In a low-tech “now you see it, now you don’t” maneuver characteristic of his slow and steady but not very financially remunerative DIY career so far, New York singer-songwriter Jay Brannan has set off something of an Internet frenzy with his handmade CD, “Disasterpiece,” which the artist made in small lots himself and has sold on the independent CD Baby website for the past several weeks.
As quickly as Brannan could supply the CDs, they sold out, sometimes within minutes of emails saying they were available again.
The “Shortbus” star played his highest profile New York gig to date last weekend — headlining a Saturday night show at the Bowery Ballroom — but he is still in the process of raising the money to record a “real” debut CD.
The CD Baby CDs — with a Polaroid of Brannan pasted to the cover and liner notes hand-written by the artist — are wonderful, one-of-a-kind objects that accurately reflect their maker, but it’s the music inside that has caused the recording to dominate my CD players for the past week.
The six tunes include “Soda Shop” from “Shortbus” along with “26-Hour Day,” “Unstable Boy” and “Body’s a Temple.” This is some of the great material that has moved the singer-songwriter from tiny clubs to one of Manhattan’s best music venues in less than two years’ time.
A growing international fan base has downloaded thousands of copies of the songs Brannan has been offering on iTunes and his own Website (www.jaybrannan.com) — and the fan mail on MySpace and Brannan’s personal site is quite extraordinary.
In his club appearances, Brannan has been hilariously pessimistic about his show business potential, but I think he will soon have to start singing a different tune.
In a recent email about sending out what he says will be the last batch of “Disasterpiece” CDs, Brannan hinted that he is thrilled by the growing support he is receiving for his distinctively-downbeat-but-funny songs.
But, he added, “if you tell anyone i was just optimistic, i’ll kill you.”
