Everett Bradley: ‘It Starts With Love’ - Part 1

Speaking with musician Everett Bradley is like speaking to the best friend you've known your whole life. His love for life is remarkable and inspiring. Everett was kind enough to spend some time with Gather to tell us about his family, his music, his writing, his time as an actor/dancer on Broadway, and his future plans.

When fans think of Bradley they might think of a multi-instrumentalist, a composer, singer, actor, dancer, and playwright but right now Everett is in North Carolina doing all those things at a camp for children who stutter.

"When I was doing 'Stomp' I met Taro Alexander who stuttered. We soon became good friends. Taro told me that working in the theater helped him overcome his fear of his stutter and he wanted children who stuttered to have the same opportunity. So the organization, 'Our Time Theater Company' was founded. It's an artistic home for kids. It's a place where no one is ridiculed, harassed, or rushed. We give the kids all the time they need to finish their sentences and ideas. We give them respect.

"They do their own writing, singing, and acting. I'm the musical director so I teach them how to sing songs, how to write, and how to drum. Taro and I have been doing this for ten years. It's the way all humans should be treated."

Helping kids isn't the only thing Everett does when he isn't touring. A few weeks ago he was in Aspen working on his play, "Vices: A Love Story."

"Three co-writers and I have been working on this play for a long time. At first it was a celebration of human weakness, obsessions, and addictions but we added a story. Now it's about a couple meeting for the first time, getting to know each other, nesting; and then the vices start. Smoking, being at work too much, altering body parts to look better, working out too much, sexuality and infidelity; there are many vices. Eventually the couple is forced to decide if they want to stay together or not. Life can get in the way of relationships.

"Each vice has its own musical style. Technology is 70s rock and a teen talking on the telephone is similar to an 80s Cyndi Lauper - esque style."

You would think that helping kids and writing plays would take up most of Everett Bradley's time but his fans know that music is the love of his life.

In the next installment of this series Everett will tell us how he became a musician instead of the football player his father wanted him to become.

In the third installment Bradley will tell us a little about what it's like being in Daryl Hall's band and appearing monthly in "Live From Daryl's House."

In the meantime visit Everett on his Facebook page. And if you need to hear Everett Bradley sing a little take a look at him with Conrad Korsch playing at Joe's Pub in New York City.