Club 92.7 Interview with Mandy Brooke

For management inquiries, please email
Bill Rice at management@mandybrooke.com.

For all other inquiries, including booking, please email
booking@mandybrooke.com or call 386-847-0132.

Mandy Brooke Performs at Together in Hope Record Breaking Brain Tumor Vigil

Miles for Hope broke an existing Guinness World Record last evening for the most candles simultaneously lit in a single venue. We had 1,049 candles lit within the time constraints that Guinness sent us.

All documentation of the event will be gathered and sent to Guinness over the next couple of weeks for them to review and certify the new record.

Miles for Hope would like to give special thanks to Drew, who threw the opening pitch and who we love; to Mandy Brooke and her family, who we instantly fell in love with, and to Dr. Liau and her family for coming in for the event from Los Angeles.

Barb and I would also like to thank all that attended the event and also to offer a special and sincere thanks to our 23 volunteers, who made this possible.

We have several upcoming events planned, and encourage all to sign up for our newsletter in order to keep up to date and informed.

Photography by Shawn with Miles for Hope.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37404454@N08/page4/

Due to unfortunate circumstances, Kevin Carlberg is unable to participate in the Together In Hope Event. Mandy Brooke, of Daytona Beach, Fl will be performing in place of Kevin.

As Mandy looks ahead with style and composure that is unique for a young girl, her heart and soul is grounded in her songwriting and music. Many people comment that she is an “old soul.” Mandy stays true to herself, yet is humble enough to know that she has much to learn. Watching her uncover her music is inspirational.

Miles for Hope is honored to have Mandy a part of this exciting history-making event. We hope this will help promote and launch her career.

Please join us at the event and welcome one of America’s future stars!

For more information, visit http://www.milesforhope.org/

“People, Places, & Things”

David Kennedy

David Kennedy

Decisions often turn into the most difficult thing we have to deal with in our lives. Think about it: almost every obstacle, every success or failure, every dream, every single thing we have faith in traces back to a decision.

That may be what makes them so difficult. As we navigate life, decisions present themselves everyday. So how do we make them? How do we know what is right and what will make us change and grow?

The answer is we don’t – not really anyway. We can analyze, listen to our confidants and finally make a move, but growth and knowing what is right often comes from the decision itself.

I kept thinking of this Sunday after I interviewed 15-year-old Mandy Brooke. Look for her story in Wednesday’s Observer.

Most girls her age would be aspiring musicians, but she is far from that. The sophomore at New Smyrna Beach High School has already developed into a seasoned performer on stage thanks to a dream she has decided to follow, a pair of loving, supportive parents and talent she has confidence in.

According to Brooke’s parents she was singing before she could talk. You know you have talent if you can make harmony out of baby talk. The straight-A student wants to pursue music in college and hopes to sign a big record deal someday. Now, she’s just happy singing and playing guitar at her weekly gigs.

I was struck at how passionate she was about music and practicing her craft, much less making millions of dollars selling records. So how did she know to skip homecoming to play music? How does she know this is her dream? How was the decision made?

I can’t speak for Brooke. I think the process differs for everyone. However, there’s something I’m realizing as I get older and overcome more of life’s little traps: the biggest decisions are often the easiest. If they aren’t, then we as individuals are trapped in denial of the truth or are so clouded by possibilities that we miss the right call.

So often the right decision comes from the softest voice in the head. Perhaps you already know this. After all, I never promise anything earth shattering here – just something to think about.

All you can do is locate that quiet voice and follow it. Maybe the decision turns into the biggest mistake ever made, but one never knows that until a decision is made.

Decisions breed knowledge of the self faster than anything else in life. That’s how people can grow from change within themselves and their lives.

So maybe all we need to know is that decisions need not be always right, jsut that the only wrong one is one that’s never made.

David Kennedy is the editor of The Observer Newspapers, which include The Observer, Smyrna Breeze, and The Edge.

Amanda Brooke Quimby practices one of her original songs Sunday at her home in Edgewater. The 15-year-old New Smyrna Beach High School student has been playing more and more gigs on the local music scene.

Amanda Brooke Quimby calls her foray into music inevitable.

Hearing her voice and knowing her path only leads credence to that, however, this 15-year-old has something most her age lack – confidence and a belief in what she wants to do with her life – and that is music.

“I knew that when I was born,” she said Sunday from her home in Edgewater. “I knew that was what I was going to do with my life. It didn’t take an open mic night to realize that.”

However, the open mic nights didn’t hurt either.

The sophomore at New Smyrna Beach High School has sung at open mic nights since she was 12. Three years later, with the help of her supportive parents, she and her acoustic guitar have become regulars on the New Smyrna Beach music scene earning money singing instead of ringing up groceries.

“I guess for my age it’s not common, but it’s cool,” Quimby said. “To find what you want to do with your life at this age is amazing.”

She often plays four-hour sets, which include more than half dozen original songs mixed in with covers form Bon Jovi, Matchbox 20, and others. Her brand of music is a mix of acoustic rock and pop.

Amazing as it may be, Quimby’s talent and passion for music showed at a young age, according to her parents, Mary and Tige Quimby.

“(Music is) all she wanted to do,” her mom said. “Even when she was a baby she woudl hit the stereo until I put it on.”

Her dad recalls similar episodes, like the time she sang “baby talk” in the car before she even knew her first word. Despite her overwhelming knack for music, Quimby’s parents let her grow slowly before ever letting her sing in front of a crowd alone. She started out singing in the church choir, but after she won a karaoke contest at Rich’s Place at age 9, her fate seemed set.

That’s when the hours of practice began. Quimby hones her guitar skills and grew into her voice, all while maintaining her self. She maintains straight As in school and said she plans to study music in college.

Her attitude and work ethic toward her craft have helped her tremendously, her dad said.

“That’s the difference,” he said. “If she was doing this haphazardly, we wouldn’t support her, but she lives, eats, and breathes this.”

She skipped her first high school homecoming as a freshman last year to play a gig. She’ll often lie on her back on her bed to play guitar while tapping notes on her keyboard with her feet – searching for the right melody.

Quimby said she hopes ot sign a major record deal one day, but would be happy just practicing her craft anywhere.

“I want to be signed, but if I’m just doing music – on a cruise ship or restaurant – if I’m just doing music, I’m fine with that,” she said.

She knows this because of the feeling she got after singing for a crowd for hte first time – at the old Coffee Bean restaurant on the beachside.

“I didn’t know I was going to sing that day,” she said. “I was nervous but as soon as I went up there and played my two songs, I was hooked.”

David Kennedy is the editor of The Observer Newspapers, which include The Observer, Smyrna Breeze, and The Edge.