Bree Sharp scores with ‘David Duchovny,’ so to speak
Aliens, UFO sightings, mutants, telepaths, human-sized parasites living in the Newark, N.J., sewer system. Bree Sharp loves everything about “The X-Files.”
Especially David Duchovny.
The New York-based singer-songwriter tapped into her obsession for the Fox TV series and its leading man and wrote a hook-laden song titled, simply, “David Duchovny.” A demo copy made its way to “X-Files” production members, who then surprised the happily married Duchovny with an all-star video tribute for the show’s annual Christmas party.
Here’s where conspiracy theories get interesting: The video had the most diverse group of lip-synchers in pop history, from Jenna Elfman to Alex Trebek to Whoopi Goldberg. For added camp value, Charles Nelson Reilly, KISS and the cast of “Baywatch” willingly recited the song’s chorus, “David Duchovny, why won’t you love me?” The video got passed around Hollywood, and before you can say “The truth is out there,” Sharp’s lyrical crush piqued the interest of Trauma Records, which promptly signed her.
Her debut LP, “A Cheap and Evil Girl,” was released July 27 and now the 23-year-old Philadelphia native is bracing for her first promotional press tour, with several tour dates in between, including a few Lilith Fair appearances.
Like the series’ premise, the “David Duchovny” phenomenon defies conventional explanations. That’s fine with Sharp. She’s just glad she got her foot in the door.
“This has all happened really quickly,” Sharp said recently, “and at times it’s overwhelming, but I’m basically just trying to keep my head on straight and take it one day at a time and not do the whole year in one day.
“Our first (radio) show is Aug. 8 in West Palm Beach, and I’m so excited … with my band and everything. I’m ready to pee in my pants. I have a lot of confidence, because I’ve been performing since I was real young. I’ve been doing acoustic gigs for the past couple of years, so I’m not totally green. My band kicks ass. We all know each other, because they played on the record and they know the songs, so we just need a couple days of rehearsals in and tighten it up and go get ’em.”
Fortunately for Sharp, she has other catchy but novelty-free songs up her sleeves, notably “America,” “Walk Away,” “Show Me” and “Not Your Girl.”
“So far, I’ve gotten a great response,” Sharp said. “I think I was concerned about being a one-hit wonder, but at the same time I was also confident because we worked really hard on the record and I’m very, very happy with the results, and there’s some really good songs on the record, if I can say that.
“So far, people have been concurring. It’s great to meet distributors and radio stations and people are like, ‘Wow, you know, I think this is the next single’ or ‘I love the record’ or ‘This is my favorite song,’ and it has nothing to do with the first single. It’s very encouraging. Hopefully, knock on wood, if we get to the second single, people will see that it’s an album.”
Above all, Sharp wanted to rise above the female singer-songwriter crowd.
“I wanted it to be interesting, different and sexy and refreshing on every level,” she said of the album. “I wanted it to be accessible to people. I wanted it to be smart and clever, separate from the things that are happening in music right now, which are kind of boring me. I don’t want to name any names, but I just didn’t want to be lumped in with them, period. I wanted to be evocative and provocative. I want to get people hot. That’s really what I want to do – mentally, physically, emotionally.”
Make no mistake, her admiration for “The X-Files” is genuine. In fact, she can get downright indignant when discovering a journalist has never sat through an entire episode.
She will immediately get on her Mulder-and-Scully pulpit.
“Oh god, you’re taking all my will to not hang up on you,” she said, laughing. “First of all, it’s the smartest show on television, hands down. I didn’t start watching the show because of David Duchovny. I was really reluctant to watch it, but I was at a college friend’s house for Thanksgiving over the weekend. She wanted to watch these reruns with her dad, and I was totally dragging my feet, saying ‘Can’t we go play a game or something? Or talk about boys?’ She made me watch it and I was totally hooked to it because it’s so smart. I didn’t look at (Duchovny) and go ‘Oh my god,’ it was a slow development. I realized what a cool guy he was.
“I love Mulder and Scully. They’re my favorite TV characters of all-time. They really are. I just think they’re the best.”
About the Author
Gerry Galipault Gerry Galipault debuted Pause & Play online in October 1997. Since then, it has become the definitive place for CD-release dates — with a worldwide audience.
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