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| Breanne Marie singing "Away in a Manger" at St John's Free Lutheran Church |
By Breanne Marie Tepler
For The Hillsider
Except for a few years in the ‘80s when we lived in Kenwood, I was born and raised in Central Hillside. When I was four years old we lived in a triplex on Second Avenue West. My first memories are from that apartment. Our babysitter lived downstairs from us. He used to make us Kool Aid in a cheap plastic pitcher and stir it with a big cutting knife. My dad was gone a lot working and helping people. When he was home, he loved to listen to music. He had one of those suitcase-style record players and a pretty decent sized record collection. I remember vividly the Mary Poppins soundtrack. We would play that over and over again, and when the record wasn’t playing we would sing the songs and jump on our beds and run around the house. Music was joy.
‘Music was joy.’
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| From left to right back row: Mom (Kimberly Schlies) and Dad (John Schlies). Front row from left to right: Timothy Schlies, Breanne Schlies (the author) and Justin Schlies. |
‘When (my dad) was home, he loved to listen to music.’
I’ve always loved music and I’ve always loved to sing. When we moved to Kenwood in the early ‘80s I joined the church down the road and I had a singing solo for the Christmas program. I knew after that performance I was going to be a singer forever. Fast forward to today and I’m a musician, singer and songwriter with a five-piece country band. I have a suitcase-style record player and a pretty decent country music record collection. The band and I have booked studio time next month at Sparta Sound with Rich Mattson and we’re going to record 10 original songs and make our very own record. My dad passed away in 2006 and I can’t help but think of how proud he would be that his daughter is making a 12” vinyl record with her original songs.
If you’re curious about this project go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/breannemarie/recording-country-music-album-wildflowers-and-tumb
Breanne Marie has a full time day job, is a wife and mother, and is a musician in town. She is currently raising funds for a new music album titled Wildfolowers and Tumbleweeds.
