Heath had his first experience at the famed Bluebird Café, a legendary Nashville hotspot for songwriters, as a teenager. More than the great music, the camaraderie between the songwriters grabbed hold of Heath. In a community of songwriters, he noticed, the songs became bigger than mere songs. They were about shared experiences and lives that are bound together in true friendship.
Brandon Heath likes the little moments. Those opportunities to observe, process and act upon what he witnesses in the world surrounding him are the primary traits of a great songwriter, something Heath continues to showcase on his second Reunion Records release, What If We.
Even the album’s title grew up out of one of those little moments, a conversation Heath was having with a mentor that sent the Nashville native, now Houston resident, spinning off into thought.
After years of longing for the same musical community that he witnessed at the Bluebird Café, he began to find it in college. Over the next few years, Heath became close friends and songwriting partners with the likes of Bebo Norman, Matt Wertz, Dave Barnes, Chad Cates, Philip LaRue and Ben Glover. He finally found the songwriting camaraderie for which he'd longed. “We all create with each other,” he says. We’re able to work together toward the same goal.”
He began to write songs for other artists, including Norman, Joy Williams and Christopher Williams. One summer while leading worship at a Young Life camp, Heath began to develop a passion to be more than a songwriter. “I saw how people reacted to not only the songs but also to how I sang them,” he says. “I wanted to be the one to share the songs myself.”
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Don’t Get Comfortable is Heath’s major label debut, and it is the culmination of all of his years studying the songwriting greats. Super-producer Dan Muckala (Backstreet Boys, Nick Lachey, The Afters) uses his pop music dexterity to mold earthy songwriting into the stellar sound that rises above the clutter of mindless radio pop without losing its larger than life hooks. |
Heath's second album is a compilation of him working both solo and together with co-writers, wrote more than 40 songs in preparation for What If We, and of the 11 that finally made the cut, it’s fascinating to take a look at how many deal with those little moments – moments of loneliness, of triumph, of questioning, and of longing.
Heath admits the process of collaboration with people like Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, and Matt Odmark, plus award-winning writers Jason Ingram and Chad Cates, helped draw out and sharpen those individual moments. “I think the great thing about collaborative songwriting is that you can take some of their life experiences and meld them with your own, and come up with some truly original thoughts.”
“There are things I wanted to say on this record that I wouldn’t have been able to without the help of another writer. In turn, you’re getting to help support them in what they do, but you’re also bettering your own art in allowing other people to help mold what you do.”
Brandon Heath toured as a guest on Aaron Shust's 30-city Whispered and Shouted tour from early to mid 2008. His second studio album, What If We, was released on August 19, 2008. The album's first single, "Give Me Your Eyes", was released in July 2008 and became a number-one hit. It stayed at number one on R&R's Christian CHR chart for eleven weeks in a row by mid December, ending the year as the second most played song on the format.
Brandon Heath currently resides in Houston, Texas. He is a worship leader at The Loft church in The Woodlands area.