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ith Coming Together For

A Cause

Friday, August 16th6pm

World Café Live Philadelphia, PA

All Ages

Brett Talley, lead guitarist in Outset, IKE, and his own Brett Talley Band, was recently diagnosed with CML (Chronic Mylogenous Leukemia). CML is a disease that affects the formation of white blood cells. Brett has a “long and expensive fight ahead of him.” Brett Fest (sponsored by WMMR/Jaxon’s Local Shots) was created by Philadelphia songwriter/musician John Faye to help Brett and his family deal with the many challenges ahead. John believes Philadelphia can be counted on to help one of their own in his time of need.

Songwriter’s Monthly: How recent was Brett’s diagnosis? How is he holding up? Will he be performing at the event?

John Faye: Brett was diagnosed in late April; he was at a doctor’s appointment for a different medical issue when they noticed his white blood cell count was super high. When he got his official diagnosis, it was devastating. He has had some pretty awful luck in his life with different medical issues and this was such a blow. Brett is a strong

When a friend is in need, you help. It’s that simple . . .

person, though, and he has a lot of love and support from a lot of people, especially his wife Susie Steen (who plays bass in IKE). The fact that they are meeting this battle head on, with a 1-year old son to raise, full-time jobs to maintain, and Brett dealing with the side effects of his chemo meds, is mind-blowing and inspiring to me. Brett will see quite a lot of stage time at the event, with IKE, Susie’s band the Sizzlers, and Awesome Bros. (a “Philly super group” of sorts with members of Jealousy Curve, IKE, and drummer Ron DiSilvestro).

SM: How much of the ticket price goes to helping Brett? Are there other things people/fans can do to help out?

JF: 100% of net proceeds go to Brett. There are also three benefit singles related to Brett Fest. John & Brittany have a live single “Zzzoloft (unplugged)” available as a pay-what-you-can download at JohnBrittany.com. Our friends, The Shakers (from Los Angeles), have recorded a song that they are giving away for free to those who buy Brett Fest tickets and request the mp3. There is also the first new IKE song since 2011 called “The Other Shoe Always Drops,” which will also be a pay-what-you-can download. That will be available the week of the concert at ikeonline.net.

SM: Do you need any volunteers for the event?

JF: We would love to enlist street team volunteers to hand out flyers and spread the word. Inquiries can be emailed to me at jkfaye@yahoo.com.

SM: What can people do to help/show their support if they cannot make it to the event?

JF: If people cannot make the event, they can support the cause by purchasing the aforementioned benefit singles. And, there is a direct donation link on the IKE website which goes directly to Brett. We also want to help educate people about CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia). People can learn more at MyCMLCare.com.

SM: Do you have an origin story of how you and Brett met/began working together?

JF: Sometime around 2004, IKE and Brett’s former band, Outset, became friendly, supporting each other at shows and doing occasional gigs together. At one particular show in Delaware, I recall having vocal trouble and Cliff Hillis, our guitarist at the time, stepped up and started doing some of his solo material — which Brett was also a big fan of. Brett got right onstage and started playing bass along with Cliff and knew the songs as if he had been playing them for years. We were all floored. Later that year, we asked Brett to fill in at a show Cliff couldn’t do and he showed up knowing every nuance, every effect, every tone. I was actually a little freaked out by how good the guy was. Not too long after, Cliff announced he was leaving IKE and, naturally, I asked Brett to join the band. It wasn’t a done deal at first because Brett was still playing in Outset. I remember him sitting me down at a diner in northeast Philly to tell me he couldn’t officially join IKE because of what his band had going on and I remember thinking, “This guy is the only person who can play guitar in IKE. This can’t be happening.” As fate would have it, Outset broke up shortly after that and Brett joined

John and Brett in the studio.

the band. We went into the studio within a couple months and recorded the IKE album, Where To Begin, which is still one of my favorite albums I’ve ever worked on.

SM: What kind of memories has reuniting IKE brought back?

JF: It’s a pretty emotional thing for me because I lived and breathed IKE for a decade and when we knew the writing was on the wall, that it was time to change gears and go on hiatus, it was a big adjustment for all of us. Just being in the studio together again for the new single has been an absolute blast. We’ve been laughing so much it hurts. Plus, the new song is pretty strong, I think people are going to dig it.

SM: Your current band is John & Brittany. There is an amazing chemistry in that relationship. How does John & Brittany differ from other bands/situations you have written/performed in?

JF: John & Brittany is a completely different dynamic from anything I’ve ever been involved with. Our chemistry is rooted in 5 years of very intense experiences. We clicked from the moment we met, but we also knew how different we were from each other. We have a lot of fun onstage, but neither one of us is ever far from the thought that playing music together is literally saving our lives. So there’s a lot of weight behind what we do for both of us.

SM: Early in 2013, John & Brittany released Start Sinning. Who would you say was the bigger “sinner,” you or Brittany? Why?

JF: Well, the expected answer might be to say that it’s her, but let’s just say I’m am not one to throw stones. I think we both make a sincere effort to offset our flaws with positive acts. One of the many things I adore about her is that she’s one of the most kind-hearted, empathetic people I know. She’s the first person to give whatever she has in her pocket to someone in need. She’s going to kill me for saying that.

SM: Who do you admire most in the Philly music scene?

JF: There are too many people to name, but one thing I will say is that I’ve never been prouder to be a Philly musician than at this point in time. A lot of people care a great deal about our music scene, from the bands to the fans to venues like World Cafe Live and Legendary Dobbs to radio folks in a position to give a broader platform to local artists like Jaxon from WMMR (who is hosting Brett Fest) and Mark Rogers from WSTW (who is letting us come on his show to promote the concert even though it’s presented by another station).

SM: At what point did Jaxon/WMMR get involved?

JF: I asked him to get involved as soon as the show was scheduled, shortly after Brett’s diagnosis. Jaxon has been a huge supporter of local music for years and IKE had the distinction of being the lead track on the first Jaxon’s Local Shots CD back in 2005. Our song “Into Philadelphia” still gets played on WMMR, so it’s been a long-standing relationship.

SM: I met Rachel Miller at an event in New York City a few years ago. She immediately stood out as a dynamic publicist who honestly cared about the artists and events she represented. I was thrilled when I heard that Big Picture Media was opening a branch in Philadelphia. How great is it that Rachel now has an office in Philly and is working on Bret Fest?

Brittany

JF: My love for Rachel Miller can’t even be quantified :)

SM: How much of the leg work are you personally doing for this event?

JF: I’m doing a lot, but it’s absolutely a group effort in making an event like this happen. All the artists on the bill are doing their part to fill every seat.

SM: What is your favorite aspect of Philadelphia, in general?

JF: Philadelphia is an amazing, diverse, historical, deeply flawed city. Every source of inspiration under the sun can be found here. It’s a perfect place to be an artist.

SM: I recently interviewed a Canadian artist when he played Philadelphia and he could not believe the amount of love this town shows artists. Do you find there is a lot of love/loyalty to bands in Philly?

JF: That’s a good question. My honest answer is that in any big city, some artists are going to get a lot of support and some — who are equally deserving from an artistic standpoint — may not. The bands I have been involved with have been very fortunate to develop incredibly loyal and supportive fan bases. There are a lot of factors involved with that and I think many musicians aren’t completely comfortable immersing themselves in what it takes to get to another level. I think it’s every artist’s job to find their niche within any music scene. There are millions of people in this town and sometimes the stars align and you can get 500 or 1000 out to a big local show. That’s what we’re working towards with Brett Fest.

SM: Philly is packed with great artists. Do you anticipate any surprise guests, on the spot jams, or anything of that nature? How long do you anticipate the event lasting?

JF: I completely agree with that statement and that’s why there are 14 acts playing Brett Fest. Several are just doing a couple acoustic songs, but we wanted to involve as many people who have a connection to Brett as possible. I’m obviously very excited to be doing sets with both IKE and John & Brittany and we’re also closing out the night with the Awesome Bros. set which will be a handful of cover songs with pretty much everyone on the bill on stage together. It’s going to be a pretty epic event. It will go from about 6pm, when doors open up, until around midnight. It’s a lot of music for $15.

Once again, here are the details . . .

WMMR/Jaxon’s Local Shots Presents

“BRETT FEST”At World Café Live on August 16th

Doors open at 6pm (All Ages)

Reunion Performances By: IKE,Pawnshop Roses, and Awesome Bros(features members of Jealousy Curve,

IKE, and Ron DiSilvestro)

Purchase Advance Tickets at: www.IKEOnline.net

www.JohnBrittany.com