Dazz & Brie

Stay away, fools
Dazz & Brie dance on the grave of their past mistakes.
By Stephanie Smittle

About a minute into the 1989 video for "Love Shack" by The B-52's, Fred Schneider bounds past a sign that reads "SHAQUE D'AMOUR: Stay Away Fools, Love Rules" and into a shimmying, shaking dance party that involves pastel martinis, projectile wigs, red fringe and goats. It was that video that sprung to mind when, at a house show Dazz & Brie played this summer, my eyes scanned briefly to the large wooden dresser on my right. It was quite literally rocking back and forth, tilting in sympathy with the 50 or so folks jumping up and down in a historic Stifft Station house that was clearly not built to withstand that degree of boogie.

"When people come to our shows and they wanna be uplifted," vocalist Kabrelyn "Brie" Boyce said, "we put all our energy into it." And maybe it's because some of that dresser-drawer-tilting energy has been bubbling up for a while; Dazz & Brie played a grand total of six shows in 2016. In 2017 thus far, they've played around 50.

"It's a little bit of a blur," multi-instrumentalist Dazzmin Murry said. I asked whether it's been logistically difficult to mobilize a sextet — Dazz & Brie's outsized band, The Emotionalz — for that marathon of performances. "There are six of us, six personalities," Murry said, "but it's been easier than I'd imagined it would be. Everyone was just so willing," she said, and noted that ringers like Tray Cowan and Samarra Samone have stepped up when a band member or two wasn't available.

I cornered the duo into naming a few favorite venues and shows, and they obliged: the White Water Tavern, Low Key Arts' Hot Water Hills Festival in Hot Springs and a show in the swank new Murphy Arts District in El Dorado. On stage, the band's anthems are clever and buoyant, and the diligence the ensemble applies to both songwriting and rehearsal shines through. Boyce's vocal melismas soar effortlessly, Murry and Darius Blanton swap between drums and keyboard and bassist Kamille Shaw shows off a singing voice that would easily make her lead vocalist in any other band. The group's got a well of vocal and instrumental resources the bottom of which I'm not sure we've seen yet. Because of that, musical possibilities that might be off limits to other groups open up: the SWV-esque chorus to "Old Tee Shirt," for example, or the layered countermelodies on the reggae-influenced "Can'tchasegirls." Or the part where the bass player whips out a flute. Overflow is inevitable: Shaw has been showcasing her own set at a series called "Sushi & Chill," guitarist Gavin Le'nard has his own project (check out his steamy single, "Three," on Soundcloud), and the immensely gifted "backup" (air quotes here) singer, Hope Dixon, essentially the band's not-so-secret weapon (Exhibit A: "Reign Dance"), opened a show for the larger group with a solo set in September.

If they're worried about things getting stale — and they are: "We never play the exact same set," Murry said — it doesn't show on stage. The vibe is warm, collaborative and elevated, and by now there are enough patrons that wail along with "Indigo" that a packed performance can feel euphoric. "I wanna dance on the grave of my past mistakes," they sing on "Reign Dance," and you get the feeling that catharsis is happening, collectively, right then and there.

There's some irony in the fact that Dazz & Brie's two albums begin with the word "can't," an idea conspicuously absent from the duo's ethos. A lot of the band's sudden success was "just thinking this into existence," Boyce said. "If we can get our minds there," Murry added, "we can get there."

About this time last year, in a video leading up to the release of 2016's "Can't Afford California," Murry and Boyce recall a nightmarish Dallas recording session with a self-obsessed, hypercritical sound engineer, and they paint it as the point when they decided they'd self-record and distribute their first record. "After that session," they said, "we were like, 'OK, we're gonna go and buy our own equipment and nobody else is gonna make us feel bad about our art.' " Murry and Boyce aren't likely snarky enough to say it, but I will: I hope that sound engineer finds himself in the teeming, blissful crowd at a Dazz & Brie show someday, and I hope he goes home kicking himself for having told these women what they couldn't do. - Arkansas Times

Drew DeFrance / DeFrance

1. Dazz & Brie – Can’t Chase Girls & Your Money Too (Indie Release) Stream It

These girls knocked it out of the park on this one! It’s great songs, great performances & production by & even greater group of wonderful folks!

2. Issac Alexander – Like A Sinking Stone (Max Recordings) Stream it

3. Ben Richman – American Deadbeat (Indie Release) Stream it

4. SUMOKEM – The Guardian Of Yosemite (Cursed Tongue) Stream it

5. Mark Currey – TARRANT County (Moonpie Music) Stream it - Shindig Music

Our WorldArts Spotlight Artist for the month of August is Dazz & Brie! Big things await this ‘Texarkana’ duo as they are certainly living up to their motto of ‘Make Ya Mama Proud‘. Check out our exclusive interview with them about how they met, making the best use of social media, and the eternal question: New York or L.A.?

1) How did the band come to be?
We (Dazz & Brie) met in college through our sorority. We started as a songwriting/production duo, but weren't having much success shopping songs so we decided to perform them ourselves to sell them, but we fell in love with performing, people responded well to us, and were interested in our sound as artist.


2) What’s the music scene like in the ’Texarkana’ region where you started out?
It's a lot r&b and neo-soul. So, we stick out, but we enjoy surprising people with our rock vibes who may not otherwise listen to rock music.


3) What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Always say yes. . :) Even if you aren't sure how, say yes and figure it out.

A fellow songwriter once told us to "write songs, then step away and listen" before deciding on final drafts. It's not the most profound piece of advice, but it really helps to review material with a clear head in order to regret releasing something too soon.

Also, we know it sounds cliche, but to stay true to ourselves. What works for other people may not work for us. It's so important to find your own lane & your audience will find you.


4) If you could go on tour with any artist (past or present) who would it be?
Paramore or Chris Brown. Both of them have amazing energy on stage, and it would really push us in stage presence and showmanship.


5) What’s your 'go-to' karaoke song?
Definitely No Diggity by Blackstreet! Everyone loves that song! It's fun to sing & plays on both of our strengths.


6) WorldArts is all about giving tools and opportunities to artists. What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
We would say find a knowledgeable mentor. Make sure that it's someone willing to give sound advice, and who is honest with you.

Be open to constructive criticism, but know the limit between changing yourself for the better or changing yourself to appease someone else.

Use social media to interact with fans or future fans on a personal level.


7) If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?
No comment, we haven't "made it" yet :)



8) What is the best way you’ve found to market yourselves as artists?
By getting out into various communities, and being of service to other people. In turn, people want to know about us. In the era of social media, people try to reach so many fans at once or only focus on bigger cities that they overlook small communities.

We also use social media like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We set up impromptu live sessions on Facebook where we'll perform our music in parks or other places for people to enjoy straight from their couches!

9) You recently made a big move to Brooklyn. How is that transition going?
Our trip to Brooklyn was for Afropunk's Battle of the Bands, but we loved the city! We're still debating whether we'd like to transition to New York or LA.

10) What next on the horizon for you (shows/new tracks/in the studio etc.)?
We're finishing up our project, and our next single for our EP is set to release in September. We also have a show coming up October 21st at Art Share LA! - WorldArts Music

Ron Robinson show one of two Friday for Dazz & Brie
By Sean Clancy


Friday night is shaping up to be a busy one for rock 'n' soul duo Dazz & Brie.

The pair -- Dazzmin "Dazz" Murry and Kabrelyn "Brie" Boyce -- along with their four-piece band The Emotionalz are celebrating the release of their new album, Can't Chase Girls and Your Money Too, with a show at Central Arkansas Library System's Ron Robinson Theater on Friday. The concert, which will feature two sets from Dazz & Brie, is part of the Arkansas Sounds Concert Series.

And as soon as they wrap up there at around 9 p.m., the dynamic duo will rush from the downtown River Market District over to the White Water Tavern to take part in Summer Soulstice 6: Afrobeat Dance Party.

"We'll probably just bum a ride over to White Water," the 28-year-old Boyce says, laughing, when asked if they'll have a limo whisk them to the second gig. "After we tear down all of our stuff, we'll carpool over."

They were actually going to ask Soulstice curator and Velvet Kente member Joshua Asante to join them at Ron Robinson, but he beat them to the punch.

"He said, 'What are you guys doing on the 18th' and we said that we were just about to ask him what he was doing on the 18th," says Murry, 26. "It's going to be a fun night."

Murry and Boyce have been friends since meeting while they were students at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, though they didn't start making music together until after college. They released their debut, Can't Afford California, last year and have gigged pretty steadily since winning the Arkansas Times Musicians' Showcase in March.

"They've been on my radar for a while," says John Miller, Arkansas Sounds music coordinator. "I heard their first album and I thought it was great. They won the Musicians' Showcase and all of a sudden they seem to be everywhere. And now they've got a second album that I can't wait to hear."

Recorded at Capitol View Studios in Little Rock and at Murry's home in North Little Rock and written and produced by Murry and Boyce, Can't Chase Girls and Your Money Too carries on with the soulful, rock-leaning grooves of the debut, but also brings a funky flavor as well.

"We had more time to plan and work this one out," Murry says. "For Can't Afford California, we had songs we intended to place with other artists, but we thought 'Let's just put out something and see what happens.' On this album, there was a sound we wanted to go for, so it was more intentional."

"But we still remained true to our rock," Boyce, a native of Atlanta, Texas, adds. "You're going to get heavy guitar, heavy bass and big drums, but we also have a little funk added to the sound."

Backed by their band The Emotionalz -- Darius Blanton, drums, keyboards; Gavin Le'Nard, guitar; Kamille Hawkins, bass; and backing vocalist Hope Dixon, the latter of whom will also perform at White Water -- Friday's show will be split into two sets, with the first one leaning toward the debut album and the second featuring songs off the new record. Copies of Can't Chase Girls and Your Money Too will be available at the show.

"We've never played Ron Robinson and we're excited," Murry says. "We would love to sell it out."

The gig will also be recorded for a live album, and the two singers promise some surprises as well, though they are keeping them off the record.

"It might lose its effectiveness if we told people about it now," Boyce says. - Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Congratulations to Dazz & Brie, the self-described “girl gang” and their vibrant backup band The Emotionalz, winners of the 25th annual Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. They’ve secured spots at Legends of Arkansas, Riverfest and the 2017 Arkansas State Fair, a celebration party and drink from Stickyz and Rev Room, a photo shoot with the Times' own Brian Chilson, gift certificates to Trio's Restaurant and Dogtown Sound, a recording session at Capitol View Studio and more. Catch them next at Maxine’s for Low Key Arts’ Valley of the Vapors Music Festival in Hot Springs 10:30 p.m. Saturday, March 18. - Arkansas Times