A whirlwind adventure for singer/guitarist Branch

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Grammy-winning singer and guitarist Michelle Branch, 21, is on top of the world, performing on tour, marrying her bass player and designing nail polish and lip gloss for an Estee Lauder line of cosmetics. She'll make her Island debut at the Waikiki Shell on Thursday and will visit relatives on a Neighbor Island before returning to Los Angeles. Michelle Branch 7 p.m. Thursday Waikiki Shell $30, $35 for reserved seats, $20 general-admission lawn seating (877) 750-4400

Michelle Branch, who performs at the Waikiki Shell on Thursday, says, "I've always been a writer, even before playing guitar. I would write stories, poetry, just for me; writing was always first in my life."

Michelle tidbits Full name: Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch. Born: July 2, 1983 (seven weeks premature). Birthplace: Flagstaff, Ariz. Ethnicity: Dutch, Indonesian, French and Irish. Married to: Teddy Landau, bassist in her band. Parents: David and Peggy Branch; he was a plumbing contractor, she a restaurant manager. Has toured with: Hanson, Sheryl Crow, Lifehouse, Jude, The Calling and The Dixie Chicks. Known for: "The Spirit Room" and "Hotel Paper" CDs, which have spawned such hits as "Everywhere," "All You Wanted," "Goodbye to You," "Are You Happy Now?" Major achievement: Won 2003 Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration (with Santana) for "The Game of Love." Dubious achievement: Posed topless for Maxim magazine in January 2004. Often forgotten fact: Was named after The Beatles' hit. Little-known fact: First artist ever to perform on top of the Madison Square Garden marquee.

She also is involved in a new side project with Jennifer Harp, her longtime comrade in song; they have formed an act called The Wreckers.

Her concert Thursday at the Waikiki Shell will be her Island debut and a chance to experience her "new" musical side because she and Harp will preview tunes from their new alliance.

She also is designing nail polish and lip gloss for the Flirt! line of Estee Lauder cosmetics — a chance to show creativity on another level.

But she's mum about her new husband, Teddy Landau, 40, whom she married June 30, and she isn't putting a honeymoon spin on her trek to Hawai'i.

"Unfortunately, I can't stay (in Hawai'i) too long," Branch said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "I have to come back home to continue the side project."

While she plans to connect with an uncle, aunt and cousins on a Neighbor Island, Branch won't acknowledge that there's time for a belated honeymoon with Landau, who has been touring with her since May 2003.

Branch prefers to keep her private life under wraps. She doesn't want any part of the media scrutiny, the paparazzi and the usual buzz that plague the likes of Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. She and Landau live in Los Angeles.

"I grill every now and then," said Branch about cooking at home, offering little details about life as a young married. Her speciality: teriyaki.

"But it's easier for two to go out and eat (than stay home and cook) and now I can understand my parents, who went out more often, when everyone left the house. It's hard to cook for two."

Branch is part of a growing breed of artists who pursue careers beyond music.

She was approached by Flirt! which wanted to get a Michelle Branch makeup line going, but she was initially reluctant. "I first said 'absolutely not,' because during my off time, I rarely wear makeup," said Branch. "I didn't want the clothing line, the makeup line and this and this that many people have, but I agreed on a nail polish color thing, since I wear nail polish now and then. It was an opportunity to be creative in a totally opposite way from music; I had in mind dark reds, blues, coral colors — and they sent over boxes and boxes of polish and I painted my nails and my toes to experiment with color."

The line will be out in October, she said.

Composing remains her main avenue of expression.

"I've always been a writer, even before playing guitar," she said. "I would write stories, poetry, just for me; writing was always first in my life.

"And it's not a job. I'm not the kind who gets up in the morning and say I will write for a few hours. I write whenever it happens, morning, noon or night. I scribble on paper, or if there's a tape recorder handy, record thoughts and ideas as they come around. That's the best way."

Original material "enables me to get out of my shell and share my own perspective," she said. "It works when you can get your feelings across, so it means a lot to me to write about what I've felt or known."

Branch is known for introspective tunes, with themes of anguish, the antithesis of the bubblegum pop of Spears, and she considers herself lucky to have been asked by Carlos Santana to perform on his Grammy Award-winning hit, "The Game of Love," from Santana's "Shaman" album.

"I was minding my own business," said Branch about how she landed the breakout hit that put her on everyone's radar. "I got a call from my manager one day, that Santana's people were interested in maybe doing a song together? 'You're kidding me,' I told my manager, because my mom was a huge Santana fan and she grew up with his shows. It was a big honor; I was extremely flattered."

Before arriving in Hawai'i, Branch has concerts in Japan and Guam.

"Luckily, I consider myself a good traveler," she said. "On airplanes, I will hear the engine ... and will fall asleep. Being able to sleep makes traveling a lot easier."

Her earliest recollection of music?

"I remember sitting in the back seat of the car and my parents were playing 'Deja Vu' by Crosby, Stills and Nash — somehow, that sticks in my mind. My parents had pretty good taste in music — The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, for instance.

"I took guitar lessons for a while and got to know the theory behind music and chord progressions and I have studied voice for a long time now — at Northern Arizona University."

At one point of her life, she was poised to pursue a career in Broadway musicals — she remembers productions of "Oklahoma" and "Fiddler on the Roof" years ago — and has not written off that genre yet.

"Broadway musicals are so much work," she said. "I think if ever I were offered the right show at the right time in my life, I'd jump to it right away. It would be nice to play (perform) in one spot for a long time."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.