bio : felicia brady

Felicia Brady's debut CD, "magazine street," was released in February of 2001 at Johnny D's in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Felicia got her start in music at age 3 when she began sitting in on the piano lessons her mother taught in the family's converted garage. Born in New Mexico and raised in Oklahoma and Texas, Felicia was exposed to musical influences ranging from country to classical. After adding singing and string bass to her musical repertoire during high school, Felicia attended Texas Tech in Amarillo, where she began taking voice lessons and started writing her own songs. After graduating with a degree in Piano Performance, Felicia made the move cross-country to pursue an Artist's Diploma in classical piano at Boston University.

After obtaining her degree, Felicia shifted her musical focus, taking up the guitar and forming a country band whose music reflected her southwestern roots. Finally quitting piano lessons after 24 years at age 27, Felicia joined a second band, playing guitar and accordion and singing vocals, and eventually began playing out on her own at various singer-songwriter venues in the Boston area.

Felicia's debut CD, "magazine street," reveals a broad range of influences, from the country music of her childhood to a variety of contemporary artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Griffith, and Jonatha Brooke. Her classical background reveals itself primarily in the structure of her songs. "My classical training has made me sensitive to the way music is constructed" observes Felicia. "For every song, I try to create an overall architecture in which each harmonic or melodic line bears its own weight--that is, possesses a shape that is interesting or beautiful in its own right--but also supports the musical goals of the song as a whole."

Felicia's background in classical music also has the perhaps unexpected effect of driving her toward a comparatively high degree of musical risk. "Classical music draws on a much broader range of chords and tonalities than most popular music does" says Felicia. "Those sounds are in my head. I'm not afraid to use them."

Felicia teaches music at the Winsor School in Boston. She is currently collaborating with singer/songwriters Sandi Hammond, Hewitt Huntwork, and Oen Kennedy on a newly formed project called "The Mood Chain." Felicia is also at work on a second solo CD.