The Soundcheck, May Issue 2012
Roanoke’s Spark: Brittany Sparks
By: J. Gabrielle
I feel
I’ve known Roanoke singer Brittany Sparks since she was a twinkle in her
mother’s eye. Back in the day, her mom,
Dena Sparks, and I regularly partied and sang our way through many field
concerts, solstice campouts, and open mics.
Dena had a vibrant spirit and love for life I knew could never be
diminished. Even though my old friend
left this world a little over a year ago, that love for life and music lives on
in her daughter, Brittany.
I first
heard Brittany sing at the Blues and Jazz Festival a couple of summers ago with
“Sparks Will Fly” in the band competition.
I thought then the voicing from this young woman sounded far more
seasoned than her tender years. The
fact is: Brittany has been determined for a long time to sing her heart out!
“ I was singing
before I could talk. I used to perform
'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' at the dinner table for our family at the top of
my lungs. I think I was 3 or 4 years
old then,” she recalls. Brittany’s mom
made sure she took weekly singing lessons for several years. The young woman joined her school chorus as
soon as she was old enough. That same
summer, 1994, Dena was performing with Cliff Beach and area blues bands.
“I
remember going to many different festivals and parties where Mom was performing
and my eyes were opened after that first summer. After seeing my Mom perform
with so much soul and feeling...and then to see the reaction from the
audience...I knew that all I wanted to do was sing. I told my Mom how badly I
wanted to sing, and she said that she would support and help me in any way she
could. She came to almost all of my
gigs, and she was always honest with me about song choices or different ways
that I would sing things...I always asked her opinion. It was valued. I have
several live recordings where you can hear Mom screaming out song titles at the
top of her lungs. She was protective of me, too. I can't tell you how many
times I had to stop her from jumping all over a guitar player for overpowering
me.”
Mother
influenced daughter in the music enjoyed at home: Zeppelin, Donavan, Dylan, and
The Doors. Her father comes from a
musical lineage with many performing family members. A preacher by trade, he sings and plays mandolin and guitar.
Brittany started going to the
Open Mic at the Green Dolphin in high school.
This is where she began to gather the members that would one day become
“Sparks Will Fly”. Scott Sutton, Bill
McCray and Thomas Wilson are the dedicated musicians performing with Ms. Sparks
today (facebook.com/sparkswillflyjams).
They host the Open Mic at Schooners every Tuesday night. This group cannot be filed under any one genre. Brittany gets to tear up Susan Tedeschi,
Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Zeppelin, Ray LaMontagne, Sheryl Crow, and
more. Brittany wraps her sultry,
expressive vocal around each note and lyric.
About a
year ago, she began singing with the jam/blues/soul band Groovascape (http://www.reverbnation.com/groovascape). Presently, they are in the studio recording
new material. Brittany has added
lyricist to her talents, co-writing with the band.
Brittany wants to take music as far as she can go! In the meantime, she lives in the country
and tends her garden and herbs. Raised
as she was, Brittany was surprised to learn that every kid didn’t beat on drums
and dance under the full moon with abandon. “Mom loved music, plain and
simple. She felt music, and I could see it on her face when I was young, and it
made a pretty significant impact on me. Living without her has been the hardest
thing I've ever had to learn to do. I was so caught off guard by her
passing. It was just something that
never, ever crossed my mind. I miss her more than I can ever tell you, and I
sing for her every day.”
“And when one of
us is gone, and one of us is left to carry on,
Then remembering
will have to do, Our memories alone will get us through.
Think about the
days of me and you,
You and Me against
the World.”
-Paul
Williams, Kenny Ascher-
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