Brittany Brooks (born August 5, 1985) is an American instrumentalist. She played drums with

Scarlet Fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

, the all-female

backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

that toured with

Cee Lo Green Cee or CEE may refer to: * C, third letter of the Latin alphabet * Cee, Spain, A Coruña, Galicia * Center for Excellence in Education, US * Central and Eastern Europe * Centre for Environment Education * Centre for the Economics of Education, Lon ...

during 2010 and 2011. She and varying members of Scarlet Fever have performed with other front women as In 4D, No Salt, and Miss President. She also toured around the world with

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

during June 2012, performing in Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, Russia, and the Isle of Wight. She is a founding member of the group DDMC (DJ, Drummer, and MC) with DJ K-la Vie and Liberty Jayne.

Biography

Brittany Brooks was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, and raised in nearby

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg is a city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is part ...

. She graduated from Pittsburg High School in 2004, where she had played

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

with the

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

in parades at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

and

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...

. After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, Brooks graduated in 2007 from the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

located in Hollywood, where she performed in television advertisements for the Institute on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

. She also attended and worked at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

Early years

Brooks began playing drums at the age of 12, following her older brother Chad who started playing the trombone two years earlier. She has played with various cover bands such as BandShe, and up and coming artists including Afrosparks, Scotty G. and the Get Down, Raz B (formerly of B2K), CrazeDotCom, Haile Selassie, and Filipina rapper Liberty Jayne.

Influences

She was originally instructed by her mentor, Angel Carrillo, at her church. She was further inspired by

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

to become a professional musician.

Scarlet Fever

Beginning in June 2010, she toured with

and the all-female

named

on promotional tours for "What Part of Forever" (from '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' soundtrack) and '' The Lady Killer'' album. They performed for ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'',

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

, ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'', ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', and many other venues. Core band

members Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

include

Sharon Aguilar Sharon Aguilar (born 1986) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She toured with 2NE1 in 2012, and has both founded and performed with several other groups. She played lead guitar and violin with Scarlet Fever, the all- ...

(lead guitar, violin),

DANiiVORY Theresa Danielle Flaminio Romack, known professionally as DANiiVORY, is an American singer and musician. She is currently touring with R&B artist Rhye, and is also pursuing a solo career. During 2010 and 2011, she was a keyboardist with Scarl ...

''née'' Theresa Flaminio (keyboards, background vocals), and

Regina Zernay Roberts Regina Zernay Roberts is an American instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She is lead singer and bass player of Detroit Diesel Power. She played bass guitar and Moog synthesizer with Scarlet Fever, the all-female backing band that toured wit ...

(bass guitar,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

). Members of the band continued to play together in various combinations (sometimes under other band names). Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY performed with front woman Sammy Allen at

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...

in April 2012, where Cee Lo joined them on stage.

Miss President

Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY have performed with Goldielox ''née'' Brittany Burton as In 4D, and debuted as Miss President at

on February 10, 2013. Their music encompasses "standard pop riffs, to neo-classical, and everything in-between." The band name was chosen as "empowering" for women, "... we can create great music just as guys do. We can do everything they do, and even better."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Brittany African-American drummers American funk drummers American jazz drummers American rock drummers Living people Musicians from Oakland, California 1985 births People from Pittsburg, California Scarlet Fever (band) members Jazz musicians from California 21st-century American drummers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people