NOTES ALONG THE
Corridor
by RICK REILEY
Sibliing Revelry:
The MUSIC of FIVE YEAR GAP I tuned into KOSU FM radio on a recent Friday night to listen to the Oklahoma Rock Show. Ryan LaCroix hosts the 2 hour show and he mentioned he had carved out a sizable block of time for new works by a new band, ‘Five Year Gap’ . The band is actually a sister/brother duo from Tonkawa. The excellent music combined with the fact that it was from rural Oklahoma, immediately grabbed my attention.That seems to be where my heart lies. This is as good as anything pop/rock I’ve heard this year. I found the music to be hopeful, refreshing and lightly tinged with pleasant mystery. Who are these people? I explored. It turns out that Ciara Brooke has been a pop solo artist for the past five years. I went on to listen to a few of those recordings and wondered why on Earth hadn’t I heard of her before now? Solid, organic voice, always in complete control of the lyric. Perhaps that’s because she sings her own songs and knows where she’s singing from and where she’s singing to. She is passionate about conveying her experience and she is gifted with a well rounded musical vision, as well as the abilities and voice to do it right. Her pop songs such as ‘Bother Me’, ‘Messy Parts’, ‘Pick Up’, ‘High School’ are filled with good vibes and youthful energy that I remember from my days of listening to AM radio. Refreshing! Especially in this new age I find myself living in. Ciara Brooke says of ‘Five Year Gap’; “We are a brother/sister alt rock duo from Tonkawa, OK. We like board games, movies, DND and LOTR. We
36 THE CORRIDOR MAGAZINE / OCTOBER 2021
are both pretty introverted except for when on the stage. We are five years apart but look like twins!” As CIara Brooke she has been playing with younger brother Brody Farrow as an accompanist. This past year (we all know about this last year don’t we??!!!) they concentrated their time, talents, frustrations and energies morphing into this more heavily collaborative effort resulting in the fresh, new music and a name: ‘Five Year Gap’. Here’s a little more from Ciara about their musical and family background; “I have been singing my whole life, and Brody started playing drums when he was 10 and then guitar shortly after that. I attended ACM@UCO where I got my bachelors degree in music production, and now Brody is attending the same school for music business.
