Meet Julie Broschard, the session singer who I chose to do the background vocals for "Broken Year." The key to finding just the right sound was to choose a singer whose vocal tone blended well with Mandy's, but was just different enough to make the harmonies really pop out. Julie says the voices who who influenced her most as young girl were Stevie Nicks, Karen Carpenter and Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries. Talk about a great match!! You might know Julie as the vo

"Broken Year" was written in 2016 after I ended an eight month avoidant relationship. It was performed many times by The BeeKeepers and always received a positive response. Then in 2020, Mandy and I finally decided to record the song with plans to release it in January 2021, because in many ways 2020 felt like a "Broken Year" as well. After the lyrics to "Broken Year" were written (See Post 1), I found the melody for the verses and the chorus. This is always my process - lyri

The Lyrics My blog posts leading up to 2021 and throughout the new year will be about my songwriting, recording and production process. "Broken Year" will be the first single I release in 2021. I've performed it many times over the years (with The BeeKeepers), but never got around to recording it. "Broken Year" feels like the perfect song for the New Year even though it was written at the end of 2016. I guess every song I write starts with an emotional experience/story. "Bro