| Cait Brennan | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | M. C. Brennan, Kit Kelley |
| Born | 14 February 1969 Phoenix, Arizona |
| Genres | Rock, Country, Indie pop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, screenwriter, musician |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar, piano, bass |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Associated acts | Zen Lunatics |
| Website | http://kitkelleymusic.com/ |
M. C. "Cait" Brennan (born February 14, 1969) is an American rock vocalist, screenwriter and filmmaker.
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Brennan was born in Phoenix, Arizona, the daughter of noted session and touring musician Ron Dobbins.[1] Brennan achieved local success as a singer, actor and writer before beginning a gender transition in the late 1980s.[2]
Brennan's first media exposure came in 1977, when she was a regular guest on KARZ radio's "Let's Talk" program, providing unsolicited humorous "little professor" commentary.[3]
A songwriter and vocalist with an unusual tenor-contralto range, Brennan began a music career in her teens. Brennan recorded several independent cassettes during the 1980s, working frequently with Arizona producer Terry Garvin of the power-pop band Zen Lunatics.[4] Brennan's early music was only available on cassette sold at shows or through zines, and she often customized each cassette with unique performances and reworkings of her music, cover songs, commentary and occasional pranks. Virtually no two cassettes from the mail-order era are identical and no "master" was kept.
Heavily influenced by Glitter rock, Country rock and the Mills Brothers, Brennan released the independent CDs M. C. Brennan (etc.) in 1994, San Francisco Sessions (produced by former James Brown producer Susie Foot) in 1995 and Black Diamond in 1997.[5] Brennan was an early adopter of MP3.com and released numerous original and cover songs on the site prior to its closure in 2003.
In 2010 Brennan reunited with Garvin and the Zen Lunatics at their weekly Rockaroke sessions at Tempe, Arizona's Sail Inn,[6] and began writing and recording a wealth of new material, both as Cait Brennan and her glitter-rock alter-ego "Kit Kelley".[7]
Brennan received the Arizona Commission on the Arts Screenwriting fellowship in 2002,[8] and the following year, she won the Phoenix Film Festival's Best Screenplay award for "The People's Choice".[9][10] Brennan was honored with the Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellowship in 2007 for her comic homage to 1980s John Hughes films, "Dramatis Personae".[11][12] Brennan was named a semifinalist in the Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition for "Dramatis Personae" and "The People's Choice",[13][14] and in October 2007, the Rhode Island International Film Festival awarded first prize to Brennan and "Dramatis Personae" in their annual screenwriting honors.[15]
During high school, Brennan directed short films including The Mike And Eric Movie and The Man Called Bear: Hero At Large, and made appearances in local commercials[16] and bit parts in productions such as Midnight Caller, Northern Exposure and 1985's Just One of the Guys. Later acting appearances include small roles in The Doors, So I Married An Axe Murderer and Itty Bitty Titty Committee.[17]
Brennan was a writer for the Phoenix Gazette's "Teen Gazette" section, and in 1986 won first place in the Journalism Education Association's national feature write-off.[18] In 1988 Brennan became one of the inaugural music writers for the Zia Zine, the in-house music magazine of the Zia Records chain. Freelance writing jobs followed, as well as serialized novels, stage plays and other material.[19]
From 2000-2005, Brennan authored the satirical "Comic Newsbriefs" feature for Eugene, Oregon's Comic News.[20] In 2002 she joined the staff of Phoenix's LGBT-focused Echo Magazine.[21] In 2010, Brennan returned to writing for Echo on a variety of subjects. Brennan currently writes on music, TV and pop culture topics for various outlets including pop culture blog Popshifter.[22]
In 1985, she appeared on KPNX-TV's "Finn and Friends" program with "Weird Al" Yankovic.[23]
Brennan appears briefly in U2's feature documentary Rattle and Hum.[24]
In 2005, she posed for photographer Jana Marcus' photojournalism project Transfigurations, documenting the lives and stories of transgender men and women.