We were lucky to catch up with Jackie Brubaker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jackie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I’ve always sung since as young as I can remember. I knew I wanted to be on Broadway and sing in musicals. When I discovered jazz in middle school it was as if I was remembering it from another lifetime. I pursued a music career and was lucky enough to be signed to a music publisher as a singer/writer/producer. But, I found that the more I wrote music the more I fell into the thinking that I had to sing what would make me money. So I sang pop, country and singer/songwriter genres. While I loved those genres, they weren’t mine. I am I musical theater/jazz/classical girl. After putting out two albums that I was very proud of I abruptly stopped. I left my publisher and put my music career on the back burner. Almost a decade later I’ve finally accepted who I am and what I love to sing without the pressure to be popular. Letting go of what kind of artist I thought I should be and being the artist that I am is how I’ve finally come back to music. So, if you were to ask me do I wish I would’ve started earlier or later I feel like I’ve done both. I started earlier singing what I loved, got detoured and now later have come back to the beginning to start again.
Jackie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a classically trained musical theater and jazz singer. I’m usually introduced as the girl who sounds like a Disney princess, which I take as a compliment, because it’s true. That’s exactly what I sound like. While I was influenced growing up listening to Disney movies like so many of us were, I just ended up sounding like one. I’ve performed in musicals, recorded albums, been signed to music publishers and played all over Los Angeles, Ca. as a singer. What really sets me apart is that I’ve always adopted a love of older songs, like the classics from Gershwin and Roger’s and Hammerstein and made them my own. I dress and look like I walked off of a film set in the 1950’s and appreciate the craftsmanship of the 20’s-early 60’s music. I also write in a musical theater genre. I feel most comfortable in those era’s and singing and writing with inspiration from some of the greatest composers of our time is something I take with great pride.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
While I trained to perform on Broadway from early childhood into college there was a reason I shifted into the music industry singing pop music and didn’t continue on with my Broadway plans. I had a #metoo moment during high school that greatly changed the course of my life. This person was in the musical theater world and that made it difficult for me to heal from the ridicule I had received as the “bad girl”. I tried to continue on but I would literally run into them at auditions. I was so beat down from not having the support I needed to heal that I ran away from what I loved the most. It took me a very long time to finally begin to heal myself from what happened in high school. As I healed I tip toed back into musical theater and singing it. Coming out again as a singer, singing what I love and auditioning for musicals again is a huge triumph for me. I’m betting on myself without caring if I “win” or not. Because I win everyday I get to sing.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Something people can do to help support artists is to support them by buying their product. While the music industry is vastly different than even ten years ago, there are so many ways to still support a musician. Albums are expensive to make and most albums don’t have backing from a label like the old days. We have to come up with that money. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into creating music for people to listen to whether in your car or on a stage. Supporting an artist through their Go Fund Me page, buying merchandise that they’re selling, buying tickets to their shows, or any other way they might be trying to make a living to support their craft means so much to us. You don’t really choose to be an artist. You are one. Helping us make art for you is our life’s work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jackiebrubaker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackiebrubaker?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jackiebrubakershine?si=E1iOX0wK55pumgwd
- Other: TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@thejackiebrubaker?_t=8obJ7JjGJNH&_r=1
Image Credits
Photography by Kristine Bautista