the verve pipe

As singer/songwriter Jay Brannan continues playing to packed crowds across the US on his July tour (dates below), his latest release, In Living Cover, debuts this week at #10 on the Heatseekers Chart.  The album--which features covers from the likes of The Verve Pipe, The Cranberries, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Jann Arden, as well as 2 original tracks--has been #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart since its release last Tuesday, and peaked at #36 on the iTunes Top 100 Albums.

Additionally, the track "At First Sight" (from Brannan's 2008 debut goddamned) was offered as a free download on Amazon's MP3 Store, and as a result was the #1 Top MP3 Song, #2 in the Movers & Shakers section, and #32 MP3 Artist.

Jay Brannan's much buzzed about covers album In Living Cover is out today and currently sitting at the #39 spot on the iTunes Top 100 Albums. The album, which features covers of such songs as The Verve Pipe's "The Freshmen" and The Cranberries' "Zombie," is featured in a slew of online coverage, including home page placement on MSN and AOL Music. His month-long tour kicks off tomorrow with a sold-out Joe's Pub show in NYC (full list of tour dates below).

Brannan also received attention last week when he posted his version of "Man In The Mirror" as a tribute to Michael Jackson on his YouTube page, which already has close to 140,000 views.

In the midst of sell-out European dates, Jay Brannan announces the release of In Living Cover—a 9-track album composed of 7 cover songs and 2 originals—on July 7 (Nettwerk).  Brannan will celebrate with a month-long US tour that kicks off in his home city of New York on Wednesday, July 8 at Joe’s Pub.
 
Brannan has always enjoyed singing other people’s songs, but never expected to release a covers album.  “Expressing myself through my songs is one of the main reasons I write music, so singing other people’s words felt a little fraudulent or ‘uncool,’” he explains. “Over time, I learned to appreciate songs that speak to me, whether I like the melody or think the lyrics are funny or ironic…or if it’s a song that meant something to me at a certain point in my life or has a personal story behind it. The covers on this album are ones that I chose for those reasons. I started performing them on YouTube and at my live shows. People continued to ask for them in properly recorded form, so I decided it was time to put this album together…not just of covers, but of covers that have become a part of what my audience might consider my ‘repertoire.’”