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THE WARREN BROTHERS
Brett and Brad Warren play arena tours with superstars, have their songs recorded by some of the biggest acts in the business and have made a dent as producers -- but most fans recognize these two brothers from their not-so-famous role in the cult classic CMT reality series, Barely Famous.
"We always joke about it, but surely being 'barely famous' is not a bad spot to be in," says Brett, the shorter-haired lead singer of the duo. Brad continues, “Everyone in the music business wants to make you think they’re more than they are – we find a lot of humor in the reality of who we’re not.”
Brett and Brad arrived in Nashville in 1995 from their hometown of Tampa, Florida. As it has been since they were kids playing music together in local Tampa bands, Brad, two years the elder, holds down the band’s rocking side with his distinct lead guitar style and background vocals while Brett delivers each song with his country-blues infused voice, harmonica and rhythm guitar. Their rollicking, rocking and often rambunctious performances as a local bar band, packing in the crowds just south of downtown, got them their initial contract with BNA Records in 1997. Even though their road as recording artists turned out an unpredictable journey, the Warrens struck gold on several alternate routes. Their progressive sound piqued the interest of Faith Hill in 1999 leading to Hill and McGraw picking the Warrens for the coveted opening slot on their Soul2Soul tour in 2000. This success on stage before this ‘other’ duo cemented a spot on many of McGraw’s tours as well as the award winning 2005 Brooks & Dunn “Deuces Wild” Tour.
On the television front, their quick wit, sharp tongues and wild-card unpredictability made them a hit as judges on the USA Network TV series "Nashville Star," which led to their interest in pursuing more television with CMT. “Barely Famous: The Warren Brothers” (co-created by Brett, Brad and Melanie Moreau of CMT; produced by John Irwin) mixed the Warren’s unconventional comedy style with their behind-the-scenes life of being not so famous artists in the music business. The result was a reality show cult-classic among music and industry fans alike.
In each spare moment and trip home, Brett and Brad continued to hone their skills as songwriters, writing with the likes of Harlan Howard, Guy Clark, Jeffrey Steele and other Nashville hitmakers. Not surprisingly, their songwriting earned a buzz of its own in 2003 with a string of cuts starting with McGraw’s “Who Are They” off the multi-platinum Dancehall Doctors album and quickly followed with legendary Southern Rock band Lynyrd Skynrd (“Red, White & Blue”), more McGraw (“Blank Sheet Of Paper” from Live Like You Were Dying) and Van Zant (“I Can’t Help Myself”).
Most recently, the brothers brought their brand of music and comedy to the Martina McBride Timeless Tour 2006. Their songwriting careers continue to explode as their latest writing fete, Martina’s hit single “Anyway” races up the charts.
While enjoying ongoing sales for their 2005 BNA Records "Barely Famous Hits," and the earlier independent release “Well-Deserved Obscurity”, the Warren Brothers have taken their musical style into the studio to play a new role, that of record Producer. Working in the studio, The Warrens have joined forces with some other brothers, Warner Brothers – to add their touch to a new release by recording artist Lance Miller. “We have always been active in making our own records, but this is obviously a new experience for us,” offers Brett. Brad continues, “Yeah, screwing up your own record is one thing – but screwing up someone else’s is a lot more fun.” Lance Miller, produced by the Warren Brothers, will make his debut release this summer.
As TV stars, songwriters, live entertainers, recording artists and producers, the Warrens are getting larger all the time. And what will happen if their ‘barely’ turns into just plain famous? “I know if sounds generic, coming from two smartasses, but we are really happy and humbled that we’ve had this much success. By not taking ourselves too seriously, our success and fame and popularity -- -- just keep going up.”And being barely famous, they must admit, has been pretty good. “On our tombstones, I’d rather it say ‘Those guys were great songwriters’ or ‘Those guys put on a really good show,’ not ‘They were really famous.’”
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