I had to learn how to play guitar to do this show.
U.G. Digital Mag: That’s the type of thing that makes you amazing. You figured it out.
Divine Brown: When I tell people who came to see the production at Soul Pepper Theater in Toronto that I had to learn it, they’re shocked. They said it looked like I played for a long time. I had no idea what a C chord was. The day I started learning was the day Prince passed. I had gone to a gas station, and an attendant told me. I didn’t believe it at first. I eventually went back inside to see it on the news.
U.G. Digital Mag: So many people did not expect his death. Its the case with a lot of celebrities. You never know if to believe it because so many hoaxes happen. It even goes back to Michael Jackson. Many didn’t believe it at first.
Divine Brown: For me, it was like getting slapped in the face without a good morning or anything. A number of things went through my head. A number of people i know were touched by Prince, including one of the newest guitar players who played with him, named Donna Grantis. I played with her a number of times, so she was the first person I thought of. The second thing I thought was to call my musical director and see if she had heard. She asked if I still wanted to come in and I thought for a second. If Prince was standing there right now and I was about to get my first lesson, I think he was say I better get in there. So I went and started to learn my first few chords. I do play electric bass. I play by ear but it had been a while since I felt the inspiration to play. I’m so glad I learned, because now if I don’t play my bass at least once a day, it doesn’t feel right. That’s the thing for me, to challenge myself and step outside of the norm to enrich my experience. I’m not just a vocalist. I’m a musician. The next challenge for me is doing a musical called Passing Strange. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, or if you like plays.
U.G. Digital Mag: Actually, I love plays and musicals. My wife and I spend a lot of time seeing different productions in our free time.
Divine Brown: Nice. I can’t remember the name of the musician who wrote it, but I know Spike Lee took an interest in it. We start rehearsals next February, but the company does shows called Uncovered, where they cover a bunch of the performers from the shows. They’ll take two artists and have them perform. I’ll be doing two songs by Queen. Once is Another One Bites the Dust, and the other is Somebody to Love. There’s a video that I put up on my Facebook page. The challenge is that I elected to play bass and sing. U.G. Digital Mag: Amazing songs though
Divine Brown: The baseline is easy. The melody is easy. Putting them together is a whole other thing. I get sweaty palms James. People are watching, and I haven’t played and sang in front of an audience in so long. It’s so fulfilling when you start to get it, and it will be even more fulfilling when I do it. That’s one thing about my character is to never allow myself to be lazy and take on challenges. This reinforced my love for the instrument. I take on the challenge because there’s an immense amount of growth.
U.G. Digital Mag: What are the ways you know that opportunities like this will foster that growth that you aspire for?
Divine Brown: It’s important that I find inspiration in everything. I get inspired when I watch people who are good at what they do. They’re good because they put the work in. The growth for me comes from taking those opportunities to take on challenges, and then talk about my journey and process. That will inspire others. A huge thing for me is being inspiring, and knowing that sharing stories like this, talking about learning guitar, and forcing myself to play a song, somebody out there sees they can do it. That kind of growth and sharing those stories, and putting myself in uncomfortable positions will help me when it comes to putting a new project together.