Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bree learned to play guitar at 15. At 17 she moved to New York City to study theater at NYU with David Mamet's theater company. During her college years she began writing the songs that would eventually lead to her deal with trauma records in 1998.
In 1999, Bree released her debut album, A Cheap and Evil Girl. She garnered amazing national press (Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, People, Teen People, TV Guide, Maxim, Ray Gun, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, USA Today) and found a wide, loyal audience. Her premiere single David Duchovny gained cult-like stature following national radio airplay, media coverage and an underground video of stars lip-syncing to the song. Brad Pitt, Rosie O'donnell, Gary Shandling, Whoopie Goldberg, Jeaneane Garafalo and all four members of KISS were among the dozens of celebs caught on tape.
Following this pop-culture phenomenon, the second single, America, was released. The subversive compliment to Duchovny, America deals with our media-obsessed culture, our apathy toward poverty and war, and our vicious need to consume - sentiments that continue to have significance today.
In May of 2001, following a major upheaval in the record industry, Bree and Trauma Records parted ways. She immediately began plans to release her next record - this time as an independent artist. In August 2002, her anticipated follow up record, More B.S. was released on her own label, Ahimsa Records (uh-HIM-suh).
Produced with her collaborator/guitarist Don DiLego (the same team as Bree's acclaimed debut album, A Cheap and Evil Girl, her album was again met with both critical and commercial acclaim.
For the last five years, Bree has traveled the states honing her distinctively charismatic performance style. She's played The Lilith Fair and MTV's Campus Invasion 2000 with Bush and Moby as well as colleges and clubs across the country. She has shared a bill with the likes of Duran Duran, Sugar Ray, Pat Benetar, Sophie B. Hawkins, Jeffrey Gaines, Shannon McNally, Dido, Graham Parker, and Everclear.
Bree has performed on "Regis & Kathie Lee" and had songs appear on "Dawson's Creek," "Charmed," "Party of Five", HBO's "G-Stringed Divas" and in several feature and indie films.
Her main musical and lyrical influences have been Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Patty Griffin. Bree loves songwriters that are "gutsy and provocative." She can also bee caught singing along to Gillian Welch, Tori Amos, The Grateful Dead, Sinead O'Conner, Joni Mitchell, The White Stripes, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Dave Attell (to name a few).
Bree is also a lover of film, which is often reflected in her cinematic writing style (see: The Ballad of Grim and Lily, The Cheap and Evil Girl and Faster, Faster). Among the films she lists as influences and favorites are: Alien, Aliens, T2, The Matrix, The Professional, Naked, Bound, The Grifters, and of course, This is Spinal Tap.
Perhaps most important to Bree is her role as an animal rights advocate. She has been a vegetarian for twelve years and is a proud member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). She agrees with PETA's simple philosophy that "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment".
While animal rights is her "pet" cause (groan), she is always thrilled to use her music to support other worthy causes. In the recent past, Bree has played benefit shows for the families of World Trade Center victims (the Concert for Courage in New York), The launch party for the new Women Who Rock magazine, which benefited breast cancer awareness groups and a benefit for Big Brothers/Big Sisters in New Paltz, NY.
Today, Bree still makes Manhattan her home, where she is currently working on songs for her third album. She has proven herself to be a dynamic singer and songwriter who loves to revel the twisted mix of heartbreak, fantasy and social commentary that has become her hallmark.
Source: http://www.breesharp.com/
