Music in the Browne Family - Kevin's Story

I was born in Illinois and lived in Belleville until my family moved to Tennessee. We used to drive up to the Smoky Mountains and go hiking. I remember when I was 14 years old and took some of my grass mowing money to buy some albums by "Bread", "Chicago" and "America". I had heard the Bread and Chicago albums, so I knew what to expect from them, but I had only heard one song from the America album: "A Horse With No Name". So, I was a little nervous about the purchase. I listened to the America album every day, especially with the headphones on, so I could hear all of the vocal harmonies and little guitar parts. My mom used to wonder where I was, and would find me lying on the floor in the dark with the headphones on. I rarely listened to the other two albums. I'm not even sure where they are now, but I still have that original America album and have since bought some of the old albums on CD. It was the America album that encouraged me to begin playing guitar. I would learn chords to America songs and soon formed a band with my brothers. We don't get to see each other very often these days, but when we do, we still like to get out our guitars and sing together. I joined the Air Force right out of high school and worked in communications at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California. It was there that I met Debbie. We got together for the first rehearsal to sing in the wedding of some mutual friends; we were married the next year. We moved to Tennessee and I went to school on the GI Bill, got a degree in History and was certified to teach history and German. I later earned a Masters degree in German from the University of Florida. I have many European friends, who I enjoy visiting. I place a high value on learning foreign languages and study them for fun. It is my pleasure to have both Debbie and our youngest son, Griffin playing cello on my cd projects. Debbie sings background vocals on many of my songs. Leon and Sheryl Olguin, the owners of SOLO Creative Media where we record, have also appeared on the albums, Leon providing great work on piano and keyboards and Sheryl as a guest singer and guitarist. Various guest artists have added their own creativity to the whole mix, which may be eclectic at times, occasionally country and always mainly acoustic. Some of my songs are playful, but many are serious, as I tackle some tough issues and express my vantage point of the world and what it all means. All that is just to give you an idea of where I'm coming from. I'm sure I'll have more to say about that later.

Debbie Browne

I met Debbie in 1977 in California. She was a music student and had played the cello for nearly ten years. We soon moved to Tennessee and started a family. Unfortunately, Debbie found it hard to play her cello without a group to perform with and hardly played it at all for years. Then, I told someone she played cello and she was asked to join in a "Renaissance Ensemble." That was just what she needed to spur her to start practicing again and she's been enjoying playing her cello ever since. She was a member of the University of Central Florida symphony orchestra for 11 years. She got her Liberal Arts degree at UCF in 2005, a graduate certificate in Arts Management in 2007, and a Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2008. Debbie comes up with most of her own vocal harmonies and cello parts for our recordings. Her artwork and photographs adorn the album covers, and she did all the graphic design for our albums, Scenery, Kevin Browne LIVE!, Georgia Sky, Plant a Dream, Hold On, Songs for the Church, Immigrant's Farewell, and Waiting for Hope.

Griffin Browne

Our son Griffin was eight years old when Debbie started teaching him how to play the cello.  Griffin earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University with a major in cello performance in 2006. He was awarded the highest honors, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He earned his Master of Music degree at the University of Memphis in 2008 and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Cello Performance with a minor in Music Theory in 2013. Griffin is now principal cellist of the Glacier Symphony Orchestra in Kalispell, Montana. Griffin's cello arrangements add a wonderful quality to my recorded music and are featured in the Scottsmoor, Scenery, Georgia Sky, and Plant a Dream CDs.