Lumino Magazine: Michelle Branch stands above all as a real musician

Michelle Branch stands above all as a real musician

Story and photos by NICK POWILLS

If Michelle Branch were to stand up in a crowded room full of female pop stars, she would tower over all of them because of her vast range of musical talent. Branch not only plays the guitar and keyboard, but also writes her own material – a skill lacked by many of today’s pop divas. The only thing Branch can’t do is shake it like a Polaroid picture – in other words, dance like the ever popular Britney Spears.

Quite too often, the 19-year-old Branch is thrown into that category – the musical category that contains the Britney’s, Christina’s and Beyonce’s, and that’s a problem. In fact, she hates it. She hates being linked to musicians that lack the pure talent that she displays night in and night out on stage with an instrument in hand and a real voice bellowing out to the crowd.

"It’s kind of annoying to be linked with them," Branch says in a recent phone interview, as she admits to still be lying in bed past the 12 p.m. hour. "When I first started out, I was compared to Britney Spears and Christina, but that’s not me. I’m different. And now it’s Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton, which isn’t so bad. And I love it when someone links me to Sheryl Crow. I’m like, ‘Thank you. I love you for comparing me to her.’ That’s what I want."

In fact, Branch never really wants to be categorized with the teeny pop stars of today. She is perfectly happy being her own. She doesn’t want to take off more clothes on stage, prancing around in skimpy outfits, because she says the focus would be off the music then, and the music is what it’s all about for her. However, Maxim is a different story.

"I probably won’t take off more clothes on stage," Branch says. "Everyone always comes to me and they are like, ‘You always look the same on stage,’ because I always basically wear the same outfit. I wear jeans and a tank top and sneakers and that’s how I will be for the rest of my life. I’m sorry, I can’t prance around stage on heels tripping over cables and wearing a skirt on stage, the whole front row sees your undies.

"But I can’t say that I won’t ever dress skimpy because I shot the cover of Maxim magazine – which I know what was going to happen. Everyone is going to be like, ‘I thought Michelle was different and her management made her do it.’ But they called me and they were like, ‘Michelle, Maxim wants to shoot you for the cover.’ I was so excited they would even consider me. I was like, ‘You really think that I’m sexy?"

MIDWEST CONNECTION
Branch loves the Midwest – specifically Chicago. She has had some life altering experiences in the Windy City, including being stuck on the 98th floor of the financial building when the tragic events of Sept. 11 went down, a moment she will never forget.

"I was in Chicago on Sept. 11," Branch says with a brief pause. "I will always remember that morning perfectly, being in Chicago and everything that happened. You know how I found out? I was doing radio 98th floor of the financial building, getting ready to do some radio when I found out. So we tried to drive outside of the city as fast as we could because we were scared. I will never forget being in Chicago on that day."

Despite the Sept. 11 memory, Branch has many other positive memories of Chicago – such as filming the "Game of Love" video with Santana and eating steak, and of course shopping.

"Chicago means good steak houses," Branch says. "I love Chicago. I shot the ‘Game of Love’ video with Santana in Chicago, which a lot of people don’t realize. My best friend from high school is from Chicago. Really what I do basically when I go into Chicago is go to a steak house and try to do a little shopping."

INSPIRATIONS
Just like any teenager, Branch’s love life is a highly written topic in her music. She says that her earlier stuff – "The Spirit Room" - had less substance because she didn’t really understand what she was writing about, as far as love is concerned, but the newest album, "Hotel Paper," includes a lot of personal stories revolving around a recent relationship.

"The most recent album had the most of me in it," Branch says. "I wrote the first one when I was 14 and 15, so there wasn’t really much to write about in the guy department, or much understanding. All I was doing is babysitting at the time. This one is definitely more personal than the first. It’s nice as a writer to write songs that I can play and feel. It changes the dynamic of the song when it’s about a personal experience. A lot more people react to the song and can relate to it more. It’s kind of therapeutic to put my personal experiences in my songs. Playing a song a year later, I can look back at a situation and think wow, why did I feel like that?"

Despite being a solo act, Branch’s backing band has helped her mature as an artist, thus being an inspiration to her as well. She is very protective of her band in explaining how important they are to her.

"They are so extremely important to me," Branch says. "When you are on the road they are your family. You have to get along with all of them. I see them every day since my tour started."

And they have to be her family, especially with Branch being so young on the road away from her immediate family – who lives in Arizona. But at Branch’s age, she will be the first to admit that being away from her blood family is not so bad.

"It’s not bad at all," Branch laughs. "No, it’s harder when they’re around. I’m at an age where I am like dad and mom I love you, but you don’t have to be around. I brought my sister and mom out with me for two weeks and at the end of the two weeks it was kind of like you guys got to go home."

STAND UP JOB FOR BEING SO YOUNG
Being only 19, and being a large scale act for several years, it is impressive how mature Branch is, and how professionally she has acted with her career – especially with her not having a normal day for a 19-year-old.

When on tour, she gets off stage at 12, gets on the bus and puts on her pajamas for a 10-hour drive to the next destination. The bus arrives in the new town around 9 or 10 in the morning, when Branch goes into her hotel room and orders some room service before trying to go back to sleep. Then a little after noon, she awakes to do a few hours of interviews, shower, pack up, load onto the bus, go to the venue, do a meet and greet, sign some autographs, goes through make-up, does sound check, performs a concert, and then goes through it all again the next day.

"It can get rough, but I love it. I love what I do," Branch says.

And that’s why, despite not living the normal teenage life, Branch loves what she does, and is prepared to have a fruitful career filled with longevity and success. Fortunately for her, it looks like her career is headed in that direction.

Negative critiques of the show do matter to Flint-Somerville. Since it is part of his goal not to be a cutout, criticism can be motivating, but the most important thing is that "people get it. And if they don’t get it, fine. We’ve had people react in ways that completely take us off guard." Well-conceived and effective art should do just that. Flint-Somerville, a generous artist, is willing to concede that the response of the audience to Blue Man Group is part of what makes it art.