She learned the hard way that being gifted doesn’t always mean the industry’s going to show you any love. So Brooke went the D.I.Y. route after MCA dropped her mid-tour a few years ago, and the singer/songwriter hasn’t looked back.

Steady Pull, her first studio album on her own Bad Dog Records label, was released February 13 and is threatening the top of Billboard’s Heat Seekers chart despite its indie status.

Brooke co-produced the disc with Bob Clearmountain and got plenty of help from friends with divergent musical backgrounds including Neil Finn of Crowded House and Michael Franti of Spearhead.

She has started methodically promoting the new disc, lining up promotional appearances and singing at Borders stores since its release. The next step is to roll out a full-blown club and theatre tour starting March 29 in California.

She’s lined up 25 concerts that will keep her on the road through mid-May, including stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.

Brooke hasn’t fit neatly into a particular niche or format, so she doesn’t count on radio to help promote her music.

“I think no matter what, if you want to be around for a while, if you really want to have a career, you have to tour your ass off. There’s just no two ways about it,” she told Pollstar after her debut Bad Dog release, Jonatha Brooke Live.