M. C. Brennan

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Cait Brennan
Also known as M. C. Brennan, Kit Kelley
Born 14 February 1969 (1969-02-14) (age 42)
Phoenix, Arizona
Genres Rock, Country, Indie pop
Occupations Singer-songwriter, screenwriter, musician
Instruments vocals, guitar, piano, bass
Years active 1986–present
Associated acts Zen Lunatics
Website http://kitkelleymusic.com/

M. C. "Cait" Brennan (born February 14, 1969) is an American rock vocalist, screenwriter and filmmaker.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Brennan was born in Phoenix, Arizona, the daughter of noted session and touring musician Ron Dobbins.[1] Brennan achieved local success as a singer, actor and writer before beginning a gender transition in the late 1980s.[2]

Brennan's first media exposure came in 1977, when she was a regular guest on KARZ radio's "Let's Talk" program, providing unsolicited humorous "little professor" commentary.[3]

[edit] Music

A songwriter and vocalist with an unusual tenor-contralto range, Brennan began a music career in her teens. Brennan recorded several independent cassettes during the 1980s, working frequently with Arizona producer Terry Garvin of the power-pop band Zen Lunatics.[4] Brennan's early music was only available on cassette sold at shows or through zines, and she often customized each cassette with unique performances and reworkings of her music, cover songs, commentary and occasional pranks. Virtually no two cassettes from the mail-order era are identical and no "master" was kept.

Heavily influenced by Glitter rock, Country rock and the Mills Brothers, Brennan released the independent CDs M. C. Brennan (etc.) in 1994, San Francisco Sessions (produced by former James Brown producer Susie Foot) in 1995 and Black Diamond in 1997.[5] Brennan was an early adopter of MP3.com and released numerous original and cover songs on the site prior to its closure in 2003.

In 2010 Brennan reunited with Garvin and the Zen Lunatics at their weekly Rockaroke sessions at Tempe, Arizona's Sail Inn,[6] and began writing and recording a wealth of new material, both as Cait Brennan and her glitter-rock alter-ego "Kit Kelley".[7]

[edit] Writing and Film

Brennan received the Arizona Commission on the Arts Screenwriting fellowship in 2002,[8] and the following year, she won the Phoenix Film Festival's Best Screenplay award for "The People's Choice".[9][10] Brennan was honored with the Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellowship in 2007 for her comic homage to 1980s John Hughes films, "Dramatis Personae".[11][12] Brennan was named a semifinalist in the Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition for "Dramatis Personae" and "The People's Choice",[13][14] and in October 2007, the Rhode Island International Film Festival awarded first prize to Brennan and "Dramatis Personae" in their annual screenwriting honors.[15]

During high school, Brennan directed short films including The Mike And Eric Movie and The Man Called Bear: Hero At Large, and made appearances in local commercials[16] and bit parts in productions such as Midnight Caller, Northern Exposure and 1985's Just One of the Guys. Later acting appearances include small roles in The Doors, So I Married An Axe Murderer and Itty Bitty Titty Committee.[17]

Brennan was a writer for the Phoenix Gazette's "Teen Gazette" section, and in 1986 won first place in the Journalism Education Association's national feature write-off.[18] In 1988 Brennan became one of the inaugural music writers for the Zia Zine, the in-house music magazine of the Zia Records chain. Freelance writing jobs followed, as well as serialized novels, stage plays and other material.[19]

From 2000-2005, Brennan authored the satirical "Comic Newsbriefs" feature for Eugene, Oregon's Comic News.[20] In 2002 she joined the staff of Phoenix's LGBT-focused Echo Magazine.[21] In 2010, Brennan returned to writing for Echo on a variety of subjects. Brennan currently writes on music, TV and pop culture topics for various outlets including pop culture blog Popshifter.[22]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • 1986 Last Gasp
  • 1989 Collected Songs
  • 1991 Eskimo
  • 1994 M. C. Brennan (etc.)
  • 1995 San Francisco Sessions
  • 1997 Black Diamond
  • 2010 Moonstruck Rhymesters EP (as Kit Kelley)

[edit] Other work

In 1985, she appeared on KPNX-TV's "Finn and Friends" program with "Weird Al" Yankovic.[23]

Brennan appears briefly in U2's feature documentary Rattle and Hum.[24]

In 2005, she posed for photographer Jana Marcus' photojournalism project Transfigurations, documenting the lives and stories of transgender men and women.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "M. C. Brennan biography". http://loonnews.com/mcb/mcbio.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  2. ^ "10 Reasons We Love M. C. Brennan--Curve Magazine, April 2009". http://www.curvemag.com/Curve-Magazine/April-2009/Ten-Reasons-We-Love-MC-Brennan/. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  3. ^ "M. C. Brennan biography". http://loonnews.com/mcb/mcbio.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  4. ^ "Last.FM M. C. Brennan biography". http://www.last.fm/music/M.+C.+Brennan. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  5. ^ "M. C. Brennan discography". http://www.last.fm/music/M.+C.+Brennan. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  6. ^ "Facebook: Official Rockaroke page". http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rockaroke/119177718096038. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  7. ^ "Kittysneezes Review: Kit Kelley". http://www.kittysneezes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=624:kit-kelley-moonstruck-rhymesters-a-common-romancers&catid=26:ost-posts&Itemid=46. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  8. ^ Robertson, Anne (2002-06-23). "Phoenix Business Journal 2002-06-24.". http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2002/06/24/newscolumn3.html?page=2. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  9. ^ "Phoenix Film festival 2003 Screenwriting Prize Announcement". http://loonnews.com/mcb/2003screenplayaward.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  10. ^ "Neil Cohen, Reel Thoughts - Echo Magazine, April 2003". http://loonnews.com/mcb/mcecho3.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  11. ^ "Outfest Screenwriting Lab fellows". http://www.outfest.org/accessla/swl_past.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  12. ^ "Windy City Media - Trans Year In Review 2008-01-02". http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=17105. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  13. ^ "Austin Film Festival 2007 Program (PDF format)". http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/new/files/aff_program_2007.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  14. ^ "Austin Film Festival 2006 Winners". http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/new/node/311. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  15. ^ "Rhode Island International Film festival announces 2007 Winners". http://www.film-festival.org/screenplay_awards07.php. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  16. ^ "As Seen On TV - Phoenix Magazine, June 2006". http://www.magahern.zanneth.com/as_seen_on_tv.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  17. ^ "San Francisco Bay Times interview". http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=6779. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  18. ^ "M. C. Brennan biography". http://loonnews.com/mcb/mcbio.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  19. ^ "Scottsdale Community College Campus News Q&A, April 2003". http://loonnews.com/mcb/mcbqanda.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  20. ^ "Comic News at Archive.org". http://web.archive.org/web/20021224160251/http://www.comic-news.com/index.html. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  21. ^ "Echo Magazine". http://www.echomag.com/feature1.cfm. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  22. ^ "Popshifter.com contributors". http://popshifter.com/tag/Kit-Kelley/. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  23. ^ "YouTube: Weird Al Yankovic on Finn and Friends". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKHSg_MfMLo. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 
  24. ^ "imdb.com: U2 Rattle and Hum full credits". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096328/fullcredits#cast. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 

[edit] External links

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