Here at To Start A Fire, we recently had a chance to have a conversation with Brett Dennen about his new record Hope for the Hopeless, his tour with John Mayer and some of his many interests. Brett shared his reason for the title of the album, his thoughts on what others think of his music and an inside look to his song “Heaven”, among other things.

When asking for the reason behind the title of Brett’s new album; Brett will tell you, “finding hope in hard times, being optimistic when we feel like everything is going wrong.” It is the common theme in every song on Hope for the Hopeless. He feels that there needs to be hope in this world and especially in the United States. The 2008 election is very hopeful for him, “at least for me in this election; in Barack Obama, there is hope.”

As for the song “heaven” is about the after life or what the common conception of that is. Brett says he sees a lot of contradictions in what people say about heaven. He feels that people are all trying to be good and are reaching for this perfect place but the prisons, wars, businesses and things of this life are keeping us from getting to that place. Want to know more about this song? Brett tells us to take look at his lyrics because they say what he means best! “It’s hard for me talk about any songs really but I think they are better in the lyrics.”

We all know that Brett’s new album is great but in case you were wondering what he thinks about the record, we have the scoop. “I know that all my friends, family and people I work with, we’re all stoked about the record.” He says that he has heard some negative feedback from fans, critics and magazines and has heard some positive too. This news, either way doesn’t seem to faze him too much. “I don’t know, the songs come to me I write them, they feel good, I don’t write some stuff because it’s not what I want to do and I write the stuff I write because it’s what I’m inspired by. I don’t really want to pay too close attention to it (the feedback) because I made the record that I wanted to make and when I made it I didn’t care about who is going to say what about it.” So there you go, Brett is proud of his work and we at TSAF think he should be!

Brett has been touring with John Mayer and says the overall experience is great. John Mayor, his band and all the people he works with are very professional which gave Brett a wonderful environment to flourish in. “Every show that we play there are thousands and thousands of people there, and it’s really high profile. I see my name on billboards; I get to see my name in newspapers and magazines all over the place. It’s really cool.” Brett noted that the most amazing part of the tour was seeing all of John Mayor’s devoted fans. “They seem to be really loyal to him. They love him for everything he does and they are really good people to be in front of.” Brett hopes to build a fan-base like that.

Now, it is time for something near and dear to Brett’s heart; non-profit organizations. Brett, his girlfriend and a friend, on a Halloween a few years ago came up with the organization Love Speaks. It was created as a way to bring non-profit groups to the concerts so that they can communicate with the concert goers one-on-one and share with them what is going on in the community around them. Love Speaks provides the opportunity for the organizations to speak in front of the audience and highlights them for the work they are currently doing. It is mainly a way to educate concert goers and help them get actively involved. “So if my music inspires people to get involved in something, then right behind them, by the doors are the non-profits ready to sign them up or pass out information that is going to educate them on something that is going on in the community.” Also, Brett is the co-founder of The Mosaic Project; an organization that helps to bring 5th graders together from the San Francisco Bay Area. The children are from very diverse backgrounds. The Mosaic Project allows them to express their individuality with people who are very different from them. “We build community across differences and break down stereo-types, and discrimination and prejudice. They (the children) learn how to communicate and celebrate diversity.” Brett certainly has his hands full with being involved with non-profit organizations and his main gig; a professional musician.

Besides Brett jokingly telling TSAF that Mandy Moore is his sister (she isn’t), his latest music video “Make You Crazy” features Miss Moore taking her shoes off. Brett explains that his label was looking for some movie star power to give his video some pizzazz so they asked him to find someone. In his words, “I was like, ‘I don’t know man’ so I just called her, asked her and she said yeah. She’s great to work with.” They had met a couple years ago and had kept in contact.

When Brett is not busy making music videos or performing; he likes to grow vegetables, ride his bike around, draw, take pictures and cook fancy meals. So there you have it; Brett Dennen is a regular Renaissance man, or better stated: a laid-back, compassionate musician who believes in hope. Thanks for chatting, Brett!

Posted on November 29th, 2008