Meet Brettni Jaber | Case Manager for State of Colorado and Lead Singer of Guilty as Charged

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brettni Jaber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brettni, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
“Perhaps the only legacy worth having is to have been known as a kind and compassionate person”- Unknown. Being kind and compassionate really resonates with me. It ties closely to my faith and my ideas on radical love. Kindness and compassion for fellow man can be pretty difficult at times. Over the last year, especially during the last election season, I was rocked by how terrible people acted towards each other. I have never seen a difference of opinion lead to such hateful and in some cases, violent behaviors. I really want to believe that at the heart of it, we all want the same thing, to be safe and happy and to feel valued. I don’t believe anything bad can come from being a compassionate and kind person even during moments of conflict. My senior quote was “Only through compassion can we truly understand.” I’ve been trying to live this way my whole life. I hope and pray that if we ever cross paths, whether we agree, disagree, or meet somewhere in the middle, that you can genuinely say that you feel like you were treated with kindness and compassion by me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m not sure if it sets me apart or not but it does seem like my formal theater, vocal, and choir training has allowed me to sing songs that many other rock bands that I’ve seen around town don’t want touch. I get really excited when I sing an Iron Maiden song or something by Queensryche and the audience seems shocked and pleasantly surprised when I rock their socks off. I love that! On the other hand, coming from that style of performing, I really struggled with my own artistic identity. In the past, I was always playing someone else on stage, and that meant I was told what to say and sing, where to stand, what to wear, every moment was essentially dictated and planned out by someone else. I thought I’d enjoy the artistic liberties that came with being lead singer of a band but honestly it was VERY overwhelming at first. My bandmates were very supportive and encouraged me to just be myself and to try different things until it fit. I never knew how hard that would be but every performance I now feel like I get more and more comfortable rocking out my own way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Some of my favorite places to go visit locally would include Case Bonita, Bishop’s Castle, literally any concert at Red Rocks, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Water World, Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and definitely Meow Wolf when it opens. I love the one in Santa Fe.

I definitely have favorite places to get grub around town to include Urban Egg or Snooze for breakfast. Sushi Totoro or Sushi Katsu are both amazing for all you can eat sushi. I’m also a huge fan of Ocean Prime for some upscale dining. They have a terrific happy hour as well. I’m also a huge fan of ChoLon, Los Chingones, Los Dos Potrillos (every single thing there is delicious), Voodoo Doughnuts for the Memphis Mafia, and Ace for some brussels sprouts and shishito peppers and ping pong! So good! If we wanted that sports bar feel to kick back and watch a fight or a game, my absolute favorite is Finn McCools for wings and the best chili cheese fries ever! It’s a lot to squeeze in but definitely bound to be tons of fun!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Shoutout goes to Antonia (Toni) Kilpatrick, lead singer of Denver’s Journey Girls. We actually worked together for the Colorado Department of Corrections when she found out that I was a singer. She would regularly encouraged me to go to karaoke with her and I refused for years, though looking back I’m not even sure why! In October 2017 she finally convinced me to stop by some local dive bar for karaoke on my birthday. At the time she was also lead singer of Guilty as Charged. My background in singing was performance theater and choir in high school and some in college. She started to suggest that I try singing some rock music, like Three Days Grace, Scorpions, stuff like that. I laughed saying “I don’t sing boy songs!” But she convinced me to try and I did! She later decided to focus solely on her band, Journey Girls, and she encouraged me to audition for lead singer of Guilty as Charged. The rest is history. I’ve been with the band since 2019 and love every second of it. Thanks, Toni! Love ya, girl!

Website: www.guiltyascharged.net

Instagram: guiltyaschargedco

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guiltyaschargedco

Image Credits
Paige Hackathorn PAH Photography,