"Displays a maturity far beyond his years." Mike Emery, Houston Press "Ready for prime-time." Zik Jackson, The Phantom Tollbooth There are big things on the horizon for Houston-based independent artist Brandon Stanley. Within the past couple of years he has managed to play mainstage at the 2004 SUPERBASH (OFFICIAL SUPERBOWL PREPARTY) alongside legendary rockers SAMMY HAGGAR, JERRY CANTRELL, and a whole host of who’s who in rock and roll, nab songwriting credits with AMERICAN MUSIC AWARD winning 2002 new artist of the year Moe Loughran, play main-stage at the 2002 GMA Seminar In The Rockies, and share the stage with the likes of music legends such as DAN FOGELBERG, GLEN PHILLIPS (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) and hot new acts BEN KWELLER, AM RADIO (featuring members of Weezer), GRAHAM COLTON, DAVID GARZA, and many more. Growing up in Lake Charles, LA, Brandon dreamed of one day getting a shot at the “prime-time” and sharing the music he would make with the world. Realizing that there were limited musical opportunities in Lake Charles, Brandon’s parents moved the family to Houston, TX in the middle of Brandon’s freshman year of high school. For the next 4 years, Brandon would study the music of the many different cultures surrounding him. "I remember my parents would take me to this church where the piano player was a jazz musician, the percussion player was from Africa, the bass player from Mexico, and the guitar player from Iran. These guys were unbelievably gifted players and were gracious enough to let me sit at their feet and soak up what they were doing musically. I was really blessed to have that experience." After graduating high school in 1998, Brandon received a scholarship to attend the Moores School of Music where he studied vocal performance and guitar. Realizing after one semester that he had yet to find the real song inside of him, he left the music school and started writing and performing his own music. "I just started playing anywhere and everywhere I could" says Brandon. "I remember one time I had to announce the free face painting and donkey rides to a crowd of 7 people before I performed(laughing). I just kept at it though. I opened for everyone that would let me." With picking up odd jobs and teaching guitar lessons, Brandon struggled to pay for studio time to start recording a demo. It took almost a year of slowly chipping away at his album, but the result was his 2000 independently released "Something from Nothing." With a record to promote, and hearts to be won, Brandon set off, as many other artists do, to make a name for himself. With a lot of hard work, and many bread and mustard sandwiches later, Brandon has sold to date in excess of 5,000 copies of his debut album without one bit of radio play or distribution (although Brandon might refer to it as his "pop-a-trunk" distribution). A cut from the album, “This Time”, also landed a spot on the 2002 nationally distributed UNITED WAY 9/11 relief compilation album "Band Together"; in which Brandon was featured beside such artists as Peter Frampton, Seven Mary Three, The Spin Doctors, Pushmonkey, and many more. Spurred from the success of his first album, in 2002 Brandon paired up with producer John Pisciotta (Vince Gill, Peter Cetera) to do a full-length record in Nashville, TN that was recorded sporadically over the course of the year. Musicians such as Producer/Drummer Chris Omartian, who produced the latest Backstreet Boys and O-Town albums, to Wade Jaynes who lent his bass playing abilities to Sheryl Crow’s debut record "Tuesday Night Music Club" and dcTalk’s hit record "Jesus Freak", formed the core rhythm section of his new album. The result was "Songs from the Middle Lane"; an emotionally charged record that blended the sounds of Modern Rock, Blues, and Pop. One might ask where exactly does the title Songs from the Middle Lane come from? "At the time I was writing and recording this album, my life had been going through all kinds of weird transitions. Old relationships ending, new ones beginning, and more change than I had ever experienced before in my life. It all revolved around this apartment I was living in on a street called Mid Lane. When trying to think of an appropriate title for this record, I knew I wanted it to have something to do with where I was living at that time. During the time I lived on Mid Lane, I was confused as to whether go full throttle and pursue my dreams, or settle for less than what I had hoped for. Pondering the name Mid Lane led me to equate my life at that time to a freeway: the left lane is for the full throttle people going for their dreams, the middle lane is for those still deciding, and the right lane is the exit/settle-for-less lane. It was a real testing time of faith in myself deciding which lane I was in and which lane I wanted to be in ." In the Fall of 2004, Brandon will release his new album coinciding with a regional tour, a HOT AC/POP and CBA market CHR and Rock radio push, and an extensive publicity and distribution campaign including in-store appearances and a radio station conference room tour. "I just want to get the music out there. So many things can stray your original vision, but I am trying to stay true to that 6th grade version of myself that would be really mad at me if I did not allow myself the chance to follow my dreams(laughing)." Brandon is quite aware that his chances at the big-time are tough, but for him it is not just about making it. "If you don’t have faith in something greater than yourself, in yourself, and in the music you are making to touch others; you’ve got nothing. Whether or not I succeed at this, I just want to know I gave faith in God and myself the lead role in my life."