Friday, July 18, 2008

Branduin Stroud Shows Patience
by Julia Berlin

Branduin Stroud is one of the 14 students selected for the fourth annual GRAMMY Camp® in the Singer/Songwriter career track. “It’s intimidating,” she admits, but “worth the experience.”

What makes Stroud stand out is not that she is named after a character from Lord of the Rings but her extraordinary talent as a singer, songwriter, and guitar player of only two years. Back home in San Francisco, Stroud is home schooled which gives her the opportunity to practice for several hours a day.

However, there are negatives to every positive, a challenge she said is networking with other young musicians. Popular music websites such as My Space have been helpful in combating this obstacle. It was while “myspacing” (navigating My Space by going to profile to profile) that Stroud landed on Alexandra Kelly’s music page, which described her wonderful experience at GRAMMY Camp – for which she is attending for a second summer. While Kelly inspired her to apply for GRAMMY Camp, it was singer/songwriter Anna Nalick, signed to Columbia Records, who influenced Stroud to become a musician. “When I saw her perform live, her guitarist did an electric guitar solo behind his head,” recalls Stroud.

To date Stroud has written more than 50 songs but not all are completed. Stroud has plans to record a demo in September. When asked what advice she has for young musicians just beginning their music careers Stroud stated, “You have to be patient…[and] honest with your presentation and work.”

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