Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Crockett
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started off being not only interested in music at a young age but intrigued by art as a whole. You could say I was always drawn to creativity. I would spend a lot of my childhood alone making games on Microsoft Powerpoint, exploring the limits in what you can do on MS Paint and recording short films by using my Nintendo 3DS camera and Windows Live Movie Maker. I started taking music a little bit more seriously when I got into junior high. I started singing, rapping and writing my own songs along with teaching myself my favorite instrument: the piano. It’s funny, during lunch period (before I owned my own keyboard) I would go into the band classroom and practice on the piano that was provided in there. Now mind you, I wasn’t enrolled in any band program in junior high so everyone who hung out in the band room during lunch was looking at me like “what the…where did…who is this random guy and why does he keep coming in here to play the piano”. It wasn’t until high school when I started having music classes on my schedule. Then I started taking music A LOT more seriously. First it was the marching band where I played in the front ensemble. Then it was the Jazz Combo and the Jazz Big Band where I played piano and keyboards. Then I would join the Symphonic Ensemble and Wind Ensemble playing in the percussion section. I started playing the Hammond B3 Organ at the church I grew up at as well. When I graduated from high school I was very surprised at all the goals that I completed! My junior year I received the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and my senior year I received the John Philip Sousa Award and the senior award for Top Instrumentalist. I was section leader of percussion and doing gigs outside of school but I think my biggest accomplishment was being accepted into my dream college Berklee College of Music. Now all of a sudden there’s nothing more serious in my life than music….okay family, friends and health are pretty serious too. During my time at Berklee I was able to play with and meet so many of some of the world’s best musicians along with having plenty of time and resources to learn and improve my craft. I was playing in multiple bands with all different kinds of genres ranging from funk to rock to blues to jazz fusion to others. I was up late (or I guess it would be up til’ the early morning) recording in studio sessions (and doing homework assignments). I was writing and producing music that I didn’t know I was capable of manifesting and creating. Overall, it was a beautiful experience. Recently in May of 2024 I have graduated from Berklee with a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production and I plan to continue to write music and release it under my solo artist project, but also I plan to use what I’ve learned not only at Berklee but throughout my whole life to collaborate with a range of artists whether they be musicians, game developers, dancers, film makers, painters, miniaturists or anything you can think of. The world needs artists working together because the world runs on art.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think any road to any path is smooth. The road was definitely bumpy, had potholes and was cracked by natural experiences we all (or some of us) have to walk through but at least when you look around there is a beautiful sky, plenty of trees around and when it’s dark there are enough bright and dim lights to guide you until the sunrise. I struggled and sometimes still struggle with self love. A lack of self love can lead you down various roads like doubting the abilities you have and to grow, or another road is not being able to trust yourself to complete the tasks you want to complete because of the pressure of trying to be perfect. I talk a lot about mental health in my music because it is a very important subject to me and I feel like it is to a lot of artists. We use our art not just to help ourselves but to help others and show people who are feeling a similar feeling that they are not alone. It’s all about community, it’s all about patience and it’s all about love.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Some people know me as a pianist and entertainer while others know me for songwriting and producing. I’d like to be known as both because I specialize in both of those areas. Any chance I get to play a piano whether it be on stage, at a bar or a coffee shop or on the street, I WILL BE THERE. What sets me apart from other performers who are in the same realm as me is that I love meeting people and making them know that they are loved and unique through my playing. I want everyone to feel good. I’ve also been told that I reallllly get into the music. It’s a feeling that over takes my soul, it makes everything lighter. I truly love this craft. When it comes to songwriting and producing, because I was self taught for most of my life and started writing poems at 11 years old I believe I have a very unique style and I’d love to show the world what I can provide in the music and art space.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Man, growing up as me was an interesting and fun experience. I was a huge fan of the Super Mario series so that played a huge part in the YouTube videos I would watch and the games that I would make. As far as I remember I always wanted to create something. A show, a series of books, a new dance move, anything. That leads to 2011 when The Muppets came out. As soon as I saw the trailer I was obsessed! I started making my own puppets out of anything and everything I could find around the house including covering tissue boxes in paper and fabrics, ripping the stuffing out of my sister’s dolls, and using aluminum foil and yarn to make marionettes. I started learning all about Jim Henson and how he created his shows. I even took up ventriloquism at one point. Don’t ask me to try it, I don’t have the ability to talk with my mouth closed anymore…it was a long time ago. This was when I started to perform a little bit here and there and would be in my room looking at myself in the mirror practicing being on stage and pretending to perform. When the ventriloquist days were coming to an end and the music days were beginning to show itself, the practicing on stage turned into a natural passion of needing to be on stage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brandoncrockett.wixsite.com/brandoncrockett
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandoncrockett/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brandoncrocketthere
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/brandoncrockett
- Other: https://linktr.ee/brandoncrockett
Image Credits
The first three images are provided by:
Kaylynn LaGuardia // instagram: @camera.lynn
