PART 1 of 3 for a special photo diary series from photographer Kelsey Bennett. A diary of words and photos by Kelsey Bennett
Brianna is from Texas. She’s tall, with wild red hair with the stride of a midnight cowboy mixed with the airy confidence of Jane Burkin. She invites me to her place in Alphabet City on a bright Saturday afternoon.
At her apartment, I ask her about where she writes her songs: On the floor? On the bed? She shows me her beloved guitars and she shows me her furs. We both wonder to each other if it’s possible to have too many of either. (The answer, of course, is no.)
She tells me that her band, Bad Girlfriend, was named after the actual bad girlfriend of a friend of hers. She talks about the band as if they’re her family and, in my head, I see the gang of girls banned together like sisters – a rock n’ roll Virgin Suicides.
As the artist sits by the window to have a smoke, I scan the messy pile of books on the floor. My eyes land on ‘Please Kill Me’, an aptly titled oral history of punk rock. I point it out and we talk about how the stories told in the book happened right here on these streets. Afterwards, she gets quiet, looks out the window onto Avenue B, and flicks her crushed cigarette into an ashtray that reads, “I’m Addicted To You”.
Unsurprisingly, Brianna is also the head designer of a clothing brand called The Reformation. I’ve been a fan of her designs and, ironically, had worn her pieces many times, not knowing it was her who had created them. With a life busy in both the world of music and fashion, Brianna takes precious time out of her day to pose for what becomes a documentation of a perfectly lazy Saturday songwriting routine.
“We have a full length record coming out some time in the next two months,” Brianna tells me as we shoot, “so stay tuned for that. And we’re going into the studio to record a new EP in June.” I can’t wait.
