This One’s Worth a Listen (2002)

At 16, Donny Brazile told his mom he was quitting school and moving to Hollywood. It took him a decade of losing to figure out Hollywood wasn’t hiring. Brazile lost his sheen, his slickness, quit his band, cut his hair, dusted off his Martin and started playing music that had no name.

Photo by Matt Kollasch

Brazile alchemizes with funk and hillbilly and soul and self. The beauty of Brazile’s music lies in the way he honors those that came before not just with emulation but with innovation. Because he sticks to telling his own story, his songs drive well-traveled roads without falling in the ruts.

Photo by Matt Kollasch

Some people choose music. With Donny Brazile, music chose him. He’s been in bands with stupid names, so now he uses his own. The one who believes things like country and your grandfather can be in your blood. The one who started his music career the second time around in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This shifty, once-slick, redstone crowd-pleaser. This one’s worth a listen.

— Andy Fuchtman (2000)