Brandi Carlile’s Mixtape Memoir:
Broken Horses & Broken Hallelujahs
A first on Mixtape Memoir, we talk to an artist who has literally just written and published her first memoir! Brandi Carlile’s fantastic new book, Broken Horses went straight to #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list, and it was an honor and a pleasure to create this episode with snapshots of her story and her personal soundtrack that plays such a huge role in the book itself. As Brandi tells it, her childhood was steeped in country music, religion, and financial instability. Raised in a rural town in Washington state, her family moved around a lot, but music was a constant. It was with her family that she first discovered the thrill of performing country songs in a band with her mom, brother and sister at the Northwest Grand Ole Opry. Though finding her own path in music and her identity as a gay teenager wasn’t always easy, Brandi had an unshakeable belief in her purpose as a musician and it was her fierce commitment to her art, as well as an ability to deeply connect with others that eventually led Brandi Carlile to become the eleven-time Grammy nominee and award winning artist and producer she is today.
With six studio albums to her name, and another with her all-female quartet, The Highwomen, success has both been hard-won as well as absolutely destined to happen. And as you’ll hear her tell us, Brandi has seen many of her dreams come true, including making her childhood heroes (and Sheroes) into friends and collaborators. But for all of its fairytale elements, Brandi’s life is also deliberately grounded, and normal. With her wife Catherine, and two young daughters, she lives on a wooded compound with her family and bandmates. She is as caring and down-to-earth as they come, and always so gracious and full of gratitude for those that helped her along the way.
One of the ways you’ll hear that come through during this episode is when we connect around our our love for our mutual friend Rita Houston, a hugely influential public radio DJ and program director, who was a massively important figure to both of us, and as it happens, gave us both our first big shot on WFUV in New York City. She was the very first to play Brandi’s music on the radio, and she gave me the gig of a lifetime as a DJ there.
Rita passed away a few months ago after a six year battle with ovarian cancer, and this episode is dedicated to her memory and her role in Brandi Carlile’s story, which now we get to share.
Brandi’s book is named for the broken and damaged horses she owned and cared for, who were somehow imperfect to others, but equally deserving of a good life and love - a perfect metaphor for a life marked by a courageous and bold belief in her self-worth and the worthiness of others, and a limitless capacity for faith, empathy and vulnerability. The book is also full of personally important songs. That all comes together this hour, as we create Brandi Carlile’s Mixtape Memoir.
Credits:
Host/creator - Carmel Holt @carmelholt @sheroesmixtape @sheroesradio
Producer/ Engineer - Mixing & Mastering - Mitra Kaboli
Theme music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover Illustration - Madalyn Stefanak @madalynstefanak
Guest: Brandi Carlile / @brandicarlile
Label: Elektra / @elektrarecords
Cover of Broken Horses (courtesy of the author)
Brandi and one of her broken horses (courtesy of the author)
Brandi Carlile's first interview and session at WFUV Public Radio with Rita Houston (July 2005)
Brandi Carlile (photo credit: Austin Hargrave/AUGUST)
From the book Broken Horses - a photo of Brandi's Grandpa Vern, and Great Grandparents in the Miller Family band (photo courtesy the author)
From the book Broken Horses (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi with her brother Jay, sister Tiffany, and her mom (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - an old autographed Opry program from 1992 (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi on stage with her family band, The Carliles (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi with her first band, The Shed (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi & her wife Catherine (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi and the Twins cutting trails (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi's "brand of motherhood. Six kids on a 45 ft bus." (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Brandi's daughter Evangeline (who gave the book its title) and baby Elijah. (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - Scott Avett holding his portrait of Brandi for the album cover of By The Way I Forgive You. (courtesy of the author)
From the book Broken Horses - poster for the Blue concert. Brandi's caption reads "When Joni writes "approved" what else is there to say? What's left?" (courtesy of the author)
Rita Houston and Brandi at WFUV Public Radio (December, 2005) - photo courtesy of WFUV