Episode #21 J. Breckenridge Pop-Soul Storyteller
Welcome to Living A Vocal Life: A Podcast For Singers!
Welcome to the Living A Vocal Life Podcast, where I interview singers who have succeeded in creating a life in music. You’ll hear from vocalists of all genres, in different stages of their careers, including singers who’ve been on the Billboard charts and those who are teaching the next generation. What do they have in common? They're all performers with amazing stories to tell and experiences to share.
In our conversations, you’ll learn what inspired them to become a singer, the kinds of challenges they’ve encountered, and how they've overcome them. I'll also share what I've learned on my own journey as a singer and educator — practical tools and insights that will help you to live your best, most authentic vocal life.
Listen below here on my website or wherever you go for podcasts:
J. Breckenridge is a triple threat, a singer, dancer, and actor, and he excels at all three. He's best known for his standout roles on Broadway and appearances on hit TV shows the Blacklist, Bluebloods, and FBI. Currently, he's a part of the Apple Original Films live filming of the award-winning Broadway hit, Come From Away, and will rejoin the cast when it returns to Broadway this September.
J. was living and working in New York City when the pandemic hit. As the shutdown stretched from days to weeks to months, he found himself alone in his apartment with restless, creative energy and a lot on his mind. So he picked up his ukulele and a writing pad and began to compose some songs. His passionate originals, expressive arrangements, emotional delivery, and fresh yet familiar melodies call to mind influences as wide-ranging as the classic R&B of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson, and the current sounds of Bruno Mars, Michael Bublé, and John Legend.
In our wide-ranging conversation, you'll hear how a production of the musical Annie changed the trajectory of J.'s life from troubled kid to focused, driven, musical theater performer. You'll also hear how his time at the Cincinnati School of the Arts prepared him for the competitive life as a performer, the kinds of relationships essential to have in show business, and the importance of mental health for performers.
Check out J.'s videos below to see this triple threat in action.
“..it’s a balancing act and it’s something that never really goes away — that pressure of being on and being perfect. And so you level that out with checking in with yourself at the end of the day, keeping that confidence, that fake it till you make it mentality if you need. Whatever you need — to do what you love and do it in a healthy self loving way.”
Links:
You can find J. Breckenridge at his website, or on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
The songs from today’s episode are MONOTONY (Reprise), Y.O.U., NOT FORGIVING YOU, HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS, and MONOTONY, and are from J.’s CD Monotony (used with permission.) To listen or download, go HERE.
Theme music for the Podcast was composed by John Smith. He edits all the podcast episodes too. (Thanks honey!)
Come To Me
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Valerie: Hi J. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
J. Breckenridge: Thanks for having me, Valerie.
Valerie: So I'm going to start with the question that I ask everyone here on Living a Vocal Life. What's your first memory of singing? How old were you? Where were you?
J. Breckenridge: I had to be probably around like three or four jumping up and down on my parents' bed in North Carolina singing my ABCs.
Valerie: Nice.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. That's where I was born. My dad was in the military, Cherry Point military base, so we lived in that area of North Carolina. And I moved out here to California and I've been here basically ever since save for my current life in New York city.
So, um, jumping up and down on the bed. That's probably my earliest memories and one of the first moments where I realized I liked being the center of attention.
Valerie: Do you have brothers and sisters?
J. Breckenridge: I do. I, I just have one brother, one younger brother.
Valerie: So you're the oldest and you still like being the center of attention.
J. Breckenridge: I know, it's a problem. It was a problem. I was a bad kid, like I was a, get a detention every day, ADD, just a troublemaker type of child. And it's interesting, fast forward to, middle school first time that I recall seeing a musical and discovering what that was, and discovering that I could sing, and act, and dance, and everything that I do now professionally as an adult, was in seventh grade when I saw a production of Annie. And I said, I want to do that. I wanna be orphan in a red wig.
Valerie: You could rock the red. I know you could.
J. Breckenridge: No, I , uh, got bit by the bug hard then, and from there on out completely switched around flipped and became a almost straight a student, no disciplinary action was needed. I... no more detentions or anything. I wasn't driving my parents crazy. I had focus, I had a drive. I had a mission and an aim, uh, in life and I think that it's so important for our youth to have something, to focus on, whether it's that we expose them to music, and instruments, and singing, and theatrics or sports, or academics or whatever. I just think giving kids the option, is so important and I'm so blessed and grateful for my parents for giving me that option and being, as supportive as they have been, all the way it's really made all the difference.
California Boy At Heart
Valerie: Yeah. You were also, in Fallbrook, California, the avocado capital of the world? Right?
J. Breckenridge: I'm a California boy at heart and at my roots pretty much. And um, I left here upon graduating high school and went to the university of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. CCM is the acronym. And uh, got my BFA musical theater there.
Valerie: And you also received the Laurie Beechman award for outstanding achievement in vocal performance.
J. Breckenridge: I did.
Music School
Valerie: Yeah. did you have a good experience in music school? Um, what did you learn that contributed to your decision to make the leap from the Midwest to New York City?
J. Breckenridge: Yeah, I did. Um, it was a big culture shock for me. You know, I came from this small town. Um, you know, I'm an African-American male. My family at the time when I was going to high school here was probably one of the few black families You know, we lived right on the edge of a military base, Camp Pendleton. And so the only kids of color that I knew that were at my school lived on base for the most part. So growing up in a predominantly white area was interesting and was all I knew.
And, you know... But yeah, moving to Cincinnati was a culture shock for a lot of reasons. but , uh, sorry to answer your question. I had a great time. it was a very cutthroat program. They had a system where up until your sophomore year, you could be essentially kicked out of the program for a myriad of reasons, but mostly due to you know, work ethics and maybe even talent.
So it was very nerve wracking to be in that program but, but also very nurturing and, educational and all the things I needed to propel me into my career as an actor. and specifically right when I got out of school as a Broadway actor. So yeah, it was very cutthroat, very hard and rigorous. We had about like 15 classes a quarter, which was...
Valerie: That's a lot.
J. Breckenridge: Besides the gen ed, classes, you have a vocal performance, and choral ensemble, and every form of dance, jazz, tap, ballet, you know, what have you, modern. Your acting courses, everything that is necessary um, to work on to hone those skill sets as a, musical theater performer, which is, singing and acting and dancing, trying to be proficient in all three areas.
So their claim to fame is that people leave their triple threats for the most part.
Um,
Valerie: That's what I was going to say. Your a total triple threat. Is that why you went to the college in the first place? Is that why you chose to go there?
J. Breckenridge: My family moved down to San Diego when I was a sophomore in high school. We lived in Lompoc, California, which is a small town right next to another military base, strangely enough, Vandenberg Air Force Base, um, just a little outside of like Santa Barbara area, San Luis Obispo.
And um, I came down here to San Diego county kicking and screaming, you know. I was a sophomore in school...
Valerie: That's a hard time of life to make a move. All your friends you're leaving and...
J. Breckenridge: Oh my god, I was like livid. And it ended up being the best move ever. I joined this youth conservatory called San Diego junior conservatory. And from there I met Donna Corey, who was the regional choreographer for CCM, for my college. And she was the first person to introduce me to the school and told me about it and said, you should definitely go here. And you have what it takes to go here.
And I started to do my research and I was like, Oh, it's number one. There's Carnegie Mellon, there's Boston conservatory, and, basically in Michigan, University of Michigan, those were like the big, at least at that time, and I think still today were like the big MT schools.
So anyways, I took her advice. I auditioned for the program and I got in. So, mostly it was the fact that they were number one and I saw such an amazing talent base and um, product out there, like all of their performers were so successful and were working. And there's also something that a lot of college performing arts colleges do, which is a showcase upon graduation.
You know, you're, short-cutting the way into your, your career. You will showcase... an hour long showcase where everyone in your class is featured. And if your school is well-known enough, which mine was, and is, the agents and casting directors and everyone that makes the New York scene, work and makes the wheels turn there, they all come to that showcase or, a ton of showcases.
Valerie: You have to find new talent.
J. Breckenridge: Exactly. And so from that, I got a reading at Playwrites Horizons, not to mention an agent, and multiple auditions. And through that reading, that two week reading, I was able to obtain my equity card, and... which is my, you know, union card for theater actors. From there, everything just snowballed and it was a trickle effect of success, which I'm still in, right It's really been nonstop. Just show the show to show, debuts, and film and TV, and now music.
Valerie: What a launching pad.
J. Breckenridge: Incredibly blessed. Yeah.
Valerie: Yeah. Cause a lot of people don't have that springboard, especially into New York. you move to in what? 2007. Is that right?
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. I graduated in 2007 and then I've been in New York ever since. So 14, 15 years now, whatever that is. I've been in New York or on tour, or, just chugging along and going from gig to gig, which is, it's just really been a blessing.
It's been hard to stay so far away from family And so that's why this, pandemic in a lot of ways, as horrible as it's been it's really been a blessing to just get so much time with them and to get the time to make this pipe dream, come to fruition, this dream of making an album and, and here we are because of the time that I had to get it done.
The Scottsboro Boys
Valerie: There's so many things I want to ask you. Before we get to the record, I want to kind of stick with, uh, your musical theater background a little bit. So then in 2010 you were cast as Owen Montgomery in the Scottsboro Boys. Tell us what the Scottsboro Boys is about for those people who don't know their story.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah sadly too many people don't know their story myself included at the time. It's a story about nine boys that were wrongfully accused raping two white women in the 1930s. They were hoboing a train, which was very common at the time, going from one town to the next for work or looking for work. And the train was stopped, was pulled over because of the hoboing. And there were two young white women who were prostitutes that were on the train and, and, and in order to save themselves from being discovered as such they pointed the finger at the black boys and said, basically they raped us, do something about it. And, as history has shown they won that situation.
Valerie: They spent over 10 years incarcerated on trial.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah, trial after trial. But yeah, the Scottsboro boys, what made the show itself really unique is that Susan Stroman, who is a queen of the musical theater...
Valerie: Amazing choreographer.
J. Breckenridge: Amazing director, choreographer. Yeah, just everything. And, people know her work from Crazy For You, and The Producers, and Contact, and the Scottsboro Boys.
And , um, she, and , uh, Tommy Thompson, and John Candor, one half of, the Candor and Ed team they all got together and dug this up and said, You know what? Tommy always told us that it's not enough to just tell a story, you got to make it entertaining for people to listen.
The biggest form of entertainment for a hundred years in our country was minstrel shows, minstrelsy, black face, all of that tomfoolery. And basically they decided to use that as a vehicle for the show.
So basically it's told in the style of a minstrel show. You have these nine boys. You have these two in men, Tambo and Bones. You have an interlocutor, who is the white overseer. And that is basically the makeup of a minstrel show. So it was perfect structurally for the show. And we got a lot of hate for that, for the choices made.
Not only because it was entirely a white creative team, but there's a number where we did it in blackface. And we put it all on. We put the black face on to take it off. To say, No more. Absolutely not. It was interesting. I don't know if you've seen Them, that new series that came out,this year.
Valerie: No, I haven't.
J. Breckenridge: There's a scene... I won't give it away for people who haven't seen it, but there's a lot of minstrelsy in the sh in the show. And there's a moment where the face is wiped off. And it gave me chills. It brought me right back to the Scottsboro Boys. And even that moment in rehearsals when we first were putting on the makeup, a lot of us were expecting, you know, it to be intense, but it, nowhere near the emotional roller coaster ride, it was.
So it was just a very delicate process. Stro told us from the beginning, I don't know. I can not tell you what it's like to be a a black male, but I can tell you what it's like to be a woman. And this is a story about underdogs, about people come up from oppression. And really if you look back, and for all the musical theater fans out there, Candor and Ed are historically all about the underdog. All their stories have to do with with underdogs. And funny enough, a lot of their shows are huge flops when they come out, they're revived and then they're like deemed... big hits. And I think...
Valerie: Why do you think that is? Is that because they're ahead of their time?
J. Breckenridge: Exactly. You took the words out of my mouth. They're always ahead of the time. They always use subject matter, that is partially dark, and makes you think, and is poignant, and thought provoking, all those things, while being entertaining, while giving us melodies that are just timeless and incredible, and...
Valerie: Beautiful. I watched some of the video from the show and it's just so well done on every level. I read also that the first day of the first rehearsal of the first workshop of the show was on the Wednesday after Obama was elected.
What did that feel like?
J. Breckenridge: It was a bone chilling morning that rehearsal it really was. Just, all of us were just goosebumps ridden, and just in tears. And we knew the, the responsibility that we had to tell this story and the era and time that we were living in.
Valerie: In the very beginning you were picketed, right? That must have been rough.
J. Breckenridge: It was rough. A lot of the flack that we got, a lot of the disapproval was from like some leading black organizations that basically thought we are a bunch of young 20 something performers that are trying to get Broadway debuts, and me, me, me, me and working for us and not thinking about our people, and how much of a disgrace we are... are being in, you know, to our, to our people, to our history. Our producers, everyone involved tried just endlessly to give these folks and others that were led astray and. had thoughts about the show that were incorrect. We tried our best to give them tickets to say, Hey, actually come and see it. We're actually doing the complete opposite of what you're saying, but they refused.
But most people, I think 99% of the people that were asked or were given comp tickets to have their eyes opened said, no, I refuse. I won't. And I think it was mostly the black face. Our marketing team was fantastic and we had great marketing, but it was confusing. It it was, you know, this dark subject matter and this entertaining minstral vibe. The fact that we were getting all this buzz, it caused people to want to come and see what all the fuss was about and how dark the show really was. And you know what we were doing. But unfortunately, it wasn't enough. And we played for what was it from October 31st to December 12th. And so it was really short lived.
Our producers just pulled the plug early cause they were afraid of the lack of ticket sales. and we all were just like devastated because the thought was this, we just need to get through the holiday season. The word is now getting out. All these theater people and artistic people are wanting to see this. And once they see it and spread word that's how things go. But you know, it's also producers jobs to make the money and not lose money. And so I think they kind of like peaced out before they could, um, really lose, money. So that was unfortunate.
Luckily the show had a life after that...
Valerie: in London.
J. Breckenridge: It did. And it, was also at the Old Globe in San Diego. It was at the A.C.T. Theater in San Francisco.
Valerie: And was nominated for 12 Tony awards!
You know, watching the videos and reading some of the interviews with the creative team and the cast this was a really powerful story and it was told really well. But, just like in all of life, sometimes it's just about timing, and it's about place, and it's about, just what people are ready for and willing to let in.
And you can't control those things and that's the hardest part of being alive and also being a performer. Because you work your ass off to make these creative endeavors the best that they can be. And then you put them out in the world and You just don't know, you just don't know what's going to happen.
So how did you deal with the failure of this musical? What did you do next?
Tales Of The City
J. Breckenridge: We mourned and like any actors you gotta move on and you gotta pay the bills. I think I did a production of The Whipping Man at KC Rep, which was a three man play. At that point I hadn't done a play proper straight play since graduating college.
And so that was really an honor to play this lead role and and tell the story, another story of black history and that during the civil war actually. But from there, I did Tales Of The City, which was a musical version written by the Scissor Sisters. Incredible.
Valerie: Armisted Maupin's books are fabulous. I've read all of them. They're great.
J. Breckenridge: They're amazing. They're such great, just, subway reads, quick reads, like you're so enveloped in the stories and the fact that they started as a serial, in the San Francisco Chronicle, I believe. and His whole evolution of his literary genius is really interesting all the way to, I believe it was like PBS and Showtime's take on the stories with Olympia Dukakis, and Laura Linney, and all these greats.
So when I got that show, I watched those, I had never heard of the books. Of course I read them all and, and watched the series. And so that was a really interesting, also important show. I felt like had a lot of luck, or you could say I've been blessed to do a lot of very important pieces, historical pieces, voices and stories that need to be heard. This one in particular, was Maryanne Singleton's fictional story, but had to do with her culture shock moving from a small town in Ohio to San Francisco and the people that she met in the seventies and...
Valerie: And what an era in San Francisco that was.
J. Breckenridge: Right, right. And I played one half of the most famous literary same-sex couple in history. I played John fielding opposite Wesley Taylor's mouse. and we had a blast and we were rock stars and people loved the show. And it was, directed by Jason Moore who's directed Pitch Perfect films among other stuff. And Steven Arimas, who is the mastermind behind orchestrations and the music supervision of The Book of Mormon, and Avenue Q., and um...
Valerie: Some great musicals.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. just a really great team. Jeff Whitty, who wrote the book for Avenue Q. Really brilliant people. So it was a great team. It was another show that was short-lived. There was another one that I was able to be a part of from its inception, its first reading at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. And that was 2009. So in between the Scottsboro period of the first reading and the first performance, first, production, I was working on a lot of different stuff, but one of it was Tales Of The City. So cut to this production in San Francisco that was deemed a huge hit, and we were ready to come to Broadway and I was going to have a, a featured, leading man role Broadway show and then it just kind of crumbled apart. And again, like you said, it's it's the nature of the business. It's the luck of the draw. It's part of the package of being an actor and part of the thick skin that we develop and, and everything. So...
Valerie: And part of the thick skin that you developed way back in college.
Life Skills For Artists
J. Breckenridge: Absolutely. I teach these Broadway classroom classes. One thing that I always say to them is that I'm grateful for my education. I wish in addition to all the schooling that I received, that I would have been thoroughly taught life skills. The reality of paying off student loans. Paying your rent that the no. No's that you get in your face every single day? You know, I would say that, that if anything, that prep was there, but not necessarily from a monetary sense. And so that was kind of, not a rude awakening for me, but I had to rough it to figure that out.
Luckily, I've been employed a lot, which has been great so I haven't had to to suffer too much, but it's been you know, a balancing act trying to figure that out. That is again, part of, a vocal life, uh, working as a, as an actor and trying to put food on the table while living your dreams
Valerie: Did you ever have to get another kind of job while you were in between shows or...
J. Breckenridge: Yeah, of course. I definitely what I'm proud of and blessed for is that I've never, there's always been a show on the horizon or a something that I knew that was like either weeks away or months away. And even with that you gotta make money, you gotta pay the rent.
I've been a waiter I've worked at Reebok Sports Club, New York. That was my first job working in membership services. Um, that was crazy. You know, just a lot of like odd-end jobs. I think I worked as an assistant for a jeweler once I , um, just a lot of different little short-lived quick jobs to get me through to the next gig.
Valerie: That's a tricky thing because once you're in the show, you have to be in the show. You're rehearsing, six days a week and, you can't just keep doing the other job while you're working. But I think it's really important for people to know that even when people are in a show and they look like they're totally successful from the outside, and they are because they're doing it, they're living the life that they want to live, but monetarily, you still have to make ends meet.
You've also been in all kinds of television shows like, The Blacklist on CBS, Blue Bloods NBC, The FBI CBS. So, how did you get started in TV? Have you had an agent this whole time? The same one. And is that relationship one that you could count on to help you get this work?
Agents & T.V.
J. Breckenridge: DGRW was my agency. When I first got out I had them for years, probably like seven, eight years. And then one of my agents my, agent that I was the closest with, that I booked the most gigs with, that I had a strong rapport with, left the agency and went to another, and I left with him. So I've been with Henderson Hogan with that agency, which I love love.
Valerie: What do you love about that?
J. Breckenridge: They're just on the ball. They... I don't feel like I'm overlooked. They're not a petite agency but they're also not a huge entity. So you feel like you get time, you get attention you get submitted. And so I'm, I'm grateful for that.
And yeah, I think that I can definitely trust them to get my foot in the door. And then there's stuff that you have to do as an artist on your own. There's plenty of auditions that I've submitted myself for things that I've done on my own.
You know, this, this music career is entirely on my own, has nothing to do with my agency. But yeah, they are what's called a legit agency. So they they submit me for TV, film and theater. They have a couple different agents and each agent has certain accounts, certain casting folks that they work through.
And you know, I've been in the city for a while now. So luckily there's a casting folks who are aware of who I am and have cast me in stuff. And they'll either request that I come in for an audition or my uh, my agents will see a breakdown and submit me and or...
Valerie: For those who don't... I'm sorry for those who don't know, what's a breakdown.
Casting Breakdowns and Equity Cards
J. Breckenridge: Yeah, like a casting breakdown. There's a wonderful resource called actors access. That is a very user-friendly resource for actors basically they have a a website. You go there, you look up, what is currently auditioning? It'll tell you, what's auditioning how to submit what time and date, if it's a big cattle call and everybody in their mom is wrapped around the street, trying to make the big break.
It will tell you when that, when that is. Or, hopefully, you have an agent or representation, or at least your equity card, your union card to, to get your foot in the door. I always tell folks that are just starting out, it's either that you need your equity card, or an agent, perferably both.
Valerie: And how do you get those? That's the tough part, right? My sister's an actress, and a model, and and a singer. And I just remember in her early days, she was having a terrible time getting a Screen Actors Guild card, and you couldn't work without one. How do you get your first one? How do you get the card if you don't have
J. Breckenridge: It really is. it's all about getting that first break and then once you're in, you're in, and you start to be known, and things, get a little easier as far as being seen and given opportunities to book a job. Like I was saying before, I I got my agent through my showcase, so that was really Yeah. Huge they have a sheet of all the actors in the showcase, they mark who they want to have meetings with. And then you get that paperwork after your showcase basically saying, oh, so-and-so and so-and-so want a meeting with you. You call them. You, you make the meeting, you hopefully are assigned.
And so that was the process for me. I know that um, the old school way is to get that old 8 by 10, headshot, and staple that resume to the back, and submit. And I would say that it would behoove anybody starting out there as an actor to go the referral route. Look at your own resources and friends that are actually in the business and making it, or at least have an agent and trying to see if they'd be willing to push your info towards your agent and kind of get to the top of the pile.
it is It really is. Especially nowadays. You know, as, as much as we all have to have incredible amount of talent to be a contender out there amongst everyone that, you know, in the casting director's eyes looks exactly like you the exact same thing. It's imperative that you are just a good person and nice to work with.
It's All About Relationships
J. Breckenridge: I got the Book of Mormon job partly because I worked with someone that worked on Tales In The City and they referred me, that was my recommendation. That was my clout. Directors love working with their people, their folks...
J. Breckenridge: Or in a 8 hour rehearsal with.
Okay.
And it hearkens back to my mom's advice, and I'm sure countless others, don't burn your bridges. It's too small of an industry and a planet for that matter to be an asshole.
It really isn't as much as I am not a fan of brown nosing and, you know, that's just gross to me, we do have to keep in mind that there is a reality of you, got to also know how to network and you are your you are the product you are selling yourself, so to speak to perform.
And so there, you have to know how to negotiate, talk the talk, do the do, you know, and of course have respect for yourself. There are certain things that certain people refuse to portray or play and that's everyone's right. I'm not saying suck up, but to people, but it is important to have a realistic idea of how the business works and how to market yourself, and knowing that it's important to have yourself seen in the best light possible.
Yeah.
Valerie: that's true?
J. Breckenridge: I always see myself as a, an extroverted introvert, because I do what I have to do and I network and socialize at the opening night parties and this and that. And then I find a way to, to just have a creep, creep, out of the room and into my PJ's and...
Back to the home-body. Yeah.
It's funny when the spotlight's on you and you're onstage and you're performing rehearsed dialogue it's one thing. But when you're put on the spot, in a networking situation where it could influence employment for you, or notoriety or, just your reputation, all of that. It's just, it's exhausting. We're always thought to be, or, we should always be on as actors, for women, especially be made up and the perfection the look that, you portray your brand, we always have to be out there and showcasing that. And it gets exhausting.
The Importance of Mental Health For Performers
J. Breckenridge: And one thing that I will say is, very important for vocalists, for actors, for dancers, for all the above, is mental health. Something that I really feel strongly about is the importance of mental health and just checking in with yourself, you know.
When we would do The Scottsboro Boys, that show was so deep, and so heavy, and we told each other every night, we gotta to leave him on the stage. We got to leave it here. We can't be bringing that heavy burden of our people, and this story, and the history of our country with us home. It's just not healthy. And I think that the mental health is important in, in that way and also in just the self-love. Knowing that you, you know, there's going to be so many no's. I know people have heard that phrase a bijillion times, but it's true. There's so much negative energy in the business as well as positive, but there's a lot of rejection.
And it's hard and it's, and I still am very insecure about certain things, and certain auditions, and how I sound on this recording, and this and that, and the judgment that I'll receive.
And so again, like you said before, it's a balancing act and it's something that never really goes away that pressure of being on and being perfect. And so it's, you, you level that out with checking in with yourself at the end of the day, keeping that confidence, that fake it till you make it mentality if you need. Whatever you need to do what you love and do it in a healthy self loving way.
Valerie: Yeah. You're bringing us perfectly into this next section of the interview.
Let's move forward in time to more recent history. You're in New York City. COVID 19 hits. Broadway shuts down. You're alone in your apartment. You actually contract COVID. What happens next?
COVID-19 Hits New York City
J. Breckenridge: So I was in the Broadway hit, Come From Away, which I will be returning to, that I'm so excited for that this fall. So when we shut down one of our cast members, a couple of days later said, Hey guys, I just tested positive. And so we all got tested. I had thought that I maybe had it.
Luckily, I had a mild medium case and uh, I wrote it out at home with my little Wheaton terrier pup, Teddy.
Valerie: Scary though. Jeez. Cause nobody knew that much about it in the beginning
J. Breckenridge: I know. And also like I was misled and totally understandably, by my doctor and, and some over the counter pharmacists that were saying, oh, you don't have it. It's a dry, dry cough and a fever and this and that, and you have a wet cough and no fever and, then we discovered that not all the symptoms are, that black and white.
And luckily that didn't cause any complications for me. I am asthmatic and that scared me being compromised that way. But luckily, we only had a couple of nights where I was like, Ooh, I should probably go to the hospital. I'm heaving, and I don't know if... not to sound dramatic. I knew I would make it through the night, but I thought, you know, at the time they were also saying like, stay away. Don't come unless you are absolutely in need of getting to the hospital. So I kind of like bowed out and probably should have gone, but I made it through.
So I spent the time at home. I, I well I had a choice to sit at like a couch potato or do something productive. And I thought, why not try this music thing that I've always wanted to do and get writing again. I wrote in high school and I haven't written really that much since because musical theater life, anyone can tell you, it just takes up all your time to hone the skills and be ready to get the job. So luckily I, with the, with Rona, I had the time, so it was either work on that or work on my dream to do interior design, which I still want to fulfill. And although I know there's a very polar opposites and very random, but I, I love both.
And luckily putting the pen to the page that kind of decided it for me. And I started writing. And by the time, you know, a month and a half, two months later, I had like 15 songs. I said, I need to do something with this. My friends were saying, you know, you need to write. Your stuff is good. Get yourself out there.
And, luckily I, I feel like I told the story a million times, but I picked up a ukulele when I was on the book of Mormon tour in Hawaii years ago. And um, I had my trusty ukulele. I wrote my songs with that, just simple chord progressions. And I put some videos out early on in the pandemic of these songs that I wrote. So I did that and a the friend reached out to me and was like, Hey, this is some pretty great stuff. let me know if you ever are interested in diving deeper into this. And I said, okay. Yeah, whatever. And cut to things really starting to come together, and uh, meeting musicians that wanted to play with me, and this and that.
And I got in touch with his friend and they... goodness then a frickin' angel have helped me through, monetarily, through this whole process. And it's really, I would not be able to do any of this...
Valerie: Oh how awesome.
J. Breckenridge: ...without their love and generosity. So, so yeah, I found my producer found the musicians...
Valerie: Okay, wait a minute. We've got to go back to this producer thing. Because I heard another interview about how you were walking your dog in the park and you ended up meeting these people who, you started talking with. And anyway, tell us that story cause it's really fun.
J. Breckenridge: Oh, of course. I have Teddy, my Wheaton Terrier to thank. So I live in Hamilton Heights, in Harlem. And um, literally right next door to Hamilton's church and a statue. And around the corner is the um, the Hamilton house. You walk through the park a little bit and there's a dog run. And so that's that's my spot. That's our spot.
So I went there like any other day and ran into this couple who, you know, it's such an artistic neighborhood, and there are directors and writers and singers and dancers and all that. So I met them. We started talking because of our, dogs and... yeah. One of them was a photographer. They're musicians. I told them about my music. They followed, we, you know, exchanged handles. They followed me on Instagram. I followed them.
They saw those early videos and were like, Hey, you know, between the two of us, my wife and I like, we play like eight instruments each. And if you ever want to flesh this stuff out and make an EP, some demos, do whatever, let us know. And so I kept that in my back pocket. I contacted them when I was ready, they were with child unfortunately at the time they were dealing with some complications and couldn't take part in, in helping me out.
They had to go back on their offer and say, You know what? We, we're, there's just there's too much going on right now. I'm so sorry. We can't. However, we do have this producer friend, James Frazee, who is incredible and did the wife's record. And why don't you give him a call and see, and just start to check around with producers. Cause that's how get the ball rolling. And James and I jived, we immediately, clicked. I sent him the demos of my ukulele playing. He saw the potential, we put our heads together.
And at that point I, I stuck it out for two months in New York. People kept saying, oh, it'll be some weeks. It'll be a couple of months. We'll be back to work. When it wasn't I said, you know what? I need to get back to my family because I only see them like basically once, maybe twice a year, I think at the time. So I left. I've been living in my I'm looking at my I'm actually in our game room right now for this interview. And looking out my RV, my huge tour bus R V. Old school, like I think it's like 1998 or something. Pace Arrowhead RV. And that's where I've been living.
That is my apartment. And we're talking like, it's like a full on, like full fridge queen, queen, bed couch, like living area. It feels like uncle Josh has his space, his apartment, but also is like steps away from the family house.
So anyways, I started working remotely with James and I would pluck out some tunes and tell him arrangement wise what I was thinking, what instruments, what vibe. He would divy something up and send it back to me. We finally found our musicians, four of which are my close friends that are musicians on Come From Away which was awesome to keep it in the family.
And so we, we gave the stems, the musical stems, to our bassist and drummer and they kind of lay the foundation. And then from there, gave it to, you know, strings, guitar, wind instruments - everything that we felt was necessary for each specific song on the album and for the piece as a whole.
And we started constructing the album. I recorded about a quarter to a half of it, almost half, like in my RV and then, cut to me booking the the blacklist. I gosh, there's so much that happened during the pandemic and I'm so grateful for it. I got to do one of the first productions back in the fall of last year.
It was called We The People. It was a theater works tour that normally toured around for schools and for kids. And since there was no field trips anymore because of the pandemic, we basically learned the show in like less than two weeks. Learned it on Zoom.
Valerie: That's
J. Breckenridge: Performed it. Basically, we just filmed it on the, um, Paper Mill Playhouse stage in New Jersey. No audience, but full sound, cameras, lights, everything.
So anyways, that took me to New York. My agent, I wasn't sure about if I booked blacklists at the time, because of COVID they were having to hire like three different backups or choices for roles, because if someone came to set sick, you were out.
Valerie: Right. Yeah. You had to have a deep well of people to draw from.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. And so, so I didn't know. I was continuing to be a person of interest, like someone that they wanted for the role. But I didn't know which order I was if I was like third runner up or first. And finally I found out that I was their pick. And, luckily, my agent was like, don't come out because we don't know if it's you or not.
And then I got We The People and that took me out to New York. And while I was there, I heard they had booked it. And so I did that. Did three photo shoots with three different, amazing photographers to get content for online for my album. Just cleaned up shop and did everything I could in preps of coming back to California and continuing the process.
I also recorded the other half of the album at, uh, Hobo Sound Studios in New Jersey with James. Um, so that was course, night and day.
Valerie: That must have felt good to you after trying to do it
J. Breckenridge: Okay,
Valerie: with your gear in your motor home.
J. Breckenridge: Let me tell I souped up that motor home I went to B&H.com and I said, I'll take this and this. And you know, it was a full-on studio and we
Valerie: cool.
J. Breckenridge: We made some really great music that way and also of course in the actual studio. So it was great. A lot of great work went back to New York, a couple of times during the pandemic to do some TV and, and theater stuff and and some film stuff, actually. So it's been really fruitful this pandemic. It's been really great.
Valerie: That's amazing. And you'd already contracted COVID. So you were good to go when so many people weren't at a time when it was a lot scarier to get out there and do things.
And by the way, James is no slouch. He's a Grammy award nominee. He's worked with Patti Smith, Esperanza Spalding, Betty Lavette... the list goes on and on. And the record sounds great. It really, it's world-class. You did a great job. And I'd love to dig a little deeper into a few of the songs on the record.
J. Breckenridge: Sure.
Y.O.U.
Valerie: The first one is YOU, Y O U. And it seems like, one of the hardest things in life is learning to love yourself. And you were talking about that earlier like that's part of mental health, right?
And that's what the song is about. So I love the line, Every little scar becomes a part of you. love to know what inspired you to write that song.
J. Breckenridge: I am a big supporter of therapy. I have a therapist. I you know, talk to them once a week and dealing with my demons, dealing with my lack of self worth at times. You know, it, What really sends the song as it is. Um, it was a previous breakup and I was, I was single during the pandemic and I was, rummaging around and thinking, what is the common denominator?
It's it's me. and you know, it's a kind of a cliche Idea, but it's truth. It's true that you cannot love someone until you learn to love yourself. And I realized I wasn't loving myself and I, there are things that I don't like about myself and, you know, I'm an imperfect soul for sure.
And so I had to face my own demons and problems and say, you know what, let me hit this head-on and see why I've had these failed relationships in the past. What is the common denominator?
So it was, it was a song for myself initially. And then I, as I wrote, I said, you know what? This could be an anthem for all. Just look inward, learn to love yourself first. And I bet you, you will start to see people come out out of the woodworks wanting to, to pursue you. So, for me, it was a self-love anthem and hopefully for others, they'll see it as such and also a way to open the door to future relationships first by loving oneself.
Valerie: It's tricky though. that's why it sounds so trite because love yourself first. Okay, great. But actually doing it. That's a whole other thing. Good for you for working with a therapist and how lucky you were to already have one because getting one during the pandemic was not an easy thing. They were booked up and still are.
J. Breckenridge: Right. Right. And a lot of people needed therapy from this.
Valerie: No, kidding.
J. Breckenridge: Funny thing real quick. I did some music videos with my four singles. And one of the music videos was for Y.O.U.. in the music video, I play myself and my therapist.
Valerie: I love that.
J. Breckenridge: And I kid you not, my therapist saw the video cause I talked to him of course, about the song and what it meant to me and the music video. He saw the video and he was like, Josh, I have the exact sweater that you wore.
Valerie: Oh, no way.
J. Breckenridge: Shut up. No, you don't. He sent me a picture of it, and I was like, Oh my God. And I put it in the app and I both of our pictures next to each other. It is the same exact outfit.
Valerie: That's hilarious. And you'd never seen him in it or what, or did he forget that he'd worn in front of you? It was just an...
J. Breckenridge: No, never. It was a Banana Republic, green, vibrant, patchwork sweater that I felt screamed therapist and that was it.
That's great.
Valerie: Home Is Where The Art Is. I love the title to that song because there are so many layers of meaning in it. You've got the play on words from, home is where the heart is. And because when you're a performer, your heart is in your art of course. And if you're traveling, your home is all over the place.
So you better love what you're doing. It's three-layer chess here is what I'm talking about. Anyway, because the art is where you're going to find your home. It's also not easy to create life around your art because you end up sacrificing a lot when you leave family, friends, and the life you knew to build a life with art at the center of it.
So the song and the video highlight seem to highlight for me anyway, the push-pull between the love of family and the love of making art. It sounds like the pandemic gave you an opportunity to finally combine the two. What I want to know is where do you feel the most at home now?
J. Breckenridge: It's a hard question. The song ends with a question. It's not conclusive at all. You know, I challenge people when they listen to the song to just use it as a, as a meditation. You know, it's not supposed to answer the question, but it leaves us with the question. Is home where the art is?
I left home, and, like so many others, for the art, all the way across the country. And I find that you know, my parents get older, my brother has kids. They're growing up, I'm missing graduations and retirements and all this stuff. And is it worth it?
Is it, the fork in the road? Did I make the right choice? There's guilt that comes with that. There's a myriad of questions. So, I would say that ultimately I'm still torn. I have one foot here and one foot on the other coast and each place is home for different reasons.
Valerie: And you're continuing to hold that question in your hand, so to speak.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah absolutely. Yeah.
Not Forgiving You
Valerie: So Not Forgiving You. This song seems like it would have been a tough one to write because it was about an abusive relationship and boundaries and it could have been so dark yet it's not. And I'm just curious as to why.
J. Breckenridge: Some of the greatest songs out there are, Debbie downers, but on the surface they are, they're upbeat and fun and it makes people think. I think that unconsciously, I was also influenced by my experience, you know, taking it back right now to The Scottsboro Boys, of that juxtaposition of jokes that were like horrific, but they made people laugh, and then the audience members would stop and be like, what am I actually laughing at? Again, going back to what Tommy Thompson said, it's not enough to just tell the story, you got to make it entertaining.
So to make this upbeat do-woppy vibe for subject matter, such as, you know, domestic abuse was definitely a choice. But I also find that the style of the song, notates, my choice of how I deal with the situation. Might not be healthy, but the person that laid these hands back in the day, they still are in touch with me today. They still are trying everything they can to get back in touch and to find forgiveness. for me, I have to laugh and say you know what? Shoo fly don't bother me. I can't. Like, that's my way of dealing with it cause at this point I just had to laugh. And also that they're clueless that the song is not about them, or they think it's not about them. And it's like, what? Um, so I'm just blown away. And so it's it. I wanted it to be fun and catchy and also uplifting and serve as a, as an anthem for people that have been in this situation. There's so many folks that have suffered from domestic abuse scenarios and situations.
And, I urge everybody out there listening if you have, when you listen to the song and it does resonate with you, you know, there's so many resources out there, numbers to call people to in to, to know that you're not alone.
Valerie: How were you able to leave that relationship? If you don't mind me asking.
J. Breckenridge: No. I was actually on tour with my roommate and best friend at the time. And, um, I had to I had to employ my roommate to get my lover off of me I couldn't get him. I couldn't get them off. And it was just, it was terrifying. And also like we were in this Airbnb, we were on tour and I, I was basically defending myself and not throwing back the punches, just receiving because I, I honestly was, my mind was we are not going to tear up this freaking house and have me be left bill. Plus, because we're obviously done after tonight, I gotta give you money to ship you back home because you don't have a dime to your name. And, it was a dark moment in time and not a pleasant moment, but I was able to say, No more. I clearly know what I'm willing to put up with and what I'm not, and what I'm worth.
Valerie: There was a line that was obviously crossed there. Yeah.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. And so, and so that was at that point that was as simple as could be. I knew what the choice was. I had known for a while and then to have this blow-up moment happen. I'm just, you know, I'm still ashamed to this day that I didn't do anything sooner, that I had to come to that type of situation.
But it was what it was. I'm stronger for it now. I'm proud of myself in a way for making art out of it and finding a way to tell that story.
The whole process of music, everyone says, write what you know. And so when I sat down and said, let me jot down what I know in this pandemic, I think that's why within a couple months, month and a half, I had 15 songs. I had a lot to say, I had a lot on my mind. You know, whether it was previous incidents or moments in life, or joyful new pandemic current moments, or looking towards the future.
If you listen to the record, there's a through-line there and they're all pieces of me that are true to me,
Valerie: Well, it must've been a really amazing experience after using your voice to inhabit all these other characters to write and sing your own stories.
J. Breckenridge: I love telling stories and other people's stories. And, like I said, with the historical pieces I've done, like telling real stories of people who have lived is such an honor and such a responsibility to it. But there's nothing like telling your own story and something... it's, very vulnerable. It's, putting your heart out on the line is putting your your skills set out on the line to be judged and, looked at and listened to. And it's nerve-wracking and I've, I'm discovering that through the process that it's it's scary.
And, you know, it's hard not to look at these Spotify for artists and all these like resources and see like, who's listening to my stuff today. How many views, like, how many streams, you know, it's disheartening at times. It's exciting at times. It's, it's a roller coaster ride of emotions, this whole process. But I'm very grateful to be able to tell my own stories of my own truth and, finally, bring a talent of mine that I, I trusted and knew at my core that I had and, and have it come to light and have the confirmation and validation from folks that I do have some gifts in this area and, and I'm learning.
Valerie: That's always been the huge piece for me making a record. It's like you get another degree, really? You know, like somebody should come to your door and knock on it and say, Here you go, you get another degree. And master's now in music, because there are so many aspects and so much learning that goes on. It's hard to let go of what happens afterward. But I never regret making a recording, especially if it's one that's really calling me to make it.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah, it's interesting, right? Like how some songs, I mean, we all write songs differently. Some start as poems, some start as melodies. But it's interesting how some songs just write themselves. And I've heard that term used before. I've never really understood it until the process of writing this record.
Like I would be on the subway and some of the songs stemmed from just simple ideas, or interactions, or memories that came to my head, to my mind. And literally just within a couple hours, some like one hour or something, you know, of course you'd go back and you fine tune lyrics, but some just fell out of me on the page,
Valerie: What a feeling, right?
J. Breckenridge: What a feeling, Yeah.
Valerie: It's like somebody else's writing it almost.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. Those are the ones that also seem to resonate most with people. So I think that there's a higher power that's writing through you as well.
Valerie: So, writing the record's a piece. Recording the record, you've got somebody great to produce it and these wonderful people to play it. And then it's time to release the record. And that is also a whole other huge piece that I think people forget about. I do sometimes it's, you know, this recording budget and then whoops, you need at least that much money when it's time to birth it out into the world. So there's distribution, marketing, videos to create, promotion. How did you plan for the release? And did you already know people who could help you? How did all the pieces come together?
Promoting The Record
J. Breckenridge: I was incredibly overwhelmed with the whole, that whole process. I am not a, I am now, but I was never skilled at the social media and self marketing and branding and all that stuff.
Luckily a cousin of mine, her husband is a musician as well, and he uh, turned me on to Clubhouse, which is very popular now. And, I was able to get on that app, jump into some conversation rooms. And I started to look up people in the room uh, that were in conversations that we had a common ground with. And I found a gentleman named Maximillian, A.M. is what he goes by, that's his name. And I saw that he was a marketing strategist.
Valerie: For musicians or...
J. Breckenridge: No, in general. For athletes, musicians, what have you. And I looked him up, I looked up a few other people, but I contacted him. We started talking and long story short ended up having a incredible work relationship. Actually tomorrow night I am celebrating with him because we had our official last session this previous Thursday. And we're gonna toast and celebrate the amazing music campaign that we created together.
And, you know, he did like a recap on his story and it was like, it made me want to tear up, u we started working like in January and cut to seven months later. we went from organizing the music that James and I completed and deciding what my brand was. What to deem my sound. We decided, retro pop soul clearly defined what my specific sound was, what my audience was, how to gear towards them. The photography that I needed, the content that we created, the website that we created. The music videos that we arranged and navigated.
Valerie: And that are so well done. I don't even know how you did all of that.
J. Breckenridge: I loved doing it and it was awesome. You know, I'm also a kid that grew up with like making of the video that can be the MTV show, and I always got so excited seeing those behind the scenes footage shots that...
Valerie: That's some of my favorite... I just, I just love the making of stuff. Give me more.
Yeah, of course. I do remember Drive Me Crazy, the Brittany Spears song? So I definitely was of the Brittany Spears era. When she first came out I remember that was one of my first CDs that I got actually. But I watched that video and was, the making making of that video, and was like, oh my God, this is... look what it takes. The dancing. The emoting the lip synching, the, all of the things that you're required to have pull it off. And, I was up for the challenge. And I think I found some amazing directors, and choreographers, and dancers, and actors, and people to work with. And I'm very excited my product that is out there, that Max helped me create and target and get out there.
You know, we created our, my YouTube page. Jay Breckinridge, all the social media the Tik Tok, the Instagram, the Facebook, the Twitter. I was not on Twitter before this whole music venture started. And now I am. And just, a lot of firsts. We developed a production company. My record label. Got my stuff out there for sync catalog so that my music can be featured in film, and TV, and commercials, and video games.
You covered everything it sounds sounds like. And he sounds like he really knew what he was doing. what gave you the feeling that he knew what he was doing enough for you to spend the kind of money that you must have spent with him?
J. Breckenridge: Well, you know what? He just turned 28. He's a young' un.
Valerie: God.
J. Breckenridge: My thinking was, you know what, I need some young blood who knows what is going on right now and who has all the means and knowledge to, get me out there and get my socials current. You were saying it's interesting to hear melodies and this and that and music and my music as, as pop for, as it is there's some theatrical.
Um,
Valerie: You can hear the musical theater in it for sure.
J. Breckenridge: And so it's not necessarily the sound of right now, even though that's a relative, but thought that I was in great hands with someone who not only was professional, and proficient, and had a great track record, but that was Yeah young and knew what was quote unquote hip.
Valerie: Yeah. Cause it changes so rapidly now
My takeaway in life, is that there are two types of goals, intrinsic and extrinsic - inner and outer Extrinsic goals um, like selling a million records can energize and motivate a person, but it's sort of an either or proposition. I mean, you either sell a million records or you don't and then what do you do?
But they're important to have too, because they do motivate you. But there are so many variables in extrinsic goals that aren't in our control. The sound of the moment - the way that it lands with the audience that's out there and what they're looking for. But intrinsic goals are different. They're about how we want to grow into the person we want to be in the life we want to lead.
So I read a quote recently: Dream of the person you want to be. Not of how rich or powerful or famous that future self is, but about the life you will lead and work you will do to serve and enrich others maximally leaving behind a world that is better than you found it.
That's by Arthur C. Brooks. And I'm just curious about your goals, both extrinsic and intrinsic goals. What's essential for you to achieve now in your life?
J. Breckenridge: Sure. On the surface, I would love to be successfully able to jump back and forth through the mediums of my, of my actor self. Be able to do film, be able to do TV, be able to jump back to music and in Broadway. And, you know, I've got some friends that have figured that out and are... no more auditions they're called upon. They are, they're in a great spot. And so I would love to get to that spot where I'm comfortable. And I don't need to be famous, but I would love to be doing what I love and being able to make a living off of it, and out of it As far as like, you know, deep down what I, what I would love and see for myself, goal-wise, I would love to just leave a legacy and leave a varied career here on this earth. I, I can't sit still. I'm a type, a personality to a T. And I...
Valerie: I kind of got that. Yeah.
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. Yeah you did.
So for me, it's I got to keep learning. I got to keep doing, I got to keep making, and creating, and...
Valerie: So that's your perfect day. You get to get up and do what you love to do, and create the things that you see to create next.
J. Breckenridge: Absolutely. And to continue the cycle just to stay fulfilled. I don't think I could be complacent.
Valerie: I've also read that you strive to be an advocate for those struggling with self-confidence and self-worth. Is that one of the drivers in your life now?
J. Breckenridge: It is uh, an aspiration of mine to, to be that voice because it's, it's what I, I know, you know, I've grown up being very insecure for a lot of different reasons. And I know there are people out there that are been in the same situation that I have, and that on the cusp of, diving into those situations. And I'm grateful for the people who've guided me along the way in my youth when I dealt with every, type of problem with myself and I hope that I can be that beacon of light and that, guide for someone else. There's just too many people that fall by the wayside because of lack of self-confidence, lack of self-love, lack of
Valerie: So to hear that there are others out there that are wrestling with this and seeing them go ahead in life and do things that they want to do in spite of it then overcome it sometimes even is really important.
J. Breckenridge: It is. It's rewarding and we affect more people than we know. So trusting that our work is good and beautiful and worthy, and that we're affecting more people than, that we might know is, is a good place to be as well. Good mindset.
Valerie: Okay, last question. If you could go back and mentor a younger version of yourself, what age would you be and what would you talk to him about?
J. Breckenridge: Oh man. It would, ooph. There's so many different chapters.
Valerie: I know.
J. Breckenridge: I think I would maybe like my five-year-old self. You know, that's that tender age, that, that age where we are discovering ourselves and we're, when a scolding of a parent or a, an elder or something can seem exacerbated and, hurtful and this and that.
And I think I would tell him, It's okay, you're going to be okay. You're going to be fine. Don't be so hard on yourself. I think is the main thing, you're going to want to beat yourself up about certain things growing up and you got it. You've got everything you need right there inside of you. You're lovable. You're enough. Don't be hard on yourself. Love yourself.
Valerie: Nice.
Nice. So what's happening next and where can people find you?
J. Breckenridge: The vinyl record just came out. It's available on my website. People can find it and me, and everything about me, on my website at j-breckenridge.com. YouTube, social media, all the links to my IMDB, everything is on that website so I think that's the most concise easy to find space.
I'm J.Breckenridge.Music on Instagram. JBreckenridgeMusic on Facebook. JBreckinridge on Twitter. So I'm all around, but yeah, I think that website is like the easiest way to just...
Valerie: Awesome. And I'll put links to all that stuff in the show notes too, so people can for sure find it wherever they're listening to podcasts.
J. Breckenridge: Perfect.
Valerie: Jay, Josh,
J. Breckenridge: Yeah. JB, whatever.
Valerie: It has so good to talk to you today. Thank you again for being on the podcast.
J. Breckenridge: My goodness. Thank you for having me, Valerie. It's been a pleasure. And keep singing, keep making the music.
Valerie: Thank you. You too. I can hardly wait to hear and see what you do next.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Living a Vocal Life. You'll find complete show notes for the episode videos of my guests and more offerings for singers @valeriedaysings.com. I'd also love to hear from you. So please let me know what you found useful in this conversation and what you'd like to hear more of in episode to come.
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Until next time be well, keep singing, and thanks for listening.
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