Haley Brooke expresses herself through music

Periodically, 318 Forum’s Tony Taglavore takes to lunch a local person — someone who is well-known, successful and/or influential, and asks, “What’s Your Story?”

She was maybe a month into her career as a performer. A weeknight restaurant bar crowd was her audience.

“I was playing a song. It was not a Christian song.”

From behind her piano, the young lady in her early 20s had a good view of men sipping their bourbon and women nursing their wine. But one person caught her eye.

“I remember seeing this lady in a corner.

She was weeping. She had tipped me. On my breaks, I always made an effort to thank people in person who tipped me. I went over to her, introduced myself and thanked her. She was apologizing for crying. She said, ‘There’s something — there’s a peace — about your voice when you sing.’”

Spoon-fed an opportunity to accept the woman’s praise, Haley chose to praise someone else.

“I was able to tell her, ‘That’s not me.

That’s Jesus inside of me.’”

Haley Brooke (Brooke is her middle name), one of our area’s most popular entertainers, told me that story — and her story — during lunch at one of her favorite places, Zaap Thai Cuisine. Haley had the vegetarian Khao Soi and water to drink. I had pineapple fried rice with chicken and water with lemon.

“It was so cool to see God using me in a setting like that. It wasn’t a church, and it wasn’t a Christian song.”

Haley, who was born and lives in Shreveport, has been getting paid to sing and play the piano for more than 11 years. But she’s been around music most of her life.

“The church I went to was very musical.

My pastor, Denny Duron, is a musician, singer and writer. We did a lot of plays. Some, I would argue, were Broadway caliber.

... I remember being on a stage singing in a children’s choir as young as 4, and I’m sure I was singing before that. Music has always been a part of who I am.”

When Haley was 6, she convinced her parents to take her to piano lessons. But instead of learning music, she memorized music. There’s a difference.

“I cheated myself. I taught myself chords later in life.”

Yes, the 34-year-old, who is in demand to play for restaurants, casino lounges, private parties and whose music you can hear on streaming platforms, learned on her own how to tickle the ivories.

“I play by ear.” One of four children (an older brother and two younger sisters), Haley was homeschooled until fourth grade. Once at Evangel Christian Academy, the self-described “serious nerd,” who was valedictorian of her high school class, thrived on having opportunities to express herself through music and drama.

“I’ve always wanted to be a singer. I don’t know that I thought of it as being super realistic. It was something that I wanted to do, but not something that I thought would actually end up happening.”

We all need that one big break to be successful. Haley’s came in late 2013 and a bit by accident.

“Superior’s Steakhouse needed a pianist to accompany one of their singers, because her pianist had moved away. They asked if I would be interested.”

Haley was, so she auditioned. The person doing the hiring quickly discovered Haley was too good to be playing for someone else.

“They never used me for her. They used me as my own act, and they found someone else for her.”

But Haley’s excitement was tempered.

Because of the religious background in which she grew up, Haley wasn’t sure if a restaurant’s bar was an appropriate setting for her talents.

She thought about it. She prayed about it. Then, she embraced it.

“Some of the most sad and lonely people you will ever meet go to bars. I got to hear a lot of people’s stories. I got to pray for people. Dealing with people who may never step foot in a church. That’s what Jesus did. He met people where they were.”

Writing, playing and singing music is not close to what Haley expected to be doing for a living. She graduated from Northwestern State University (online studies) — after attending Oral Roberts University and LSUS — with a degree in psychology. That field of study captured Haley’s interest. At the same time, when taking time off after graduating high school (her parents thought she was too young for college), she volunteered at The Educational Center for Autism.

“My first kid who was ever assigned to me was 3 years old. He was Tier One, meaning he was most severe. He had never had any intervention, and he was non-verbal. The entire summer, I was trying to get this kid to talk. Hearing his first words was just such a rewarding experience. I was hooked.”

But soon after enrolling at LSUS, Haley, a tennis team member, became physically tired. Like, every day tired.

“We knew something was wrong because I was feeling like I was having a heart attack, basically from doing very little exercise. I was also falling asleep at the wheel (as in driving) in the middle of the day, having had ample hours of sleep.”

Desperately searching for answers, Haley saw five specialists, including an endocrinologist, a neurologist and an ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor.

“They couldn’t point to any specific thing, so they told me I had chronic fatigue,” a diagnosis that didn’t satisfy Haley’s mother.

“She did research and found there were thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people who had my exact experience. Young athletes, very healthy, then very quickly dealing with fatigue. It was all around a specific vaccine (Gardasil). We found out later that was one of the side effects.”

Haley believes changing her diet to plant-based food and exercising has helped. She no longer falls asleep in the middle of the day. But she feels far from normal.

“I don’t remember what it feels like to feel rested.”

Which makes Haley’s performances — as many as five a week — even more impressive. And there’s more to come. Haley, who in 2020 auditioned and advanced several rounds before falling short of making it on the television show “The Voice,” is “rebranding” herself. She will have a new stage name to accompany a new sound (soul, rhythm and blues).

“I’m at a point in life where I’m happy.

If music works out, that’s great. If it doesn’t work out, that’s great, because I’m going to be content with whatever it is that God has for me to do.”

Assuming Haley was getting bored speaking with someone who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, I asked my final question. As always, what has she learned that others might find helpful?

“If there’s something that somebody is passionate about, whether it’s realistic or not, or whether it’s a real job or not, just go for it. Just try. ... Life is short, but it also is long. ... Follow your heart and go for it. Just try. Give it a go. See what happens. ... You can impact people wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.”

Just ask Haley’s listeners.