Dean Brody photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records. Photo credit: David McClister.

By Bob Doerschuk

© CMA Close Up® New Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Raised in the shadows of the Canadian Rockies, Dean Brody grew up with an appreciation for rural life in British Columbia. After high school graduation, he continued to work at the local sawmill until the business slowdown forced him to take a new job as a miner.

Brody’s musical gifts led him back into the light and down to Nashville, where he got a publishing deal. But as he made his way into the business, the clock on his work permit kept winding down. After two years, he had no choice but to head back home to the mines.

Then word arrived that Keith Stegall wanted to sign him to BBR (Broken Bow Records), and Brody returned to cut his self-titled debut album, with Matt Rovey producing. His gifts as a writer shine on “Brothers,” a heartbreaking chronicle of sibling love and one of the album’s six tracks that he wrote on his own, in addition to three co-writes.

Elsewhere, the romanticism of “Gravity” belies the title with a melody that floats like a feather on the chorus, while “Undone” takes an opposite approach with a thumping chorus behind lyrics that promise adventure and love at “the only drive-in left from here to Lincoln County.”

More than a skilled writer, Brody possesses an expressive voice and an ability to bring stories to life through understated delivery. It’s Nashville’s good fortune to have him back and on his way toward brighter days.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

MUSICAL HEROES
“Johnny Cash and Ray Charles.”

CD IN YOUR STEREO
“Everything Is Fine, by Josh Turner.”

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND
“Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, by Neal Peart.”

SONG YOU WISH YOU’D WRITTEN
“‘Sinners Like Me,’ by Eric Church and Jeremy Spillman.”

WHAT YOU WOULD BE IF YOU WEREN’T A MUSICAL ARTIST
“I’d be working in a sawmill or a coal mine.”

SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU
“I’ve got three titanium plates and 12 screws in my face from a water skiing accident I had while on my radio tour last summer.”

On the Web: www.deanbrody.com

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