Brook Shive is no stranger to the spotlight, but it’s only recently that she feels she’s found her home there.
The Bucks County native has literally been in show business her entire life. “I started doing commercials as a baby and was acting and dancing as a kid,” Brooke recalls. “By the time I was 11 or 12, I realized I could sing and would audition for parts by singing Broadway tunes.”
In between landing roles in movies and television shows, she also spent a few years playing in local cover bands. The experience had its benefits – she learned how to sing rock songs rather than show tunes and grew comfortable fronting a band – but something was missing.
“It was monotonous, playing the same bars to the same people,” Brooke says. “There was no creative energy.”
The solution came from, of all people, her father. Steve Shive, a professional musician who's worked with industry heavyweights ranging from Hall and Oates to award-winning producer Ken Scott, suggested they team up for years, but Brooke had always resisted the idea.
Steve’s previous gig was drumming in a straight-ahead blues outfit, a style of music that didn’t interest Brooke. “I was into different music than him for a long time,” she explains. “I was listening to a lot of pop.”
But last year, after a close listen to one of his records, she noticed something different. The music was raw and full of feeling, light years from the studio sheen and heavy production she was used to hearing. “After that, I started listening to Bessie Smith and Otis Redding, and I felt like I could sing it,” she adds.
With his daughter on board, Steve went to work assembling a strong backline, featuring some of the area’s best musicians. Rounding out the band is bassist Jim Gilheany, who’s shared the stage with members of The Band and opened for the likes of Van Morrison and Taj Mahal. And according to Steve, guitarist Steve Gordeuk is “an undiscovered guitar phenomenon.”
From there, Steve set to work writing songs and even reaching out to industry contacts for material. “We used the blues as a starting point, but it’s evolved pretty quickly into a rock ‘n’ roll band with blues and R&B leanings,” he says. “We know exactly where we want to go now musically.”
The band’s sound is shaped by the music Steve grew up with: James Brown, the Temptations, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. – It's given a fresh approach thanks to Brooke, who’s only discovering the many nuances of these artists now for the first time.
“That’s the whole basis of our music,” she explains. “It’s the real thing. There are no drum loops, synthesizers or vocal effects. There’s a lot of feel and soul in what we do.”
The band’s one-of-a-kind combination of talent, experience and enthusiasm has allowed them to quickly build a following and reputation in the area. Together for just over a year, Brooke Shive and the 45s are already playing for packed crowds at venues like Puck Live, Chaplin’s Music Café in Spring City, Pennsylvania and booking the occasional “mini-tour” from New York down to Delaware. The band is starting off the year by easing off their schedule and laying down the ground work for their debut record.
But whether on stage or in the studio, the band always offers listeners their distinctive take on classic genres. “We’re unique in that we have the youth of Brooke out front with really experienced and talented musicians behind a dynamic singer,” Steve says. “We’re all older, so there’s not a lot of ego positioning. We enjoy what we’re doing, and we like to see what she’s doing up front. I feel like we have something special to offer.”
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