lauren brombert ~ story

"It is said great singers can sing the phone book and make it sound like 'Ave Maria.' Well then, someone hand Lauren Brombert the White Pages," wrote Mark Guarino in the Daily Herald. With a voice that embraces strength and sensitivity, sultriness and sass, Brombert concocts haunting pop-rock melodies and rich lyrics that explore the complexities of the human experience.

The first time was in a garage outside of Paris when she was fourteen. She sat in as a singer for the French band Duty Free, and was hooked. But instead of pursuing music, Brombert bought into the conventional wisdom that that was not a "realistic" profession and took a long academic detour. After a B.A. Classics at Haverford College, an M.A. in Russian Studies at Yale, more graduate work in linguistics, and a couple of teaching jobs, she was about to start a career abroad as a field linguist and realized it was a now-or-never proposition. She settled in Chicago and finally abandoned herself to her true passion.

Though Brombert was born in New Haven, CT, as the daughter of a Parisian and a New Yorker, she was raised on two continents. Both parents (a professor and a writer) had strong classical music backgrounds (a singer and a pianist) and their eclectic record collection had an early influence. Brombert studied classical piano for eight years but then switched to guitar.

Adopting the moniker Urban Nomad, Brombert started performing with her band at various Chicago venues. After releasing two EPs, she decided to move in new musical direction and began a collaboration with guitarist/arranger David Chelimsky. Under the direction of producer and guitarist extraordinaire, Fareed Haque, they recorded a three-song EP. Their acoustic duo eventually developed into a full band, which included renowned Chicago bassist Bob Lizik (Brian Wilson) and drummer Ed Breckenfeld (the Insiders, Cathy Richardson Band). Together they recorded "From These Stones" (Tessera Records), which received critical acclaim and was chosen by "The Performing Songwriter" as a Top 12 DIY.

The decision to move from Chicago to Denver at the end of 2002 added five years to finishing her second CD, “Closer Than Skin.” Three songs had been recorded with Chicago bandmates Chelimsky, Lizik and Breckenfeld. Lizik co-produced them with engineer Jon Smith. With Denver bandmates Greg Blankenship on bass and David Harms on drums, in July-August 2007 the rest of the album was finally recorded by sibling engineers Brian McRae (Wreckingroom) and Greg McRae (Coupe Studios) and mixed by JP Manza (Colorado Sound).

She has been featured on numerous radio stations and in a variety of publications. Her song “Walls” appears on “Big Fish Little Fish Vol. 2” (Sweet Pickle Music), a compilation of Chicago’s emerging female artists. She has been honored to share the stage with national artists such as Pierce Pettis, Modern English, Kurt Neumann (of the BoDeans), Alice Peacock and Vertical Horizon.