Document 6452097

CNN.com - Whatever happened to Edie Brickell? - Jan. 7, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/07/music.edie.b...
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Whatever happened to Edie Brickell?
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After several years off, singer back with new album
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Wednesday, January 7, 2004 Posted: 3:07 PM EST (2007 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Edie Brickell
has a mischievous smile on her
face when the singer says she's a
little jealous of her children's
musical ability.
It's understandable, considering their
musical gene pool: Brickell is a platinumselling artist and their father is Grammywinning singer-musician Paul Simon.
"When I look at my kids, and the ease with
which they pick up music, I wish I had that,"
she said. "They are amazing musicians
already."
In her early 20s, Brickell walked away from Edie Brickell's new album, "Volcano," is
the music business to have a family, despite her first since 1994's "Picture Perfect
Morning."
huge success with the New Bohemians. A
decade later, she decided she had too
many songs lying around.
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She recently released "Volcano," an album
plucked from her collection amassed while
raising her three children, who are now 10,
8 and 5.
The melodies are laid-back, and her lyrics
are more worldly than Brickell's New
Bohemian days. Her odd turn of phrase is
familiar, and she still has an innate ability to
tell a good story through song. "Once in a
Blue Moon" is tinged with melancholy, and
"I'd Be Surprised" has a jazzy edge.
"I really thought I could give it up," she said
in an interview with The Associated Press.
"But I really love music, and having a
creative outlet is really the best thing you
can do for yourself."
'She was at the top of her game'
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Brickell, 37, has shiny brown eyes and a
warm, friendly voice. This day she's dressed casually, wearing a bright, rainbowcolored scarf. She seems at ease sitting among the amplifiers and microphones in an
empty rehearsal studio.
"Becoming a mom made me more contentious about expressing my true taste," she
said. "It made me not be afraid of being who I am."
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CNN.com - Whatever happened to Edie Brickell? - Jan. 7, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/07/music.edie.b...
The album on Universal Records was produced by fellow Texan Charlie Sexton.
"She was at the top of her game, the
opposite of rusty," he said. "The majority of
the record is her singing with the band, and
we just added a guitar or keyboard later.
You don't run across that a lot."
Sexton plays lead guitar on the album,
though Brickell has taken years of lessons
to improve her skill. Sexton said he wasn't
nervous to produce Brickell even though
her last album, "Picture Perfect Morning,"
was recorded in 1994.
"In music, there are moments when you
know there is a connection," Sexton said.
"When I hear songs, I try to get to the root -the emotional hotspot of what the song is, and orchestrate around that. With Edie, I got
that immediately. It was miraculous."
The New Bohemians' "Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars," released in 1988, garnered
widespread critical praise, spawning the top 10 hit "What I Am." After disappointing
sales with their next album, 1990's "Ghost of a Dog," they broke up. Brickell said she
still jams with them when she goes home to Texas.
Meeting Simon
Brickell was performing "What I Am" on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" when she noticed
Paul Simon standing in front of the cameraman.
"He made me mess the song up when I looked at him," she said with a smile. "We can
show the kids the tape and say, 'Look, that's when we first laid eyes on each other.' "
Brickell and the 62-year-old Simon, who have been married 12 years, have never
recorded an album together. They're just now talking about putting together a collection
of children's songs.
As for a von Trapp-style concert, Brickell said family singalongs are confined to the
house.
"We love to sing silly songs with the kids," she said. "Of course Paul harmonizes so
beautifully, sometimes I just listen."
She's going to keep recording, and isn't sure whether she will tour.
"During the school year we have piano lessons and school, and no matter what, our
family is the most important thing."
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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12/12/08 1:14 PM
CNN.com - Whatever happened to Edie Brickell? - Jan. 7, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/07/music.edie.b...
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