6701 Cary Brothers, best known as of 2005 for "Blue Eyes," the gorgeously articulate ballad he contributed to the previous year's Grammy-winning, hip-artist-showcasing Garden State soundtrack, is by most accounts every bit as astute a businessman as he is a wry, thoughtful singer/songwriter. Born in 1974 to a watercolorist mother and surgeon father, the bearded, flowing-haired artist, the youngest of three brothers, eschewed the sounds of his native Nashville as a kid in favor of Brit-pop sensations such as the Cure and the Smiths. After college at Northwestern University in the early '90s, where Brothers met Zach Braff, the writer, director, and star of Garden State, both moved to L.A.; while Braff rounded out his acting résumé, Brothers partnered with a friend to open a small production company that produced the Freddie Prinze, Jr. movie Sparkler and the country music spoof Dill Scallion. By 2002, though, his instinct to make music had overtaken his drive to rub shoulders with Hollywood insiders. Brothers, who by then had developed an appreciation for the country-folk he couldn't be bothered with as a youngster in Nashville, began playing around L.A. at such venues as the Hotel Cafe, a local haunt for upcoming singer/songwriters. There he honed the early material that would win over more than 10,000 buyers for his reverb-ringed spring 2005 EP, All the Rage. Before that set came out, though, Brothers -- with the help of buddy Braff -- had already taken his sound to the small screen after an appearance on Scrubs. His swelling popularity, by then best evidenced by the iPod charts, where "Blue Eyes" broke the Top 100 Songs list and topped the folk chart, was also helped along by his not inconsiderable business acumen. In 2004, he hit upon an idea for connecting with potential listeners: he conceived a free, downloadable "song of the week," still available on his website, that would allow fans of his moody, Coldplay-meets-U2 sound to send him feedback on what they liked and what, for them, could use some retooling. Occasionally, Brothers offers covers or songs that are unfinished, but by fall 2005, when a second EP, Waiting for Your Letter, was issued on his Procrastination Music label, the spike in visits to his site had confirmed that the concept was working. With a lot of listener input and a lot of fans behind him, Brothers will release his still-untitled full-length debut in early 2006. ~ Tammy La Gorce, All Music Guide 4707