How do you describe to anyone what it’s like to walk away from everything before viral pandemic and global shutdown?
The months leading up to the 2020 lockdown were a time of personal breakthrough; a time of vivd lucidity in both dream world and waking life and the end of a fear loop.
Over the summer I had designed and directed an 8-piece stage show bringing together a musical collective of friends from a diverse range of backgrounds spanning theater, radio, live music and more. As band leader I was faced with ongoing improvisation, innovating tools and revising show elements to make the most of our collective talents. It was hard work for all of us, with an ambitious production schedule and multiple rehearsal locations. We all pushed ourselves outside of the comfort zone and picked up new skills and knowledge in the process and after weeks of practice and rehearsing as a group we walked out onto that stage together and shined.
And then I disappeared.
And it was alone in the darkness that I found truth and began healing from a long-held fear of sharing my light.
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In early 2011, I was ready to record my next album, Will-o’-the-Wisp, but the night before our first studio session I was hit by a car in a crosswalk at 40 mph on the highway in front of my apartment. The survival rate at that speed is about 5%.
11-23-2010: “Abe asked if I’m ready to join Backline Records”
12-5-2010: “Backline Records will be taking new artists in 2011 under the condition that you you keep going no matter what trys to stop you. This next year will be big. We plan on bringing through some national acts to help break in our Artists. I have always respected you as an Artist, Brady. It’s gonna be cool to hear some new Brady Beard tunes. Your heart is in the right place.” Abe Holderman (Dream Killer) – Backline Records
2-1-2011: “I’ve finished the album front to back and ready to record it and release it and move forward. The fire inside is always growing…”
March 19, 2011 Niche Wine Bar
3-21-2011: “My solo show Saturday went well.. too many people showed up and were turned away or had to stand outside.. I want to start booking our trio soon..”
My traumatic brain injury was diagnosed 9 months later; my upper cervical spinal injury, 7 years. There was zero protocol for traumatic brain injury where I was treated and as a result I struggled to navigate a road to recovery. I spent 8 months in a wheelchair with repeat leg surgeries and other complications. Once I was back on my feet I stopped all medications and found a new neurologist to focus on the root cause of my lingering symptoms.
After a year of ongoing therapies, I had run out of options with Allopathic medicine. In the years following, I struggled to find my way. In 2016, I made the critical decision to prioritize myself above everything else in my life in order to overcome post-concussion syndrome and other lingering symptoms and began pursuing alternative therapies such as Neurofeedback Training (NFB), Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and Near-Infrared and Far-Infrared Light Therapy. The results have been life changing. I eventually found an Upper Cervical Chiropracter (NUCCA) in 2018 and discovered that I had a significant spinal injury at the base of my skull resulting in a misalignment that was affecting my entire body and potentially causing some post-concussion symptoms in addition to secondary injuries. My rehabilitation is a result of a combination of several interventions, but I had to first accept that I had a choice to change how I prioritized myself in order to reach those opportunities. From my experience I’ve helped to increase awareness of and accessibility to hyperbaric oxygen therapy and other modalities for those living with traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome.
Meeting Abe Holderman (Dream Killer) at my show in 2008
I began recording Will-o’-the-Wisp at home in 2012. An instrumental version of the opening track, Escaping The Storms In Your Eyes, was made available in 2016 amid ongoing medical setbacks. The original release concept for the full length album was lost in time but involved a schedule of video song releases leading up to the official album release.
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In the wake of a whirlwind summer I took to the tide pools of my soul and reveled once more in the world of experimental noize.
Booking only a few shows and private events in 2009, I immersed myself in the creative process through painting, mixed media art and instrumental noize sessions, often times engaging all of these activities simultaneously as a driving force of creativity.
Textures was a beacon in the space between. The process was vivid with pieces rarely surfacing for air. Lyrics for what would become the opening track of the behemoth, Will-o’-the-Wisp, were arriving while still coloring outside of the lines on psychedelic crossover instrumentals.
Some of those new songs were included when I was giving away copies of the compilation, 111:111.
In 2008, Jeremy Wilson (Dharma Bums, MastanMusic) recorded a collection of songs from my summer concert series. The project was put on hold several times for various reasons. The title track, Empty Pockets, was cut because the final mixdown I was provided was somehow missing my vocal tracks.
Nearing completion of the original EP, Jeremy told me that I inspired him to get back to the stage and asked if I would be his second guitarist for his new project, The Jeremy Wilson Band. That was the beginning of what would become his first full studio solo record,Empty Through Empty Space.
I was provided my own JW songbook for rehearsals but ultimately chose to remain focused on my first EP launch and what was next. After four months of waiting for the pre-mastered mixes, Jeremy told me he wanted to turn my 6-song EP into a full length album, have me sign onto his record label and get my record in stores. I declined because I wanted to maintain my intellectual property rights and the studio cost for the EP was already paid in full. I wanted my EP. I was playing two or three shows a week and these songs of mine were tied up in post-production. My understanding was that Jeremy, with several ongoing studio projects, had to invest personal time in the post-process mixing of my EP due to the complicated setup with recording through the Soundworkshop Series 80 console and then into the ProTools recording software.
Still, Jeremy felt that my music was going places and the decision was made to add four simple live acoustic recordings that could be mixed much faster than the previous approach bringing the total track count to 10.
I kept the album title as it was because it perfectly described where I was at that time in my life and the nature of making a record with no budget. As with everything there is much more to the story.
The Making of the Empty Pockets EP
Tony Smiley asked me to play a private party with him in early 2008 after opening for a couple of his shows. In the audience was musician and producer, Jeremy Wilson, who tracked me down to ask me to record on his label and appear on his podcast series.
2008 June: Been spending a lot of my days at the MastanMusic Studio tracking furiously with Jeremy Wilson. A few of my life-long friends are on this EP. Making records, as Jeremy puts it, is fun but not easy and has been very demanding. We began initial tracking June 6th. Though I am grateful for the experience, I’m anticipating final mixes now as the recording sessions are wrapping up and my first EP will be available as soon as it’s ready. Those tunes are:everything is gonna be jus fine, the one leaving you, ft. mojave friend, what you done to me, her angel tonight, empty pockets
July 15th: Finished recording the Empty Pockets EP, waiting another week until we can mix and master.
August 10th: Three songs mixed..
August 22nd: Two songs mixed..
September 4th: entire EP should be mixed by September 16th.
September 14th: ALL Six Songs Mixed! Should be mastered soon and ready for release..
October 10th: Jeremy scheduled to record an additional 4 acoustic tracks October 15th making this a full length album or LP. Those tunes are:a chance to tell you why, keepin on, the early morning, whatchoo got
October 16th: There are a few final steps in making this album but it’s almost here..
Empty Pockets was made available on CDBaby June 26, 2010.
2008 Filling in for The Posies on the MastanMusic Hour Podcast with Jeremy Wilson (Dharma Bums) MastanMusic Studio in Portland, Oregon
Having played solo all over Portland and Vancouver, sometimes three shows a week, sometimes twice or more in a day, I needed new frontier. It was 2008 and the living room in the co-op I was renting at was rehearsal space for the various music projects’ of my roommate, Beth Rhodes (Soundspell, UpRiverStudios). We all knew it as the Witch House and it’s where Beth would rehearse with Brandy Lynn and Sara Williamson in their band, Soundspell.
2008 live on Friday Freeway Blues with Steve Pringle (KMHD, KINK, KGON, Waterfront Bluesfest)
On top of the blood, sweat and tears of non-stop shows while learning to build and promote showcases there had been a string of heartfelt collaborations with artists like Tony Smiley, Brandy Lynn, Nicole Plumlee and Beth Rhodes plus various side projects as well as building relations with a half dozen venue owners. Music became family and in the culmination of brilliant colors I felt my own works had become too absorbed into the peripheral to craft new material my own way. To do that, I needed to blaze my own trail away from the various music and art scenes. I had scrapped together the Empty Pockets EP at summer’s end. I was still playing shows through fall. That winter, I was spent.
Six Second Sound, or Six 2nd Sound, was a rock band from Ridgefield, WA formed in 2001 by Brady Beard, Ron Melton and Jake Hoesch. The trio played one show (Arnada Cafe, Vancouver, WA) before Bryan Ordway joined as the group’s permanent drummer. From 2002-2003 the group played an assortment of odd shows including boxing matches at a pig farm.
In early 2002, Jerry Hatcher helped the group record a 6-song demo of originals that was then mastered by Vic Sorisio. In 2020, the recordings were finally made available online and can now be found at YouTube.
