Chapter Two: Magic Power

Bridgeport
Present Day
Branna

Something's at the edge of your mind
and you're not sure what it is
Something you were hoping to find
You're not sure what it is...

Branna smiled as she walked into the living room and looked around. The apartment she shared with Ricky and Sean was open-concept, which meant they had ample room to set up a music area.  It quickly became her respite; a soothing balm for her occasional sadness and jangled moods.

She approached Candygirl, her guitar. "Hello, gorgeous."

Pulling the strap overhead,she picked a Nick Drake tune to play, and as the notes began to pour out of the instrument, her eyes closed and a cloak of calm began to envelop her, as it had since she was young.

Then you hear the music
And it all comes crystal clear
The music does the talkin'
Says the things you want to hear

It started with her eldest brother Brendan.  He would play his guitar for hours on end, sometimes until his fingers bled.  Even as a grown adult, her brother's hands bore the callused texture of someone who let them take a lot of abuse.

When he was in high school, one of them broke open while he played and he told his little sister to pour Krazy Glue into the wound, and tape it for him. Wide-eyed with shock, Branna obeyed.  Imagine her awe when he shook his hand out a bit, shrugged, and began practicing the chord progression on "Freebird" again.

I'm young, I'm wild
And I'm free
I got the magic power
Of the music in me...

Branna and Sean were a more than willing captive audience when they were younger. Their sister Sinead not so much, preferring to spend most of her free hours with her easel. Just to watch the bliss on her brother's face and the concentration as his fingers plucked out melody after melody.

In Branna's little world, nothing made a greater impression.

She climbs into bed, she pulls the covers overhead
And she turns her little radio on
She's had a rotten day, so she hopes the deejay's
Gonna play her favorite song   

 

 On her eleventh birthday, Branna's parents gifted her with a karaoke machine. It was half meant in jest, as they never thought it would be used for anything more than family parties and other occasions that called for a raucous group sing-off.

Imagine their surprise when they found out their young daughter not only could sing, but possessed a vocal talent that actually stopped people in their tracks when they heard her. It was not a typical "little girl" kind of voice. Reminiscent of  Sinead O'Connor to some, Dusty Springfield to others, it was a touch bluesy at times and clear as a bell. 


Makes her feel much better
Brings her closer to her dreams
A little magic power
Makes it better than it seems   

Sometimes when she was alone in the room she shared with her older sister she would put on her iPod and let the sounds of all the bands Brendan had taught her about wash over her, from Annie Lennox to Led Zeppelin to Nirvana, and look out at the tall buildings of Bridgeport, dreaming of the day she'd make that city her own.

She's young now, she's wild now
She wants to be free
She gets the magic power
Of the music from me... 

As she grew into her teen years, the dreams began to take real shape. Not content to just join the church choir, Branna also performed in various vocal groups in Bridgeport as well as school musical production.  It was at Bridgeport East High school that she met another young prodigy named Richard Hades.

His family had moved to Bridgeport from Sunset Valley and Branna knew immediately he was a kindred spirit. Also blessed with tremendous vocal gifts and a talented pianist, Ricky became her most frequent collaborator and duet partner.  Their ultimate high school triumph was starring as Marius and Eponine in "Les Miserables."  The fact that it was not a sophisticated production in terms of costumes or sets was irrelevant because of the strength of the performers, of which Ricky and Branna were the backbone.

They were pretty much bonded for life after that.

Brendan got her a guitar the Christmas of her sixteenth year, a pink leopard acoustic she dubbed Candygirl.  Her brother immediately set to teaching her everything she had watched him do for so many years.

She absorbed everything she taught him like a sponge and if anything, was better than he was at her age. She was one of the rare individuals that could play a song back after hearing it once. He encouraged her to listen to great guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Zakk Wylde, Slash, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Frusciante for inspiration.

Brendan had long since abandoned his rock star dreams in order to follow their father's footsteps into law enforcement, but he encouraged his little sister to stick with it. "You and Ricky, you're gifted, more than I ever was," he'd told her.  "Start a band, go do musical theater, whatever. You guys have something amazing to share, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"So why are you becoming a cop like Daddy? Isn't this what you wanted to do?" she asked him.  "Well yeah, of course. I think most teenage boys want to be rock stars. And I'm a decent guitarist, but not a gifted one. You are. Combine that with your pipes, well, it would be fucking criminal of you not to make it your life."

His words resonated. They always did.   

If you're thinkin' it over
And you just can't sort it out
Do you want someone to tell you
What they think it's all about?

They jammed their way through high school...

And through university.  It was after college that they moved into the heart of Bridgeport.

Ricky's art career kicked into high gear after that, and he was busy with all the preening and posturing he had to do in order to sell his work. He hated that aspect of the art world, so his music became a much needed respite.

He and Branna formed a cover band called Under The Radar with Sean on bass and a local boy named Ethan Stark on drums.  They played bars and clubs, and developed a sizable following, especially after doing a cover of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" that pretty much blew the roof off of Eugi's one night.

Ricky was a highly flamboyant performer, harkening a bit to Freddie Mercury, while Branna was more soulful and intense.  They complimented each other on stage in a way their audiences loved.

Are you the one and only, who's sad and lonely
You're reaching for the top
Well the music keeps you goin'
And it's never gonna stop...
The world is full of compromise
The infinite red tape
But the music's got the magic
It's your one chance for escape
Turn me on, and turn me up
It's your turn to dream
A little magic power makes it better than it seems...     

For better or for worse, Branna had taken her brother's advice and made the music her life.

I'm young now, I'm wild now
I want to be free
I got the magic power
Of the music in me...

Song: "Magic Power" by Triumph