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Raised in the Houston area, Brent Palmer decided at 13 that he had a calling. After pleading with his parents that music was his vocation, he received his first drum machine and four-track in 1992. Palmer immediately began writing thereafter. In 1996, he released his first demo. The demo received lots of local airplay and the musician was encouraged to write more. He also performed wherever and whenever he could, becoming a darling of the Austin club circuit. In 1998, he released House of Your Heart, an album that was widely praised. The musician, who has been compared to Neil Finn and Ron Sexsmith, continued to perform throughout Texas as well as NXNE and Northgate Music Festivals. He has opened up for Cowboy Mouth, Abra Moore, Jack Ingram, Martin Medeski and Wood, Cary Pierce, and Wes Cunningham. In 2002, Palmer released Boomerang Shoes. He is an Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter whose mellow pop stylings fall somewhere between the sardonic wit of Michael Penn and the yearning romanticism of Duncan Sheik. The Boomerang Shoes EP is a good five-song introduction to this introspective artist whose knack for catchy melodicism and universal statements of love and loss speak to a wider audience than the niche folk crowd. ----------- Something strange is afoot nowadays when much sought after musician across the state of Texas agrees to open up for a fledgling band with an Austin fan base of thirty. When a crowd of 300 shows up due singularly to his presence, he casts a smile to the members in the struggling band and considers it a job well done. Or stranger still when, later in the year, the same singer-songwriter has secured a gig at the popular lakeside café Mozart's and asks the fledgling band to open up for him this time. Not so extraordinary, you say? Well, how about when the opening act finishes, the headliner is three songs into his set, and the Mozart's staff commandeer the mic to inform the crowd that the show is over because the maximum occupancy of 500 has been exceeded thereby breaking all sorts of fire codes? Furthermore, unprepared for the vast number of people, they have (gasp!) run out of coffee. Would you not be slightly surprised when this musician, rather than lamenting the loss of time, money and opportunity to share his music, turns to the fledgling band and doles out high-fives, all the while exclaiming, "We shut the place down!"? The singer-songwriter is Brent Palmer, the fledgling band was mine, and you've got to admit that in times like these his behavior could be considered refreshingly strange. This is the type of excitement that has always surrounded Brent Palmer and the personal humility that has always defined him. It is this ethic that helps make him such a tremendous musician and a listener's favorite. Brent grew up in Houston where he began laboring toward proficiency in classical guitar. At a young age he acquired his first drum machine and four-track. Brent recalls, "I pleaded with my parents that I was making a career move at 13. A couple of Bryan Adams covers later, and I had found my destiny." Consider it a calling. While earning his degree at the University of Texas, he was encouraged by his large community of friends and admirers to record his songs. His first full-length project, House of Your Heart, was an instant hit. Produced by Kemper Crabb and including a stellar cast of musicians such as Mike Hynes (Abra Moore), Garrett Buell and Josh Moore (Caedmon's Call), and Wally Farkas and Alan Doss (Galactic Cowboys), House of Your Heart staked Brent's claim to singer-songwriter scenes statewide and beyond. Upon graduation and with a job offer in hand, Brent accepted an opening spot on Essential recording artist Caedmon's Call's national tour to promote his 1998 release. Venues included sold out auditoriums�and theaters such as House of Blues Sunset Strip, Waco Hall, and Calvin College Fine Arts Center. Marriage came on the heels of the tour, and he has been busy wowing Austin audiences ever since.� Expanding his community, Brent has entertained listeners in Austin at local favorites such as Steamboat, Waterloo Icehouse, Cactus Café, Momo's, Acoustic Café, and The Pier while branching out to include performances at 40 Acres Fest (where he warmed up the crowd for Medeski, Martin and Wood), numerous coffee shops, and the taping of Texas "All You Can Eat" Music Café. Continuing to work hard, Brent holds a Tuesday night residency at Austin's own Speakeasy nightclub. Compared to Michael Penn and Duncan Shiek, Brent currently performs throughout Texas as well as NXNE and Northgate Music Festivals. He has opened up for MCA recording artist Cowboy Mouth, J-Records recording artist Abra Moore, Sony recording artist Jack Ingram, and Warner Bros. recording artist Wes Cunningham. Palmer continues to receive regional exposure on KLBJ 93.7 FM, KGSR 107.1 FM, 90.5 KUT, and the Austin Music Network. Throughout these years, Brent never took his considerable talent for granted. He was and is obsessed with pursuing a proper understanding of the elements that constitute great art. His quest has taken him through separate sessions with a classical composer specializing in ancient sacred music to a medieval folk multi-instrumentalist. He has studied the good things about Britpop, Indie Rock, and sophisticated singer-songwriters like Ron Sexsmith and Neil Finn, not to mention constantly soliciting advice from his wife and friends. Brent's new project showcases these findings superbly. His e.p. titled Boomerang Shoes, is produced by Mitch Watkins (Abra Moore, Joe Ely, Bob Schneider), who also gets credit for guitars, keyboards, and programming on the record. The disc features Brannen Temple (Hot Buttered Rhythm, Blaze) on drums, Riley Osbourn (Bruce Robison) on organ, and Roscoe Beck (Eric Johnson, Passenger) on bass. The April 2002 release has proved to be a favorite among seasoned local musicians, and casual listeners alike. The album is a layered project that showcases his catchy, radio-friendly songs while experimenting. The content holds universal relevance while remaining immensely personal. Says Brent Palmer, "I think it will gravitate towards more of a pop record, but I really think it will ride both fences of being 'sell-able' or 'listen-able' and having a great deal of artistic merit." He continues, "I'm a sucker for a great melody, and I generally think songs are a greater force than the artists that wrote them. I'm a firm believer in song and its permanence and power." All of these elements are evident on the e.p. It is a little disconcerting and exciting when you leave your car and find yourself repeating an infectious string of notes over and over out loud, all to well-thought-out words about Nero or the Greek God Atlas. Yet in the next breath you might ponder Brent's lamentations of everyday betrayal and ordinary insecurity to melodies just as memorable. All to say, this disc is good. The music is wistful, passionate, rich, and it rocks. The lyrics have been produced with much toil and intent - this almost unique to Brent in a time when media darlings are praised for being raw after vomiting out and recording a first draft. This disc will be worth every stingy penny. So, if you're tired of adolescent rantings, if you've stopped believing that pouty spoiled artists locked in their own closet are demi-gods, if you're in the mood for something refreshing, give Brent a listen. Maybe even come meet him. For he is a product of a tight-knit and supportive community, and he is humble enough not to take himself too seriously. Instead he works his ass off to fine tune and further his tremendous gift, and nowadays, all of this can be a little strange. - Jamison Galt, November 2001 |
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Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |
| 2004-05-23 (1604 days) | Jaik Willis |
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