Lindsey Bio
Here's a popular truism about extraordinarily talented musicians: They begin as child prodigies and then blossom into their full artistry as young adults. Think composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, cellist Yo-Yo Ma or fictional character August Rush. Real-life jazz singer/pianist Lindsey Brier, whose extraordinary album, WAITING FOR THE SUN, released on Golden Thread Music February 10th, took another path.
Brier didn't even think seriously about becoming a jazz musician until he was 25 years old. Life, as they say, kept getting in the way.
Growing up in a hyper-critical family in Denver, Lindsey never really felt at ease in his own skin. He didn't participate in the regular activities most kids would enjoy. He didn't play sports and didn't go to the prom. Interestingly, no one in his family had an iota of musical talent.
Awkward became worse when at 21 years old he began showing signs of a mental breakdown. By 23, he was clinically agoraphobic, meaning he couldn't stand to go into crowds or a public place without having an anxiety attack. Self-medicating in an attempt to become "normal", he became addicted to painkillers and soon was in and out of mental institutions and on the verge of suicide.
While living in Los Angeles, Lindsey enrolled in the Dick Grove School Of Music. He was eventually expelled because he couldn't read music and had no former training. The school suggested he take a starter class to get him up to speed for entry into the regular program. Originally hoping to study guitar, he quickly found a love for the piano and jazz and decided to take up piano and music theory at the age of 25.
But Lindsey was still in personal turmoil. Hiding his illness from his new wife finally cost him a divorce. He moved back to Denver, threw himself into self-taught piano studies and began playing local jazz gigs. Still, as he recalls, he was on the brink of total mental collapse.
Then, as fate would have it, he began to turn the corner with his mental illness with the help of a new doctor ... and a new person he had just met in his life - Tonya, a southern belle from Georgia. Now here was someone he could finally tell his secrets to. Within four months of meeting her, they impetuously eloped to Hawaii. Nine years later, Lindsey is a happily married man and father. WAITING FOR THE SUN is about that redemption and joy that everyone wishes for, and Lindsey finally got.
"Lindsey's music felt like the classic standards I grew up with," says veteran award- winning producer/artist Dik Darnell [Baby Huey (Curtis Mayfield); Stallion (Casablanca); Jimmy Ibbotson of the Dirt Band; co-writer and producer with John Denver; and artist/producer/engineer at Caribou Ranch where Elton John, Chicago, The Beach Boys, Michael Murphy, Joe Walsch and many more recorded in the 70's]
who also produced WAITING FOR THE SUN, "And I wanted him to develop more of that feeling. We worked together for over a year with Lindsey writing and sending me new songs to listen to and consider for the CD. I then took it to noted orchestrator Gary Malkin who accepted my invitation to be a part of the project and take it to another level." WAITING FOR THE SUN features a 40 piece orchestra recorded at SkyWalker Ranch in Northern California.