The rebellious & Hyper-Feminine sounds of Brea Fournier & the Dream Ballet
Interview by Esosa Zuwa and Photos by Meghan Marshall.
How did you get to where you are today? How did you start out? Tell us about your history.
After driving my mom nuts singing around the house for years, I started my musical journey in classical voice lessons at 8 years old. I feel so lucky that I had parents who quickly realized I had a deep-rooted need to perform and did everything they could to encourage that. I performed in musicals and dance recitals all throughout my childhood growing up in a very small town in North Idaho. When I was fourteen, my family relocated to Salt Lake City. I suddenly found myself in a place with much more artistic opportunity and attended high school at the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts, where I continued classical voice training and musical theatre, but also began playing guitar and writing my own songs. I attended shows at Kilby Court all throughout my teenage years and knew in my heart I would be in a band someday. I moved to New York City at eighteen and—flash forward a few years later—went on a West Coast Tour with my band that opened (in a surreal full-circle moment) at Kilby.
Describe your unique sound of ‘rock opera’ or any other genres mixed inside. What made you inspired to make music this way?
I’ve long been inspired by rock operas like American Idiot and Ziggy Stardust… for the way their narratives flow. They’re not as linear as a musical, and while the music is generally edgier, the story structure definitely resembles that of an opera in the sense that the narrative lies in the emotional journey of characters much more than a straightforward series of events. They always seemed like the perfect blend of my two worlds—opera and rock music. Moving to New York saw me dip my toes into a wider array of genres when I formed my band the Dream Ballet. My bandmates Noah Rosner (bass) and Ben Shanblatt (lead guitar) come from a jazz background, while Sophia Bondi (drums) is a country girl through and through. When the four of us put our heads together to make this pop-punk project, we were still bringing each of these backgrounds to the table. Ultimately we ended up with something as unique as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl herself, and I’m really proud of that.
Tell us about your newest album ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’. It had a unique format and set-up, as it follows the titular main character through a series of songs. What was the sonic and thematic inspiration?
Sonically, this album draws influence from such an eclectic variety of bands that it would be tough to list them all here. One of the essentials in the Dream Ballet’s starter pack is our absolute collective obsession with three-part vocal harmony. Our producer Barb Morrison had us record tracks like “Guts” and “Nine of Swords” using the same technique as Queen, where all of us sang each part in unison around the same mic, then layered them on top of each other. While studying music in college at NYU, I found filmmakers to be some of my closest artistic comrades, which is how I met the person who would become my writing partner for the spoken word tracks on this project, Karol Nowak III, and we watched tons of movies together. I learned about the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype (a term originally coined by film critic Nathan Rabin) and her story resonated deeply with me. I too had felt exploited for my authenticity for the benefit of a man’s adventure, never feeling like the main character in my own story. I knew I had to be the one to finally give MPDG a chance to be her own protagonist.
In MPDG, where would you say the beginning, middle, climax, and ending are in terms of songs? Also, what inspired the interludes between songs? Are those indicators of different parts of the character or story?
I love this question! While studying rock operas like the ones I previously mentioned, I took notice of the tracks that seemed to fulfill the role of these important narrative devices. To me, the first track “Avant-Garde & Totally Unique” is the Manic Pixie Dream Girl’s theme song that precedes the actual story, which really begins with “(That Guy You’re Talking To)” and “The Masochist.” The middle lies with the title track “Manic Pixie Dream Girl.” It’s the end of the beginning and the first time she really drops the snarkiness, becomes more self-aware and gets honest about how the traumatic relationships of her past have deeply affected her self-perception. That’s where her growth begins, and after she does some more reflection, the climax is “Dream Ballet,” specifically in the penultimate psychedelic guitar solo. This is where she finally breaks free from the shackles of this box the world has built for her and we as listeners can assume that from here on out, she’s flying free. Manic Pixie Dream Girl! is really a three-part multimedia project, with the album being Part I. Part II is a theatrical cabaret show, which is where the spoken word monologues originated, while Part III will be a feature-length musical film. The spoken word stuff has become such a staple at our live shows that I knew I had to include bits and pieces of these monologues in the album itself to better guide listeners through the story.
How does MPDG differ from your previous work?
MPDG! is my first release as a part of a band, and I had to really get comfortable with leading a team. I feel strongly that it’s my most vulnerable writing to date, and as much as everyone told me this my whole life, I am finally realizing that a lot of it really does just come with age, practice, and life experience. I’ve been writing songs since I was fourteen, and every new stage of my life has brought with it new music. This album is the first time I’ve spearheaded a concept with a clear vision from beginning to end, so I am really proud of how we played the long game and made sure to see that through.
What are your go-to songs and favorite artists?
I’m obsessed with Blondie, MARINA, The Go-Gos, The Fratellis, Pretenders, Radiohead, Lady Gaga, Sinead O’Connor, Alanis Morisette, and ABBA, to name a few. “The Adults are Talking” by The Strokes has reigned supreme as my favorite song for three years now, and I swear I felt my brain finish developing when I saw them play it live at Kilby Block Party last year.
Who are your biggest musical inspirations that influence you and your sound?
In terms of vocal technique, I draw a lot of inspiration from big ‘80s female voices like Pat Benetar, Cyndi Lauper, and Belinda Carlisle. Pop-punk bands like Green Day and Paramore have been lifelong musical inspirations of mine. I take a lot of artistic influence from artists like David Byrne I like how he’s played a lot with theatrics in his career, specifically with Stop Making Sense and American Utopia, which were major inspirations in the making of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl!" cabaret show.
With MPDG, do you hope to see the rise of more storyline-based and longer albums?
Absolutely! I can’t tell you how many times I was told making a full length album was a bad idea within the current climate of the music industry. And maybe it was, but I didn’t care about doing what was popular or better for the streaming economy, I wanted to do what my biggest inspirations did, and that was make a concept album. Seventeen tracks was certainly ambitious, and I definitely understand if not everyone makes it to the end, but I really hope they do. In my opinion, The Beatles really coined what we now think of as an *album* versus a collection of singles that, before them, would’ve been thrown together by a label. I hate to think that we’re now working backward and losing that potential for satisfaction within a piece of art that, in my opinion, is best experienced in long form. Albums rule, so my ask of other artists and bands is to please keep making them, I know I’m not the only one out there who wants to hear your full conceptual and creative potential. If we as musicians continue to support one another in our authentic pursuit of art, I do believe we can see the rise of storyline-based music again.
What is your creative process like for making music, and more specifically, this album?
The longer I’ve been songwriting, the more it feels like the songs jump into my brain nearly fully formed, and at that point, it’s my job to literally put pen to paper. Working with my band on this project was different from making a solo record in that I had to learn to trust these collaborators with my songs and my story, yet in doing so I found so much joy in fleshing them out as a team. Ben, Noah, Sophia and I have been playing together for three years now, so the process has become somewhat intuitive. I would bring in some chords and lyrics, we’d experiment, and when we knew something was right there was no questioning it. Our producer (Barb Morrison) became a part of that circle of trust as well, which continued the cycle of experimentation before landing on something that stuck. We also had to make sure the tracks were fulfilling the end goal of the narrative, so we were able to make the correct sonic choices by constantly checking back in with what the MPDG was feeling in each moment of each track.
What does art mean to you? In making your content, who do you hope to inspire and what message do you spread?
Art is why we’re here! For me in terms of creating it, it’s the only way I know how to process the timeline of my life. As a consumer, it similarly brings meaning to living on this floating rock, especially when it’s shared with others. Everyone has songs or movies or TV shows or books they lean on in crucial moments that make us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves, and that’s all I can hope to do with my art, too. More specifically, this was the album I needed but didn’t have when I was coming of age as a young, free-spirited femme person whose authenticity was often taken advantage of. It would be my dream for other young femmes and everyone who has ever felt different, “quirky,” or othered can find courage in this album to re-write their own narratives, too.
What are you working on? What are your goals for this year?
Brea Fournier & the Dream Ballet has a couple of tours and many NYC shows in the works for this year! We were fortunate enough to perform "Manic Pixie Dream Girl!" the cabaret show for the first time while on tour this summer at The Triple Door in Seattle, and I am excited to announce that it will be making its NYC debut at City Winery on March 11th! I’d also love to tour the cabaret show at some point, so if you liked the interludes on the album, I really think you’ll enjoy the full theatrical experience. Follow along on our website www.breafournier.com and on Instagram @breafournier and @dreamballetband for updates. And if any of you other Manic Pixie Dream Girls out there want to connect, please don’t hesitate to send me a message. I can’t wait to change the narrative alongside you all.
