Danielle and Jennifer

On October 11th catch the sister act of Danielle and Jennifer at The Legendary Dobbs on South Street. The Harleysville, PA duo have been acting in theatre and television since they were tiny little girls, and now are focusing more on their music.

When asked about the good side of performing together as singers, Danielle responds “I think the most positive experience working with Jennifer is that we both have the same interests and music style, so it’s a great experience writing with her because it makes us closer as sisters, but also helps us better each other as songwriters and performers.”

Jennifer also had a response, “The most positive experience I have had working with my sister is every time we perform together, everything comes together so naturally. When we are together harmonizing and playing music it feels like we are just having fun as sisters. Any worry or bit of stress we have disappears because our strong sister bond adds extra energy to our performance and lets each other know that no matter what happens we will always have each other. Knowing that makes our performance much more meaningful and entertaining.”

Jennifer took over speaking about any negative experiences. Her answer was just what you would expect to hear from sister as close as these two. “ We don’t really have any negative experiences working together. The only thing that we would say was negative is that we hate letting each other down if a show doesn’t go as planned or when there are frustrating moments.”

Danielle has experience working in theatre, including Les Miserables. “I enjoyed every moment of the time I had on Les Miserables but if I had to choose one [memorable experience] I would say my favorite would be the time I performed as young Cosette. I remember looking out into the audience right before I sang my first note of “Castle on a Cloud” and thinking how amazing it was that all of these people had their eyes on me in that moment. No one else on stage just me front and center. It was probably the most memorable moment of my life and amazing feeling knowing I was living out my dream at only seven years old.”

Jennifer has many television credits to her name, including one on the soap opera All My Children. “My character, Leora Devane Hayward, was a reoccurring role. I filmed six episodes and played a spirit who returned to my father David Hayward in visions after my characters death as an infant. The entire experience overall was something I will never forget. As a child, one experience I really enjoyed was filming on the set and playing the role of a ghost. I was able to see how they used the special effects to make me appear and disappear as a ghost figure.”

I asked the girls if they performing acting over playing music…or if it’s the other way around. Jennifer responds, “That’s a hard choice because they are both so different. We like them both in different ways- we love to sing and perform our music because it expresses who we are. But we love acting because it’s fun developing a character and bringing them to life while you are being someone you’re not for a little while.” Danielle responds, “I would say acting might be a little easier since you don’t have to lug all your equipment around or write all your own material!”

Tomorrow will not be the first time the girls have played in the Philadelphia area. They performed their song “ Radical Love” on the NBC 10 Show stage. Also, the music video for the song was filmed at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville Pa . However, The Legendary Dobbs show will be their first full live performance in Philly. You’ll definitely be hearing “Radical Love” as part of their set-list.

“The song is about the guy you date who you think is wonderful, but all your friends make fun of because he is different,” Danielle explains, “Jennifer and I have had the situation happen to us and wanted to bring it to attention because I’m sure it has happened to other people as well. The song has an anti-bullying theme as well which Jennifer and I are very big on. We like to bring it to attention whenever we can. We want people to know that its okay if your friends think your boyfriend or girlfriend is a little different. What matters is that you love them for who they are and your friends should learn to accept it.”

The girls also like to put their own spin on a lot of really popular songs. Jennifer and Danielle plan on covering some more songs from artists such as The Beatles, My Chemical Romance and Sara Bareillies. Danielle says, “We are a very diverse band ourselves. We like a lot of different music, so we like to show that through the music we cover.” The girls are still in the process of recording their first album- they are a quarter of a way done putting together a full-length release, but hope to release an EP in the next few months.

The show starts at 8pm tomorrow at Dobbs. They’ll be at The Grape Room next month, followed by a performance at the Bitter End - Jessica Nguyen-THAT MAG

On October 11th catch the sister act of Danielle and Jennifer at The Legendary Dobbs on South Street. The Harleysville, PA duo have been acting in theatre and television since they were tiny little girls, and now are focusing more on their music.

When asked about the good side of performing together as singers, Danielle responds “I think the most positive experience working with Jennifer is that we both have the same interests and music style, so it’s a great experience writing with her because it makes us closer as sisters, but also helps us better each other as songwriters and performers.”

Jennifer also had a response, “The most positive experience I have had working with my sister is every time we perform together, everything comes together so naturally. When we are together harmonizing and playing music it feels like we are just having fun as sisters. Any worry or bit of stress we have disappears because our strong sister bond adds extra energy to our performance and lets each other know that no matter what happens we will always have each other. Knowing that makes our performance much more meaningful and entertaining.”

Jennifer took over speaking about any negative experiences. Her answer was just what you would expect to hear from sister as close as these two. “ We don’t really have any negative experiences working together. The only thing that we would say was negative is that we hate letting each other down if a show doesn’t go as planned or when there are frustrating moments.”

Danielle has experience working in theatre, including Les Miserables. “I enjoyed every moment of the time I had on Les Miserables but if I had to choose one [memorable experience] I would say my favorite would be the time I performed as young Cosette. I remember looking out into the audience right before I sang my first note of “Castle on a Cloud” and thinking how amazing it was that all of these people had their eyes on me in that moment. No one else on stage just me front and center. It was probably the most memorable moment of my life and amazing feeling knowing I was living out my dream at only seven years old.”

Jennifer has many television credits to her name, including one on the soap opera All My Children. “My character, Leora Devane Hayward, was a reoccurring role. I filmed six episodes and played a spirit who returned to my father David Hayward in visions after my characters death as an infant. The entire experience overall was something I will never forget. As a child, one experience I really enjoyed was filming on the set and playing the role of a ghost. I was able to see how they used the special effects to make me appear and disappear as a ghost figure.”

I asked the girls if they performing acting over playing music…or if it’s the other way around. Jennifer responds, “That’s a hard choice because they are both so different. We like them both in different ways- we love to sing and perform our music because it expresses who we are. But we love acting because it’s fun developing a character and bringing them to life while you are being someone you’re not for a little while.” Danielle responds, “I would say acting might be a little easier since you don’t have to lug all your equipment around or write all your own material!”

Tomorrow will not be the first time the girls have played in the Philadelphia area. They performed their song “ Radical Love” on the NBC 10 Show stage. Also, the music video for the song was filmed at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville Pa . However, The Legendary Dobbs show will be their first full live performance in Philly. You’ll definitely be hearing “Radical Love” as part of their set-list.

“The song is about the guy you date who you think is wonderful, but all your friends make fun of because he is different,” Danielle explains, “Jennifer and I have had the situation happen to us and wanted to bring it to attention because I’m sure it has happened to other people as well. The song has an anti-bullying theme as well which Jennifer and I are very big on. We like to bring it to attention whenever we can. We want people to know that its okay if your friends think your boyfriend or girlfriend is a little different. What matters is that you love them for who they are and your friends should learn to accept it.”

The girls also like to put their own spin on a lot of really popular songs. Jennifer and Danielle plan on covering some more songs from artists such as The Beatles, My Chemical Romance and Sara Bareillies. Danielle says, “We are a very diverse band ourselves. We like a lot of different music, so we like to show that through the music we cover.” The girls are still in the process of recording their first album- they are a quarter of a way done putting together a full-length release, but hope to release an EP in the next few months.

The show starts at 8pm tomorrow at Dobbs. They’ll be at The Grape Room next month, followed by a performance at the Bitter End - Jessica Nguyen-THAT MAG

If ever there is total silence at home, Susan Brown wonders where her daughters are.

“They never stop singing,” she said, as Danielle, 20, and Jennifer, 17, simultaneously added that sometimes they “don’t even realize” they’re duetting until their mother points it out.

The sisters, who live both in Harleysville, where they grew up, and in New York City, where they sometimes work, have been in show business since the ages of 6 and 3. A house filled with music is as natural to the Brown sisters as a pantry stocked with Little Pepi’s pizzelles.

Susan is the daughter of Philip and MaryLou Schettone, founders of Little Pepi’s and Schettone’s Market, formerly located at DeKalb and Lafayette streets in Norristown.

“We always have them in our house,” Danielle said of the beloved waffle cookies. “Our grandparents sold the business, but it’ll always be a part of our lives.”

But the biggest part of their lives is and always has been performing. As children, Danielle said, “We knew Broadway music better than we knew how to recite our ABCs.”

Danielle and Jennifer are, in their mother’s words, “beyond their years” in terms of professional experience. “They’re entrepreneurial, hard workers and were both very responsible at a young age. They have been so businesslike and so determined to do something with their lives.”

Each has a long list of credentials working in a variety of mediums including theater (on and off Broadway), television (both acting and providing voiceovers for national commercials, successful shows and jingles) and print (modeling in advertisements).

Susan said Danielle showed a strong interest in acting and music at a very young age. “We’d take her to the Valley Forge Music Fair and all kinds of shows … and she was glued to that. So we said, ‘Hey, let’s give her a chance.’”

Danielle was only 5 when she starting landing commercials, and at age 7 she was hired to play young Cosette in “Les Miserables” on Broadway. For nearly three years she played that major role and also the role of young Eponine, sharing the responsibility with two other girls.

The Browns traveled from Pennsylvania to New York and back nearly every day during that time. The girls were home-schooled and completed lessons in the car and in hotel lobbies — “wherever we could find spots to get it done,” Danielle said. Doubling up on cyber courses allowed them both to complete high school early so they could focus on their work.

Jennifer followed in her big sister’s footsteps, launching her career at age 3 with a Toys “R” Us commercial. She went on to appear in episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “All My Children” and in a commercial parody for “Saturday Night Live.”

“I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t acting,” Jennifer said.

The sisters continue to act — an ongoing “gig” for them is acting out symptoms for New York University medical students to diagnose — but for now, they’re putting more into their music and have formed a duo, Danielle and Jennifer, which features the elder sister on keyboard and the younger Brown on guitar.

“Music has always been something that inspired us, and it’s always been a dream of ours to write our own music,” Danielle said. “Since we’re together all the time and we’re family, it just made sense to form a duo, because we have the same interests and the same music style and we … wouldn’t want to start a music career with anybody else but each other.”

Jennifer described their music as “soul pop,” with “a lot of feeling and emotion behind it,” like the Broadway music that has always inspired them.

“Not just because it’s so well written,” Danielle said of theatrical music, “but also because we grew up listening to that instead of nursery rhymes. I think that’s a big inspiration to us when we’re writing, because we try to incorporate a lot of feeling.”

“Performing together,” Jennifer said, “brings us closer as sisters. We’ve had people come up to us and say that our harmony really blends well together — our sisterly bond shines through our performance and our harmonies and vocals.”

Not only does their sound blend well, but also they each bring something unique to their act.

“I definitely think that Jennifer brings a more carefree feel to the table and lots of energy and helps remind me that everything doesn’t need to be planned,” Danielle said. “Being the older sister, I always like to have everything planned, have control over everything and make sure everything goes perfectly, but I’m very thankful to have her because she keeps me calm and relaxed and helps me know that I can just let loose.”

“I think Danielle is definitely the brains in this duo,” Jennifer added. “I may bring the carefree feel and energy, but she’s the one who keeps my energy under control so I don’t go overboard sometimes. When we’re writing music together she throws ideas out on the table and organizes it all together to make it polished - MELISSA BROOKS - timesherald.com

If ever there is total silence at home, Susan Brown wonders where her daughters are.

“They never stop singing,” she said, as Danielle, 20, and Jennifer, 17, simultaneously added that sometimes they “don’t even realize” they’re duetting until their mother points it out.

The sisters, who live both in Harleysville, where they grew up, and in New York City, where they sometimes work, have been in show business since the ages of 6 and 3. A house filled with music is as natural to the Brown sisters as a pantry stocked with Little Pepi’s pizzelles.

Susan is the daughter of Philip and MaryLou Schettone, founders of Little Pepi’s and Schettone’s Market, formerly located at DeKalb and Lafayette streets in Norristown.

“We always have them in our house,” Danielle said of the beloved waffle cookies. “Our grandparents sold the business, but it’ll always be a part of our lives.”

But the biggest part of their lives is and always has been performing. As children, Danielle said, “We knew Broadway music better than we knew how to recite our ABCs.”

Danielle and Jennifer are, in their mother’s words, “beyond their years” in terms of professional experience. “They’re entrepreneurial, hard workers and were both very responsible at a young age. They have been so businesslike and so determined to do something with their lives.”

Each has a long list of credentials working in a variety of mediums including theater (on and off Broadway), television (both acting and providing voiceovers for national commercials, successful shows and jingles) and print (modeling in advertisements).

Susan said Danielle showed a strong interest in acting and music at a very young age. “We’d take her to the Valley Forge Music Fair and all kinds of shows … and she was glued to that. So we said, ‘Hey, let’s give her a chance.’”

Danielle was only 5 when she starting landing commercials, and at age 7 she was hired to play young Cosette in “Les Miserables” on Broadway. For nearly three years she played that major role and also the role of young Eponine, sharing the responsibility with two other girls.

The Browns traveled from Pennsylvania to New York and back nearly every day during that time. The girls were home-schooled and completed lessons in the car and in hotel lobbies — “wherever we could find spots to get it done,” Danielle said. Doubling up on cyber courses allowed them both to complete high school early so they could focus on their work.

Jennifer followed in her big sister’s footsteps, launching her career at age 3 with a Toys “R” Us commercial. She went on to appear in episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “All My Children” and in a commercial parody for “Saturday Night Live.”

“I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t acting,” Jennifer said.

The sisters continue to act — an ongoing “gig” for them is acting out symptoms for New York University medical students to diagnose — but for now, they’re putting more into their music and have formed a duo, Danielle and Jennifer, which features the elder sister on keyboard and the younger Brown on guitar.

“Music has always been something that inspired us, and it’s always been a dream of ours to write our own music,” Danielle said. “Since we’re together all the time and we’re family, it just made sense to form a duo, because we have the same interests and the same music style and we … wouldn’t want to start a music career with anybody else but each other.”

Jennifer described their music as “soul pop,” with “a lot of feeling and emotion behind it,” like the Broadway music that has always inspired them.

“Not just because it’s so well written,” Danielle said of theatrical music, “but also because we grew up listening to that instead of nursery rhymes. I think that’s a big inspiration to us when we’re writing, because we try to incorporate a lot of feeling.”

“Performing together,” Jennifer said, “brings us closer as sisters. We’ve had people come up to us and say that our harmony really blends well together — our sisterly bond shines through our performance and our harmonies and vocals.”

Not only does their sound blend well, but also they each bring something unique to their act.

“I definitely think that Jennifer brings a more carefree feel to the table and lots of energy and helps remind me that everything doesn’t need to be planned,” Danielle said. “Being the older sister, I always like to have everything planned, have control over everything and make sure everything goes perfectly, but I’m very thankful to have her because she keeps me calm and relaxed and helps me know that I can just let loose.”

“I think Danielle is definitely the brains in this duo,” Jennifer added. “I may bring the carefree feel and energy, but she’s the one who keeps my energy under control so I don’t go overboard sometimes. When we’re writing music together she throws ideas out on the table and organizes it all together to make it polished - MELISSA BROOKS - timesherald.com