Brooke Washor – Musician, Singer, Songwriter
BY VICTORIA STEWART PHOTOS BY RICK COOPER
She picks up her guitar and begins to play. Her unique smoky, sultry alto tone voice has a natural rawness to it that resonates, capturing my ear as she begins to sing an original song. She doesn’t sound like any of the current-day artists on the radio. Her voice and style are powerful and refreshing. She writes and sings about heartache and the strength that comes from it in this particular song. I asked her where the inspiration for this song came from. “Ain’t Shinin’ In My Sky was written about a couple of my friends and what they were going through and also something I just recently went through. Of course, it is about a boy,” she laughs.
Meet Brooke Washor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Brooke’s songs are based on everyday life experiences. Sometimes she will hear a phrase and it gives her inspiration for a song. She has always loved country music but her songwriting is a mix of both country and pop. She has her own style and is nurturing it for a sound that is uniquely hers.
Currently, Brooke is taking piano and voice lessons from Jenna Nagy of the local band, Massalina Cargo. Jenna discovered something very unique. Brooke has polyphonic vocal chords. This is a voice technique where one person can sing two notes at the same time, a very uncommon quality.
Country music is Brooke’s first love, but she sings and listens to all genres of music. Who is her favorite artist? “Miranda Lambert, hands down,” she exclaims with no hesitation and states “Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban are both great role models in the music industry because of the way they reach out to their fans and have remained humble despite their fame.”
Brooke moved to Panama City with her parents, Lori and Chuck Washor, from Margate, Florida when she was 3 years old. She sang in chorus in school and her teacher encouraged her to learn an instrument. This was when she began to take guitar lessons but, only five lessons into her classes, the guitar instructor moved away. Brooke continued to teach herself from that point on. “I credit my musical talent to my grandpa on my mom’s side,” Brooke says. “We used to play Hank Williams songs and he loves country music. He always gives me really good advice and he’s an amazing songwriter as well. He was really good friends with Kris Kristofferson before Kris made it big! My grandpa advised me to never turn down an offer and to take every opportunity.”
Her parents have always been very supportive of Brooke’s dreams and have given her all the tools she needed to perfect her craft over the years. They bought her first guitar when she was only nine and she has been playing ever since. She wrote her first song at the early age of 12 and recorded it at Boogie Tracks when she was 14. Locally, Brooke has played at Hook’d Pier Bar and Grill at Pier Park, Wicked Wheel Bar and Grill and Tootsies and won her first talent shows locally. “When I was 14, I sent in a video of me singing More Like Her by Miranda Lambert. They called me back and left a voicemail that said ‘We absolutely love your voice and video BUT since you’re not 16 and you are only 14, we can’t put you in the contest. But we would like to have you perform as a special guest.’ So they let me perform and do a few songs. It was nice because at least they put me in there. It was probably my first real performance. They let me sing my original and a couple of other covers.”
In the summer of 2014, she went to New Orleans to try out for The Voice. The producer told her they really liked her, but didn’t think she was ready. Several other auditions followed and each time she made it all the way through to the last audition but could not beat out the competition – yet. Remaining positive through all these close encounters with fame, Brooke is thankful and driven to make it to the top. In her words, “Just the fact that out of how many millions of people, they picked me!”
Brooke is on YouTube, ReverbNation and social media in general. Anywhere she can be linked to a video, just putting herself out there, hoping to be found. She did a cover of David Nail’s – Whatever She’s Got and put it up on YouTube. Overnight the video blew up. She had over 10,000 views in just one week! Since then she has gone from having 800 subscribers to nearly 3,000. On her entire YouTube channel she already has over a quarter of a million views! Knowing the producers of The Voice, American Idol and other shows look for a fan base, this has been Brooke’s strategy and she has fans out there. They recognize her while she is at work and will ask if they can take pictures with her. Just recently at Gulf Coast Jam, a group of girls recognized her and exclaimed “Oh my gosh! We love you! Please sing Trap Queen!!” Trap Queen is a rap song that she made her own by singing it country-style and posting it on YouTube.
When asked what her plans are for the future, she replied “Right now I have a plan to get out to Nashville. I know it sounds like a super cliché but that’s where I feel I need to be. But working up to that, I am going to Gulf Coast State College for general studies. I want to play gigs and gain a lot more exposure. I want to build a larger fan base here in Panama City. My main thing is to go to Belmont University in Nashville for Mass Communications and also Music Business Production. I just want to get my foot in the door where I can help others and myself. I want to do anything with music; it has always been a huge part of my life.”
Go listen to Brooke Washor on YouTube, ReverbNation or any social media and find out. I think you’ll be giving her two thumbs up!
[author image=”https://www.panamacityliving.com/media/2014/07/Victoria-Stewart-e1404931430894.jpg” ]Victoria has lived in Panama City for the past 40 years. She has worked as a Government Contractor for most of her working life. She is an avid fitness enthusiast and runner. Raised in a family who was immersed in music, she plays guitar and is a founding member of Music Matters. Together with husband Crook Stewart III, they host a monthly music jam at their home where musicians come to network. The venue is known as the “The Ghetto Palace” and has become a Music Mecca where local talent comes to play. Following the success of The Ghetto Palace, Victoria and Crook founded “Music Matters” an initiative that brings life and music to downtown Panama City.[/author]