TJ Broscoff’s latest single off Ready To Fly is Wrong Side Of The Tracks. Previous singles off this same disc were Hold, Pillow, and Jamie’s Heart. If his name seems familiar, you might have come across his last album, Detour Phoenix, produced by Jay Gillian who was known for working with Depeche Mode.

The art for the album cover centers on a young child dressed for adventure, apparently fixing to take off into the wild blue yonder. They’ll be taking off in an old fashioned red, wooden wagon someone has added cardboard wings to. Complete with goggles and  a cap set just so, they are definitely ready to fly.

Brokoff seems to want to fly above labels  himself. He says,”I hate that everyone tries to put a label on a band. To me, it’s just good music.” He doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as either country or rock. He has called his music “brutally honest and succinct.”

Brokoff leads the band on vocals and guitar. Josh Phillips drums and sings as well. Finally the trio is rounded out with Christian Ross who (naturally) sings and plays bass.

Phillips, the drummer, is a former Marine who graduated the Armed Forces School of Music. You can check out his website www.joshphillipsdrums.com. Ross, the bass player, also plays solo as Stereo Child. Before teaming with his current group, he was a key part of two other Texas bands: Charlemagne and Keeping Lions.

Brokoff himself has quite the back story. After once being in such a difficult time of his life that he sold his shoes for crack, he’s now being featured on NBC/CW’s new show Troubadour TX, which follows performers as they work around the country.

How did he come out ahead after such a hard time? To say he had to hit bottom first is putting it mildly. After his parents told him “Don’t come back. We don’t want to know you anymore,” and bought him a one way ticket, he had quite the uphill battle.

At one point, he had the nickname Bushman because he made his home under a bush. After a few stops at rehab, he finally had his moment of clarity. On the 4th of July, after he’d “burned every bridge (he) had,” he saw families beginning to celebrate in a public park. “Something clicked and I started bawling. The fireworks started and the light just turned on. I got it.”

He went back to rehab and was grateful to discover his family had gotten his guitar out of the pawn shop for him. After a decade, he began to play again. “It was like I was on pause and then I was on play. Like I had stored up my soul and then as soon as my head got clear I was throwing up my emotions.”

After making amends to his friends and family, he began working with Gillian (who’d worked with Depeche Mode) to produce his previous disc Detour Phoenix. Since he did in some ways “rise again” and had spent much of his difficult period in Arizona, the title seems very apt.

The current single off Ready To Fly also seems to have been born out of what he learned during those days. If I wasn’t born on the wrong side of the tracks, I never would have hurt you this way. Blaming you, I claimed you were always wrong. I see now it was me all along. If I wasn’t born on the wrong side of the tracks, I wouldn’t be who I am today. 

It’s a song by someone who has actually learned from his mistakes which is refreshing. So many are still stuck in that phase and have never grown past it. Broscoff has referred to this album as sort of an open diary. This song may be a good example of that. It’s a song by a genuinely mature man and we can use more of that in country music.

Understandably, his career has been taking off lately and he’s been very busy. His touring schedule includes:

Friday, January 13th at Dirty’s BBQ in Seguin, Tx

Sat. Jan. 14th at Mr. B’s Sports Bar in Marble Falls, Tx

Mon. Jan 16th at Outta Bounds in Corpus Christi

Thurs. Jan 19th at the Ten 6 Club in Waxahachie, Tx

Fri. Jan 20th at the Lumberyard in Roscoe, Tx.

Tues. Jan 24th at Sherlock’s/Baker Street in Arlington, Tx.

Thurs. Feb 2nd at the Forge in Ben Wheeler, Tx.

Fri. Feb 3rd at the Lumberyard in Roscoe, Tx.

Fri. Feb 17th at the Ten 6 Club in Waxahachie, Tx.

Fri. Feb 24th at the County Luau Saloon in Round Mountain, Tx.

Sat. Feb 25th at the Yoakum Gin and Feed in Yoakum, Tx.

Sat. March 3rd at the Shelton Gin in Palestine, Tx.

Not only has he been busy, he’s also drawing attention in all the right places. He was a Texas Regional Radio nominee for Best New Male Vocalist. And, some folks have been calling him “the Dave Matthews of Texas country.” Listen to Wrong Side Of The Tracks yourself and see if you agree.

Rating: 8/10

Buy “Wrong Side Of The Tracks” at Amazon.