Ropin’ Some Hotness

By Jaime Cannon

Attention Gay Long Beach… Brandon Stansell, an up and coming country song-writer and singer, will be one of the featured performers at this year’s Long Beach Pride Festival. And Brandon will also be performing live at GED Magazine’s Kickoff Cocktails on Friday, May 18^th at SIP Lounge at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel (111 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA) at 7:00pm. Like a lot of country singers, Brandon hails from none-other than Nashville, Tennessee.  However, unlike most country singers, Brandon is out and proud. I met with him to talk about his transition… from Nashville to Los Angeles.  Here’s how it went.

At first glance, I’m thinking this is an Abercrombie and Fitch model… from the piercing blue eyes and bright, shining smile to the well-fitting gray T-shirt and skinny jeans with strategically-placed holes in the knees. Oh, and he sports the 5 o’clock shadow better than George Clooney!  He tells me the blue eyes are “from my mom. She gave them to all of us. Except  one.” Brandon is one of five children in the Stansell family. “It’s a crying shame… my poor baby sister, she got the brown eyes,” Brandon laughs.

Brandon came to LA about 5 years ago…following a boy.  And we all know how that story ends.  “I never thought I had anything to write about,” he said. “Then the guy dumped me, and I said, oh my god, I just became a statistic. I have all this material now!”  So Brandon’s album, Dear John, was born.  Today he tells me that the songs he writes are “about breakups, about love, about coming out.” Being raised in a Southern Baptist culture, he confides that even though his family always wanted success for him, they never saw it happening “this way”… as an out and proud gay man. “It’s a level of denial,” he admits.  He was a bit bewildered at the shocked reactions, thinking “Are you serious? You never saw this?”  But in the long run, he accepts that he is “Thankful for everything that happened. It made me who I am.” Bravo, Brandon.

Slow Down, co-written with Mylen and the title track off his new EP, is the epicenter of his “California Country” sound with the raw emotion of those first moments in a budding relationship. Slow Down was produced by Nashville-based producer, writer, and guitarist Erik Halbig. Stansell met Erik a few years ago through friend, Ty Herndon, who is featured on the track. Now living in Los Angeles, Brandon is an independent artist. That means doing everything on your own… from producing to distribution.  He adores what he calls his “team:” Tim Zollner, Ryan Aceto and Trent Atkinson. “We are small,” he says. “But we are mighty!”  (Hands raised).

Brandon, who was also a live artist featured at the annual Hot Rodeo Palm Springs earlier this month, is excited to be performing in Long Beach and be a part of Long Beach Pride weekend. Brandon will also be a special Guest Host of the Pride Pool Party presented by GED Magazine on Saturday, May 19^th from 12:00pm to 5:00pm, also at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel. Tickets are only $10 and are available at http://PridePoolParty.gedmag.com.

In addition to promoting his album, Slow Down, Brandon is currently working on a small YouTube project, as yet untitled.  It entails other artists covering Brandon’s already-released songs. The first episode is done by none other than Ty Herndon. Apparently, Herndon was Brandon’s neighbor in Nashville.  “When he heard I was recording, he said he wanted to be on it,” said Brandon, laughing and showing off that Crest-commercial-worthy smile. “So I said, COME ON!” Herndon is featured on the album version of Slow Down.

As the interview comes to an end, Brandon gets a little punchy.  He has had a long day, what with traveling from L.A., having several interviews and no lunch. “I like to quote the scene from Golden Girls… Blanche says, ‘Well, I don’t care if my brother wants to date. But aren’t there homosexuals that date women?’”  To which Dorothy responds, “Yes, Blanche… they’re called lesbians.”

So mark your calendar… when this boy hits it big, you can say “I knew him WHEN.”