HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Brittany Brooks (born August 5, 1985) is an American instrumentalist. She played drums with
Scarlet Fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
, the all-female
backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...
that toured with Cee Lo Green during 2010 and 2011. She and varying members of Scarlet Fever have performed with other front women as In 4D, No Salt, and Miss President. She also toured around the world with
Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...
during June 2012, performing in Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, Russia, and the Isle of Wight. She is a founding member of the group DDMC (DJ, Drummer, and MC) with DJ K-la Vie and Liberty Jayne.


Biography

Brittany Brooks was born in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, and raised in nearby
Pittsburg, California Pittsburg (formerly Black Diamond, New York Landing and New York of the Pacific) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of t ...
. She graduated from Pittsburg High School in 2004, where she had played
snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...
with the
marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...
in parades at
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
and
Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...
. After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, Brooks graduated in 2007 from the
Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...
located in Hollywood, where she performed in television advertisements for the Institute on
BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...
. She also attended and worked at
California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...
.


Early years

Brooks began playing drums at the age of 12, following her older brother Chad who started playing the trombone two years earlier. She has played with various cover bands such as BandShe, and up and coming artists including Afrosparks, Scotty G. and the Get Down, Raz B (formerly of B2K), CrazeDotCom, Haile Selassie, and Filipina rapper Liberty Jayne.


Influences

She was originally instructed by her mentor, Angel Carrillo, at her church. She was further inspired by
Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians of her generation; she is known for skills as a multi-instrumental ...
to become a professional musician.


Scarlet Fever

Beginning in June 2010, she toured with Cee Lo Green and the all-female
backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...
named
Scarlet Fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
on promotional tours for "What Part of Forever" (from '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' soundtrack) and '' The Lady Killer'' album. They performed for ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
'',
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
, ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'', ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', and many other venues. Core band
members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
include Sharon Aguilar (lead guitar, violin), DANiiVORY ''née'' Theresa Flaminio (keyboards, background vocals), and Regina Zernay Roberts (bass guitar,
Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...
). Members of the band continued to play together in various combinations (sometimes under other band names). Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY performed with
front woman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
Sammy Allen at
Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...
in April 2012, where Cee Lo joined them on stage.


Miss President

Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY have performed with Goldielox ''née'' Brittany Burton as In 4D, and debuted as Miss President at
Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...
on February 10, 2013. Their music encompasses "standard pop riffs, to neo-classical, and everything in-between." The band name was chosen as "empowering" for women, "... we can create great music just as guys do. We can do everything they do, and even better."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Brittany African-American drummers American funk drummers American jazz drummers American rock drummers Living people Drummers from Oakland, California 1985 births People from Pittsburg, California Scarlet Fever (band) members Jazz musicians from California 21st-century American drummers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American women drummers