Nicholas Brancker, the man, the legend
Q. How long have you been in the music/entertainment scene and what instruments do you play?
A: 35 Years. I started by playing the piano in bands and it just developed from there.
Q. Are you self-taught?
A. Yes I’m self-taught. Though my parents liked music they didn’t have any musical training but I was sent to piano lessons when I was younger because they thought I had the ability to do it. I started playing when I was three years old.
Q. When would you say people started to take notice of you?
A. People started to take notice of me when I was three and I started to play at different events when I was nine or ten. I did a couple of television shows – one on CBC-TV called Junior Talent that I used to be on regularly.
Q. What in your view was your big break?
A. I won’t say I had a big break. I worked consistently all the time to develop myself and make the most of my opportunities so it was always like small steps. I started playing in nightclubs when I was about 18 and the band I was playing with did very well which was Second Avenue at the time. Then Eddy Grant called me and asked if I would go on tour with him and I did that for two years. I started a studio and that developed very well up to when I started working with krosfyah, Square One, Rupee, Terencia Coward (TC) and Machel Montano.
Q. Hardest lesson you have learnt in the music industry?
A. That there is no direct relationship between the amount of effort you put in and the amount of success that you get. You have to recognise that the only way to get better is to keep your head down and to do things the best that you can. There are people that have hits that are like one-hit wonders, and then there are people who practise and practise and try and try and try and get no success. That is a bitter pill to swallow for people who have put in the effort. You have to find a way to keep your head focused on what you are trying to do without getting confused with all the things going on around you. I would say that the hardest thing to recognise as a youngster is that it’s not just because you are good that you got through but chances are if you are good you would last longer if you did get through.
Q. How do you turn off and get away from it all?
A. I don’t go out a lot. I spend a lot of time at home and with my friends. I spend a lot of time exercising – I go for long runs; I play road tennis – every day if I can. I like to cook, read and do things that are quiet. I cook anything, I learnt to cook from young and I’m reading several books, I just finished reading Gabby’s biography and also reading philosophy and history books.
Q. What is your focus now in terms of your career?
A. The focus is trying to get this concert, City Lights, finished next week and then I have more shows to do with Roberta, I’ll try to get into the studio to do more recording and to keep myself busy as much as I can.
Q. Speaking about City Lights, you are the headline act. Why this particular event at this time?
A. They have been asking for a couple of years and I haven’t played in Barbados for a long time so I took the opportunity. I said well okay I can do it this year. I am busy but I’m at home now so I can do it now and the opportunity was there so I took it and I’m looking forward to it.
Q. We won’t glide past the Roberta Flack mention. How was that link made?
A. I started to play with Roberta Flack about ten years ago and I’ve been working with her pretty much ever since. She is more than an entertainer; she is a musician, she is a professional. She has very high standards and expects the best from everybody. It is very demanding but very enjoyable.
Q. As an entertainer any risks that you took that paid off or didn’t paid off?
A. The biggest risk is going into the business at all. When I got into the music business it wasn’t something that everybody did. It wasn’t something that people expected you to do well at. It’s not like now when people have the Rihanna model to follow that they could all end up like that – which is furthest from the truth. It is a little more inspirational but as a youngster I didn’t have that to look up to so it was a risk going into the business. Then to have a studio when there wasn’t much recording going on . . . but I made it work and I’ve taken a lot of risks in my time. You have to take risks; you can’t wait for people to call you if you’re good at what you do . . . you have to make opportunities for yourself. So I saw an opportunity to start a band and play in clubs which didn’t want to hire us so we told them that we’ll play on the nights when they were not busy. Those nights built from two people to five people then a hundred came and then a thousand came. Same thing with the studio . . . . I ain’t waiting for you to call me, I am going to go and find something to do. You have to create opportunities because nobody isn’t just going to give you them like that.
Q. You have a lot of well-known musician friends that you have also produced for. What goes into producing for them as they are musicians in their own right.
A. The only difference is that they are easier to communicate musically with because they know what you are talking about. Sometimes they are a little too set in their own ways because they are musicians and can’t see outside their own thing. Other than that there are pluses and minuses working with them. I do enjoy working with people who know what they are doing.
Q. What inspires you?
A. Everything does. When I hear music that I like I feel motivated to contribute to the landscape. When I hear music that I do not like I feel inspired to give people an alternative. When I hear rain falling I hear music playing. When I see the sun shining I hear music playing. I’m inspired and motivated by everything and everyone. I try to create images with music. I try to make sure that when I play something the audience can imagine something.
Q. Finally, what are your thoughts on the music industry in Barbados?
A. I think there are a lot of young people who have talent. I think that with the adequate discipline, determination, direction and application they can do well. I just hope that we do not make the mistake that we make, which is giving people the impression that they are already there when they are not. Making people feel that they are bigger than they [are]. I don’t know if we should call it an industry yet. It seems to not really be that but there are a lot of people with talent. I think you have to encourage without inflating egos to the point that people don’t think they need to get better. I find that we tend to do that a little too quickly; we tend to make people feel a lot bigger than they actually are and then it is hard to talk to them after that. You need to take time and recognise that you can always get better and they only way to get better is to be humble and soak in information. (MR/NS)