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Tell us a little about where the Bradys came from. How long have you been singing, whose related, and how long has each member been with the group?
The Brady brothers (Alan and Keith) are originally from Ruskin, FL near Tampa. Their mom was from Alabama and their dad had said he never wanted to live here. But...when he accepted the call of God on his live to be a minister, Alabama is the first place he felt God sending him to and the boys have been here ever since. The brothers and a young lady from their church began singing together as teenagers as the "Young Believers". However they were considered local and sang within a 100 or so mile radius.
Sylvia sang with her family group for years, later with a group from near Washington, DC, and also a group from TN. In 1989 the young lady that sang with Alan and Keith decided she wanted to spend more time with her small children and expressed a desire to leave. At this time Sylvia had come back home to AL, and they asked her to try out with the group. She fit right in and began traveling immediately and the new group was simply called "The Bradys". (God has a plan...just as a side note....the young lady that Sylvia replaced was able to spend about a year with her children before she was unfortunately murdered by a person who kidnapped her to steal her vehical.)
Right after Sylvia joined the group they signed a recording contract with Mark Five records. About the same time, The Hoppers recorded "Here I Am" which became song of the year! Naturally this helped america learn who the Bradys were!
Over a year ago Sylvia had to come off the stage (not the road) due to strained vocal chords and her 13 year old niece Kaila filled in for her. Sylvia had to gradually work back into full time status so Kaila picked up the bass guitar, quickly became very proficient, and also sang back-up. Everyone loved her and the Bradys have just decided they can't do with out her. HA!! She is now 14 and a full time group member and is a great asset to the group with a tremendous ministry to young people. She has just in the last two weeks taught herself to play accoustic guitar and wants to learn the steel guitar next!
How would you describe the Bradys sound?
Well we of course have our own "Brady" style but have often been classified as "True" southern gospel. We have a campmeeting flavor with an innovative fresh approach that allows us to be appealing to the younger generation without loosing our identity that seems to appeal to all ages. We are thankful for this.
What vocal influences have impacted you as individuals and as a group?
Although Alan and Keith did not know Sylvia as they were growing up, they all three were infulenced by the same artist: The Goodmans, The Rambos, and most of all...the Hinsons! And believe it or not, although Kaila never had the opportunity to meet the Goodmans and the Hinsons, once she discovered their music, she was hooked! She has a collection of every Hinson project made, can tell you thieir band members names etc. and is very proud of it!
SGM has many arms. Some groups are an entertainment element, some groups are used in lifting up the body of Christ, and others seem to be used in planting, sowing, or reaping souls. Where do the Brady's fit into the whole scheme of SGM?
All of the above! First of all, we have and will always have, an empasis on Ministry and that will never change. The day we are no longer allowed to minister will be the day we put the bus up for sale and come off the road. However, God gives you wisdom and we know that there are venues where adding more humer or entertainment is more relevant and even necessary! Fortunately we are blessed in the fact that Keith, our group emcee, does have the wisdom to know when this is or is not appropriate. I think that is the key. Sometimes it just is not good to add the humor even if you normally do. Other times, the gospel we are trying to present would be overlooked had we not made that important audience connection through humor. You know people are going through so much these days and we basically want to tell them Jesus loves them, through the avenues we are presented with each week, whether it is planting the seed, watering the soil of a dry discouraged soul, or enjoying the great reaping with sinners in the altar!
Much of the Bradys material is written by group members. Who are the writers? What is the inspiration that brings a song out in each writer? If you could only save one song that you have written, what song would that be, and why does that one song mean so much to you. What song have you written that has touched the most people through the Brady's ministry? Has any other group or groups recorded your songs?
Alan Brady and Sylvia Green write just about everything the group records. Inspiration comes in many forms. Sometimes someone can make a statement that will linger on your mind and a song will come from it. Other times, believe it or not, the words and tune just begin coming to mind! Sometimes part of a song will come and you put it up for a while and the rest comes later. It works in various ways. Normally when a person says they are a songwriter that means they hone their craft daily, try to write everyday, etc. For this reason Sylvia says she really can't call herself a songwriter, she just happened to be able to write some songs! Alan and Sylvia both have had songs recorded by other artist including, the Perrys, Dixie melody Boys, Florida Boys, Hoskins Family, Cookes, Heirline, karen Peck, Sheri Easter and the list goes on. The Wilburns single soon to be released titled "More Than A Book" was written by Alan.
Sylvia says if she could save one song it would of course be "Here I Am" as recorded by the Hoppers because it has had such a phenomenal ministering effect through the years. It has so many testimonies connected with it, has been sung at numerous funerals and various occasions. The Bradys sang with The Hoppers about 2 weeks ago and the Hoppers sang "Here I Am". After 15 years it still moved the aundience in a great way!! Alan's choice would be our current single "Day Like That"! he says that all through life we are waiting on certain days whether it be the day we graduate, get married, have kids, have a lot of money, or many other things. But...as Christians, we are waiting for the day the clouds roll back and Jesus says come on home you've made it my child!! This would probably be the whole groups over all choice if they could save only one Brady song!
Is there any place that you have not sang at yet, that you would just love to sing at?
We have sung just about anywhere you could mention but although we sing on various showcases including the NQC showcase, we would gladly sing on main stage if asked!
If a church was to book the Bradys, what could that Pastor expect once the Bradys took the platform?
Excitment, tears, laughter, and a changing line up that includes not only the standard trio sounds of Alan, Keith and Sylvia which is that true Brady sound, but also various vocal mixes of Kaila with the guys,or Kaila, Sylvia and Alan, and a dynamic finale with all four members up front singing on their current single written by Alan, "Day Like That"! This song is bringing audiences to their feet like nothing in the history of the group!! People need to come out just to hear this song!
Who gets into the most trouble on stage? Give us a few examples. (Light hearted question)
Naturally Sylvia and Kaila recieve the brunt of the joking on stage! We all call Kaila by her nickname but now that she is older she reaaaalllyy doesn't want others to call her that! However, Keith so often will say he forgets and introduce her or call her up front by useing her nickname, then will automatically say, after the audience is through laughing, "Oh...I wasn't supposed to say that was I?"!!! (You'll have to ask her the nickname!) Kaila also is bad about tripping over wires in her tall, tall heels she insist on wearing!!
From Sylvia: One funny incident that happened with me a few years ago was when we sang at a huge outdoor event called the "Chitlin' jamboree"! They cooked the chiterlings (chitlin's in the south) in a huge black pot over fire outdoors and they smelled simply awful so I stayed in the bus most of the time! One of the biggest events of the day was a big chittlin eating contest where they literally handed people cup after cup of the stuff to push down the throat any way they could and as fast as they could! It only counted IF YOU KEPT THEM DOWN!! I thought, although the smell was bad, this would be funny to see so I made my way to the event, stood right up front and waited for it to start. One by one they called off the names of the contestants. I was looking at each one trying to decide whether I thought they could win or not when suddenly I heard over the loud speaker...SYLVIA GREEN...COME ON DOWN...YOU'RE OUR NEXT CONTESTANT!!!! They guys had entered me in the chittlin eating contest!! I had on heels but I literally ran to the bus!!!!
Is there anything that I haven't asked that you would like to say to the readers of SGN?
We have been around for a while but our latest project is stirring up quite a lot of attention through sources such as SoGospelNews.com, Solid Gospel, the Gospel Greats, the Singing News,etc. We are thankful for this and we encourage each person to come out and meet us! The Bradys love people and we would like to get to know you on a personal level. We hope to always remember that it is you folks that, to a degree, keep us on the road; therefore you will always be very special to the Bradys!
How could a Pastor or promoter reach the Bradys?
Although Eddie Crook Talent, with our recording company, does do bookings for us, we also do a lot of in-house booking. You can reach the Brady office at 334-696-3340. If the office is closed just listen to the instructions and leave the information we need to get back with you concerning a Brady booking in your area! Our website address is www.bradybizmusic.com
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Written: 08/31/2005 
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