana smiles coyly and says, “Did you really have to ask?”. Briana leans over and gives Sam a sweet and slightly seductive kiss that changed something in Sam. He didn’t feel nervous anymore. Sam felt changed like something slid open a compartment of his heart and released a new, very warm emotion.

Advertisement

Bethany Brandt interview

06 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by residentbryan in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

I had the honor of interviewing singer/songwriter Bethany Brandt, check her out-

Me: So my first question is, for those that aren’t familiar with you, tell us some about you and your music
BB: I like to say it’s a mix between Third Day and Tina Turner. I love to tell stories that connect people to one another. Everyone loves a good story…I just happen to sing them.

Me: Awesome!, what kind of stories inspire you?
BB: I love hearing the stories of a person’s life. There are so many people out there relating stories that are shared experiences with 95% of the population at some point in their life.

I remember vividly of a woman telling me how she couldn’t eat because her child needed the food instead. Another person told me the story of her child’s crying being so overwhelming that she just sat and wept outside the door, not knowing what to do. These stories ended up being merged into one song which so many parents could relate. I personally love stories where people have overcome the odds to succeed or thrive afterwards. Who doesn’t like an underdog?

Me: I see, so what are your upcoming/current projects?
BB: We just finished a show in North Port, Florida. Currently, we are traveling around  the state at local churches and festivals. I can’t say too much about the festivals because they aren’t set in stone yet, but our next show will be in Punta Gorda at Souls Harbour Church of God. It will be next month at a date TBD. I will have updates soon on it all at BethanyBrandt.com

Me: Well we definitely look forward to hearing more about it!, you going to be making a CD at some point?
BB: Yes, we are currently working on an EP called I Will Follow. My bandmates and I are Christian musicians that feel called to work in the music industry, hence the name. There is a definite influence of classic rock in this one. There is just something about wailing power chords that makes you feel something.

Me: You mentioned third day and Tina Turner, but which classic rock bands have influenced you?
BB: I listened to just about everything growing up, but I used to dance around to a Queen record in my Dad’s living room when I was younger. Yes, a record, because my dad raised me right! I love The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Styx. Probably not the best examples of influences on Contemporary Christian music, but it was good music that I grew up on. It just stuck with me.

Me: Awesome!, and your CD will have elements of those?
BB: It will have a definite feeling without hitting you over the head with it. In our live shows we cater to the need of the venue, though. If I get the choice, I’m singing rock and songs with a lot of soul. Our last show we didn’t do any of our rock songs because we played a praise & worship set, which is a little different from a traditional show. They wanted someone to come in on a Sunday morning, which meant we couldn’t really blow them away with screaming guitars. It is an interesting situation since we don’t have the traditional venues of a secular band or a band that plays mainstream Christian music. It’s better in the long run because we started out as a band with a diversified sound so we could fit into different venues. My heart is in rock, though. I feel like that should be reflected in our first release.

Me: Awesome!, do you play just Christian venues?
BB: Actually, no. My husband, Matthew Brandt, and I would go to parks and festivals to play and not label ourselves as Christian. I loved it since people would just come over to hear good music. Our songs allude to Bible verses and God, but because it isn’t in your face obvious, people might show up that would have never gotten the chance to listen to our music or a Christian song in general. There was one instance, though, where a little girl stopped to listen and even started dancing. Her mom was absolutely fine with this and wasn’t paying any attention to what we were singing until I sang out a long “Jesus”. She snatched her daughter up so quickly I was sure the girl had mild whiplash from it.

We love to play anywhere really. Certain venues are just more conservative with Christian music and other venues simply don’t give gigs to Christian artists. I get to sing more original stuff at festivals and youth events, but that’s why we diversify our set lists; we just want to go out and play music.

Me: I see, that’s awesome!, are your CD’s going to be as diversified as your gigs?
BB: I thought quite a bit of how I want the first three CD’s to progress. I have a definite idea of the evolution of sound and subject matter, but it will be a slow change over time. I want listeners to stick with the music through the transitions, and we enjoy rocking out. So there isn’t a huge change from the beginning of one CD to the end, but “I Will Follow” does shift in mood towards the end.

Me: That will be awesome to hear!, so what all can we expect from you in the future?
BB: I’m currently booking local venues in the Southwest Florida area, and I am in talks about shows on the East coast as well. We will have our EP, “I Will Follow”, and I still plan on doing random, smaller sets with just my husband and myself in local parks whenever I get the chance. I try to keep my bandmates schedule in mind because most of us are on different worship teams on Sunday mornings for our respective churches. 

I’m working on getting on Spotify and Pandora; just getting the legal stuff taken care. Until then, I will be on twitter: @bethybrandt,Facebook: bethanybrandtmusic, and Reverbnation: bethanybrandt posting my music and show updates.

Me: Definitely alot worth checking out!, thank you so much for this interview!
BB: You got it! If anyone wants to stay up to date, they can join our mailing list via the website, thanks Bryan!

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015

Categories

  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • residentbryan
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • residentbryan
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar