Brenda Layne: Singer-Songwriter, Guitarist, Synth, and Mountain Dulcimer Player
Brenda Layne is an award-winning songwriter and graduate of the Berklee College of Music. She is currently based in Hawaii and originally hails from Los Angeles. In addition to singing, songwriting, and arranging, Brenda plays guitar, synth, and mountain dulcimer. A musical genre-bender, Brenda’s recordings are stylistically varied. She writes in rock, folk, jazz, and pop styles. Music lyrics are her greatest passion. She is influenced by the lyrics of Bernie Taupin, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, and Harold Arlen to name a few. She currently performs live as a solo artist and with psychedelic world/rock fusion band Ordinary Magic.
Recorded and Live Music
“Torch”, is Brenda’s latest release. In a departure from her more usual rock style, “Torch” showcases Brenda’s original songs in the style of the Great American Songbook (jazz standards). These are songs of love momentarily jubilant, but more often, unrequited and sorrowful. Also included is Ms. Layne’s rendition of the timeless standard, “Stormy Weather“, written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Click here to see a list of credits and to buy downloads for “Torch”.
“Fucked Up About Love”, is another recent release by Brenda Layne containing songs in her quirky singer-songwriter style. These are raw, naked, tracks on which she plays guitar and sings passionately of the road, love, hard work, and hope. The album showcases Ms. Layne’s skill on the acoustic guitar and her artful use of alternate guitar tunings. Included is the song “I Think of You”, a beautiful prayer to lost love and obsession. Listeners watch out because the title track, “Fucked Up About Love” may resonate with you all too well! Click here to see a list of credits and to buy downloads for “Fucked Up About Love”.
Ordinary Magic is a psychedelic fusion band whose members include Brenda Layne and her husband, guitarist and producer Tommy Osuna. They released the psychedelic, progressive rock album “Ordinary Magic” and the cosmic folk single “The Navigator” in 2017. Click here for more information about Ordinary Magic and to buy downloads.
More singles, CDs, videos, and events will be forthcoming from Brenda Layne and Ordinary Magic so stay tuned!
Other Professional Activities
Ms. Layne’s passion for music lyrics has extended to other aspects of her work. In 2010 she completed her doctoral dissertation entitled “The psychology of music lyrics: A methodological study”. Also, in addition to being an accomplished musician and songwriter, Brenda Layne has extensive education and expertise in psychology, statistics and data analytics! Adding to her Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee, she holds 3 graduate degrees and is a credentialed professional statistician.
Personal Life
A few other interesting facts about Brenda are: she has been an adult competitive recreational figure skater, a full-time resident of a yoga ashram, an advocate and therapist for survivors of violent crime, and an avid collector and reader of tarot cards. Finally, Brenda Layne is proud that she has been able to accomplish so much despite having multiple lifelong chronic disabilities and long-term effects of cancer survival. She considers her greatest achievement to be having a role in the success of the women she has mentored and counseled along the way. She is married to producer and virtuoso guitarist Tommy Osuna. They live in Hawaii with their Maltese rescue dog Katchina.
