{"id":90626,"date":"2025-04-15T12:06:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T10:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=90626"},"modified":"2025-04-15T12:06:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T10:06:28","slug":"crazy-world-ron-brunk-speaks-to-us-about-his-incredible-musical-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2025\/04\/crazy-world-ron-brunk-speaks-to-us-about-his-incredible-musical-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Crazy World: Ron Brunk Speaks To Us About His Incredible Musical Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You’ll have read our review of Ron Brunk’s latest releases, ‘You Make Me Crazy<\/a>‘, and ‘Sometimes All<\/a>‘. Now we speak to the man himself about these tracks, what keeps him going, and his musical legacy – so far.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Having made 34 albums, what inspires you to keep making new music today? Where do you pull fresh inspiration for songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I can\u2019t stop.\u00a0It\u2019s who I am.\u00a0Since I was a little boy, I\u2019ve always had a percussive rhythm burning constantly through my soul.\u00a0And it manifests itself by flowing out through every part of my body.\u00a0My feet are always shifting, my hands always knocking, and my teeth always grinding & chattering a drum beat.\u00a0And the song ideas and lyrics are never-ending.\u00a0I have many boxes, drawers, and tubs filled with notebooks, napkins, and assorted scraps of paper containing a legion of ideas and lyrics.\u00a0And it\u2019s easy to pull fresh inspiration for songs because every brand-new day given by our Almighty God & Father is filled with new experiences, feelings, ideas and emotions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When it comes to writing & recording songs, I\u2019ve always tried to push all boundaries and create outside the box.\u00a0Therefore, I see and sense song possibilities in EVERYTHING.\u00a0And that is no exaggeration.\u00a0Every day you will find me bebopping around the house, scatting or rapping or singing songs.\u00a0One moment you may hear me lamenting about burning the toast, and the next I may be singing about my love affair with chocolate.\u00a0And later you may hear me singing about what a blade of grass is trying to tell me, or about the futility of a spider building his beautiful web by the door.\u00a0And of course, you would often hear me singing about how very precious my wonderful cats are to me.\u00a0I have so many songs about my kitty babies that it would boggle your mind!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How did your faith influence the lyrics and overall message of ‘Sometimes All’? Why is sharing your faith important to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      ‘Sometimes All’ is very, very special to me personally. It is one of a handful of extremely powerful songs that I HAD to write after recovering from a near-death experience (By the way, ‘Be Somebody’ is another of those songs).\u00a0I nearly bled to death from massive intestinal bleeding, and only transfusions saved my life. This actually happened to me three times.\u00a0I was in the hospital for several days each time, and had to go through a long list of tests.\u00a0But none of the doctors could ever find an explanation for what was happening to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And I can tell you one thing for certain – when you\u2019re lying helplessly in a hospital bed all alone at 3:00 am, trying to recover from an inexplicable brush with death, that is definitely the moment when you realize that it\u2019s just YOU and GOD.\u00a0The Almighty is all you have.\u00a0All your family and friends can\u2019t save you. All your money and possessions mean absolutely nothing.\u00a0All your hopes and plans fly right out the window.\u00a0It\u2019s rock bottom, my friend.\u00a0And that is what ‘Sometimes All’ is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      ‘Sometimes All’ and ‘You Make Me Crazy’ have very different sounds. What inspires you to experiment with different styles in your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        I LOVE to experiment with different styles.\u00a0It brings me great joy!\u00a0You should hear some of the crazy songs I\u2019ve written but haven\u2019t had time to record yet!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        But my biggest musical heroes and inspiration were The Beatles.\u00a0Duh.\u00a0Sure, many people say that because they were just so amazing.\u00a0 But one thing I especially admired about them was how they wrote so many different types of songs.\u00a0 Each album was a mix of very diverse sounds and styles. Just listen to their ‘White Album’!\u00a0 It ranges from ‘Blackbird’, to ‘Helter Skelter’, to ‘Revolution #9’, to ‘Ob la Di and on and on. To me, that\u2019s genius and true creativity!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        With most artists, you know what you\u2019re gonna get. They have a certain lane, and they stay in it.\u00a0BORING.\u00a0I like to keep changing lanes, pushing the boundaries, and trying new things. I aspire to make albums the way the Beatles did. That is, by combining differing styles on one album and juxtaposing songs in a very imaginative way. To me, the song order is extremely important to the listening experience. Of course, it seems that we are in a time period where many people don\u2019t seem to have as much interest in or appreciation for an album as a work of art. Instead, they just want to download the latest, empty-headed or profane single.\u00a0Not everyone, of course, but I do see a lot of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Did you face any surprises or challenges in the production process for these two songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Actually, it\u2019s pretty amazing that everything went so smoothly in recording, mixing and producing these two songs. ‘Sometimes All’ was particularly smooth as it all seemed to come together quickly and like magic. And I think the end result speaks for itself. I firmly believe that God was truly in control of the entire process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          ‘You Make Me Crazy’ also was without any major challenges. The biggest hurdle was getting the piano player to play with wild abandon, which is the way I wrote the song. He is a professional pianist, far more technically skilled than me, and he kept trying to play it too straight and proper. Especially that wild & crazy Interlude section about \u00be of the way through the song. I had to go to the piano several times and demonstrate how I wanted him to play it. In a bit of frustration, I banged on the keys with my palms, elbows and foot!\u00a0Then he understood the type of wild abandon I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Did you have a clear vision for the ‘You Make Me Crazy’ music video? How did you bring this vision to life on your own?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Yes, I wanted this video to present in a different manner than most. I thought a split-screen approach would work out very well, and I\u2019m quite pleased with the result. At the outset of the process, I knew what I wanted to do.\u00a0I envisioned a split screen with clips of me performing the song on the right, and the interpretive dancer doing her amazing thing on the left.\u00a0And I knew immediately that I wanted her clips to be real and raw, but mine to be enhanced with some sort of pop art colourisation.\u00a0And I did all that editing on my computer to accomplish the finished product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Were there any creative risks or bold choices you made in either video production that you are especially proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              I think the idea of the astronaut in ‘Sometimes All’ was bold, and if I may say so, brilliant. But at the same time, I knew it would be so different that some people might be puzzled and wonder why I used such strange imagery for that song.\u00a0And, as I suspected would happen, several people have questioned me about it, stating that they didn\u2019t understand what I was trying to say. And that\u2019s okay, I get where they\u2019re coming from. Admittedly, my approach to the video was a bit odd.\u00a0 But I LOVE it. And I\u2019m just glad and thankful that people are listening and thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If you could give any advice to young artists chasing their dreams, what would it be?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                It will probably sound clich\u00e9, but the biggest thing is to never give up. Never give up. Never quit.\u00a0Let the creative fire within you burn madly and brightly until it consumes you.\u00a0And the truth is, if you were born to create art, you will never be able to stop. Because it is who you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Are there any elements of ‘Sometimes All’, and ‘You Make Me Crazy’, that you plan to expand upon in future projects?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  <\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  That is an interesting question.\u00a0If you mean specific musical or lyrical elements contained within those songs, my answer would be no. I have not made any conscious effort to do that. BUT, as for the general vibe or message of those songs, the answer is definitely yes.\u00a0‘Sometimes All’ is obviously a spiritual song with a very powerful message, and I definitely intend to continue creating songs in that vein.\u00a0Likewise, I fully intend to create more fun, uplifting, and raucous songs like, ‘You Make Me Crazy’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Watch the music video for ‘Sometimes All’ here<\/a>. You can watch the video for ‘You Make Me Crazy’ below. Ron Brunk can be found online on his official\u00a0website<\/a>,\u00a0YouTube<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

                  \"Ron