Matt Connarton Unleashed: Brooks Young

And joining us live in studio at the News desk, Brooks Young is here. Hello, sir, Hello, Hello, thank you for having me. Yeah, it's great to see you. Man. When when did I interview you the first time? It seems like another lifetime ago. I think it was another lifetime ago. I want to say it was jeez, it had been at least ten years or more. Yeah. Yeah, I'm trying to remember. Now have I interviewed you? I think more than once before? Right, yeah, it had to be yeah. Yeah. And did I go Was I at a show that you did live too?

Did we do something with with you live? Trying to remember? Maybe nothing at the Flying Monkey. Maybe, Oh it's possible, it's possible. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So it's great to have you. It's it's been a long time. Obviously you've been very busy. I've been very busy. Yeah, I've been very busy since I've seen you last. And yeah, and just keep on, you know, trucking through. Yeah and now currently, uh, you're because for a while you had Brooks Young band. Yeah still do you still do? Yeah? Okay, yep, yep.

We we just had a rehearsal the other day. We're playing in Conquered. Next Friday, I'm doing a few shows with the band and some local solo stuff before I head out on tours. So, oh I got you okay, yeah, because I noticed, like, like, you've got Brooks Young dot com and you've got Brooks Young band dot com. Yeah, a nice website, by the way, I'm I'm a website nerd. I look at websites and oh, thank you, and I assess them and it's a it's a good website. The guy know who handles it. No, that's not for real, because some a lot of musicians have horrible websites.

Yeah, you have to be up in the game, you know. Yeah. Yeah, No, So that looks really good now, so yeah, tell us about the tour. So you're gonna be going out with George Good? Yes, So I head out in October through November. I'm on tour with George throw Good in the Destroyers and we're going all over the place from Pennsylvania, New York, uh, Florida, Georgia and Kentucky, North Carol line of South Carolina. You know, there's a list list of shows, a huge list, and uh I was on tour, did a couple of dates last summer with him in Sammy Hagar in the Circle with Mike Anthony from Van Halen on face and uh Jason Bonham on drums, George thur Get in his band and myself and oh wow, we had a blast and George and I just got along really well and he was interested in having me come out and join him this fall on tour.

So yeah, So I've been prepping for that, getting ready because there's a lot of logistics you know, involved with something like you know, of that scale. Oh of course. Yeah. How many dates is it? I want to say it's a little under twenty oh, and we'll be adding some more. There might be a date on there. I believe that we might do with Sammy Hagar as well. Yeah, in October, yeah, because we'll be in the Neck of the Woods the night before, so that that's that's rumor there. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

You know, George is a great guy, and you know, he he really did a lot for you know, getting the Blues and things like that, kind of going in a more rock style of things. And he's a funny guy, really nice and I you know, looking forward to I'll be seeing George next week, so excellent. Yeah. Yeah, he'll be up in New Hampshire, so I'm gonna go see him and chat a little bit. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it and just kind of prepping myself for that tour. Yeah, he's such a staple on classic rock radio.

With that, I'm trying to think of who else would even be in that category where it's it's very blues oriented, but more more so than most classic rock is. Yeah, and he had that whole you know, that kind of a bow diddle league kind of you know, that whole shuffle kind of thing going on with the guitar and the slide. Yeah, and George, you know, he really picked that up and you know, took it to a different level. Yeah, and kind of made it a little bit more in the forefront of music. I still remember.

It's funny. I still remember being a kid and seeing the video for Bad to the Bone the first time and seeing him, know, because he's walking into the pool hall and and uh, you know, and I think that that might have been I don't know, I don't know if it was his very first radio hit at the time, but it was an early one, you know. And then he had a he had a huge run and I can't think of yeah, I can't think of anybody quite like him who really Again, it has become such a staple on classic rock radio, which I'm sure from a business standpoint, probably helps him sell a lot of tickets.

Yeah, we're playing large venues, excellent. One of the venues I'm really excited for is November first. We're going to be at the hard Rock Live Venue in Orlando. Oh wow, that's the big one. Yeah, So I'm really looking forward to that, and I know a lot of my friends and family, you know, want to come down to see that show. So yeah, you know, it'd be a lot of familiar faces at that and it'll be nice and warm. Yeah. When when is that? November? November? Yeah, yeah, well it's a good time to go. Yeah yeah.

Now how long do you get? How long have a set do you get to play? I usually play for about forty five okay, yep, okay, And uh so I do that usually. Uh you know, my daily routine there is you know, I'll be at the hotel kind of do my thing there, and then I head over for sound checks at four, so I'll check in with the venue, go to my dressing room, I have a tour manager that goes with me, yeah, and you know, takes care of my stuff. And then usually we'll have dinner around six. I'll do us sound check before dinner.

Yeah, and then you know, myself, the band crew, everyone, we all eat, you know, and and do our thing, and then I'll go out there and I'll play and do my thing, and then George will go out and uh, you never know, George and I might you know, trade a few licks on this tour. So have you done that before with him? No? No, no, And I think you know, hopefully that that's what this tour is all about. So yeah, that must be kind of a kind of a dream, right to be able to actually share the stage yeah, simultaneously and yeah play.

Yeah, So you know, I'm sure or that will be happening on this tour. And you know, he's just just a great guy, and you know, he has a great fan base as well, and you know, to get to see how the fans react, you know, with George. And I remember we were in Chicago last summer and were we played the Hollywood Casino and it was twenty five thousand people. Wow, And one of the fans gave George a cane. So if you're familiar with George, he has like the cobra as kind of like his logo. Oh yeah, and someone gave him a cane and it had like an ivory type cobra on the top of it.

Yeah, And George and I were backstage and you know, trying to get the you know, the plastic off the cobra because he wanted to use it to go and you know, walk out and go see the rest of Sammy set. Yeah, And uh, it was really cool and he just great fans and you know, he's just a great guy to be around. Sammy must be fun to be around. I would say, Sammy's funny. So I last summer, I never met Sammy before until summer, and I was standing outside of my dressing room. So it was my dressing room and across right across the hall was Jason Bonham and he was warming up on drums, so he has like a rolling B drum set there and he's jamming out to Fleetwood Mac and and walks Sammy.

He goes red T shirt one never met him before, and he looks right at me and he goes Brooks and he comes over and we chat for a while, and yeah, just so much energy, very positive guy. You know, just good people to be around, and you know that that's what it's all about, you know, and that's how you know, you make it to that level of things and performing like that. You know, you just you have to surround yourself with the right people. Oh yeah, yeah, And Michael Anthony seems like I've got I met Sammy once.

Uh. I met him actually at Meadowbrook when he was on that This was many years ago, when he was on the tour that he did with David Lee Roth. Oh, I've got to I was at that show and I got to meet him. I've never met Michael Anthony, but he seems like he must really nice guy, very much like Seemmy. Very quiet. Yeah, they're just regular guys at the end of the day, you know, they hang out just like us, and you know, and we all hang out and chat, have a drink after the show and just talk about whatever's going on in our life.

Now. When you go on tour, does does your band? Is it all the same people who go with you on tour that you have here who play shows with you in the area on certain shows, Yeah, for this particular tour will be just myself. But yeah, like when I was on tour Three Dog Night for you know, a couple of years we did that, you know, it was my same band yea, and so you know, we had rehearsal on Sunday for some stuff we have coming up, and it's you know, over the years, I've had a couple of different lineups, but the people that are in the group now or you know, people that have been with me for at least ten years.

Oh no, kidding, Yeah, Oh that's good. I mean, that's that's gotta be hard to keep you know. I mean I've been in bands, and I know how hard it is to keep the same group together for any period of time. Really, A lot of people don't realize how hard it is. Yeah, yeah, oh yeah. You're dealing with everybody's schedules and everyone you know, and and often varying levels of commitment. So that's impressive. Yeah. So and it just works out. You know, we all we have that certain cohesiveness and it just works.

You know, we read each other really well on stage. Yeah, you know, we can uh, we know when something's up. Yeah. Yeah, that must be particularly important with the music that you do, because so I've never been in a blues band, but obviously with what you do, there's there's a lot of room for improv right there. And or sometimes a song that you know might normally be four minutes might be six minutes. And you know, yeah one word live. You know, we're more like a blues rock you know, we're you're you're straight old standard blues you know.

Yeah, yeah, like BB you know, you know I did that for a while back when I you know, first got started out, when I was playing with BB King. Then usually you know, I did some stuff with Robert Cray fairly recently. Wow, so that that was more straight blues. Yeah, and you know this winter was great. I did a show with Los Lobos kid. Yeah, Los Lobos Man, those guys were great, and you know, David and uh, you know, it's just just just a fun I always you know, listen to you know, the Wolf, you know, all all of those, all of those songs that they did in LaBamba and all of that, and you know, to be there and do a show with them and hang out with them, you know during all that, it's just you know, it's really interesting to like be able to hang out with the people that you grew up listening to.

Oh, no doubt, you know, you get that, you're you kind of walk in like, Okay, what's it gonna be? Like, Yeah, you know, is it gonna be everything you thought? Or is it? You know? And most of the time it's very good. That's good to hear too, because you know, there's not everyone has the same experience and that some people we'll say, you know, don't meet your heroes, you know what I mean. But but it sounds like for you it's been pretty good. Yeah, you know, I I've I've I only have one story and I will not share it that it wasn't that way really, and I was surprised.

Yeah, but you know most most, like nine percent of them were good. Yeah that's good. Yeah, that's good. So you did with Robert Cray? Did did recently? You said you worked with him? Yeah, that was well, I would say fairly recently. It was a year or two ago, and yeah, I did some tour dates with Robert for a while, and uh, hopefully he might be doing some more stuff with him this year. So yeah, Robert's a great guy, very talented, and you know, he's part of that that circle of guitarists. So you know, you have your you know, your BB King and you have Robert and Eric Clapton and uh during actually speaking of Eric, during COVID, Eric's daughter, Ruth Clapton and I recorded together.

Oh no kidding, yeah, we did. I honestly, I didn't even know he had a daughter and he was a musician. If she's a very talented singer, and Ruth and I actually did one of her dad's songs, We did Promises, Oh no kidding, yeah, and we recorded that during the pandemic and we had a great time. And uh, I was just talking to her last week and she lives over in Yorkshire, England, Oh wow. And uh yeah, So I'd become really friendly with you know, Eric and his his management, and he invited me down to see him last September at the Garden.

Yeah, and he hooked me up down there to see him and Jimmy Vaughan and uh yeah, I'd get to hang out with Jimmy Vaughan about a month ago and such a talented, you know guitarist. Yeah, and you know, we had a good conversation about just you know, the other the other casts that play with you know, with him and Eric and everyone. It's a very tight knit circle. Brooks Young is with us in studio. By the way, Miriam Banish really liked that song ventil later. Oh that's great. Yeah, yeah, I had a blast recording that.

Yeah, I noticed south there's a video, So is that now? Is that actual footage from the recording or is yeah? Where do you Where did you record that? I recorded that a phenomenal studio up in the White Mountains called Mojo's Studio. Oh yeah, yeah, legendary yep, yep. Anthony and you know, and his dad up there, and uh, I have a blast. I recorded quite a bit up there, and I actually did a show with them this summer. We did a big, big thing up there up in the Notch and I just love going there. You know, you walk in, it's just the vibe, it's perfect.

We did a little piece of on New Hampshire Chronicle I think back in February, and which was great. We did that, and then I also why we were recording the album. We were also I was working on another project where Governor Sanoni and I did a song together, that song about New Hampshire and the video yeah, I went viral and oh I didn't even know about it, no kidding, Oh yeah, look it it's does he play guitar? Uh? He he dabbles with guitar. Understood, Yeah, but yeah, I coached him through and he came up with the lyrics and yeah.

Yeah. He called me up one night and he's like, Brooks, I have this idea and I was like, sure, yeah, what do you want to do. He's like, I want to do a song everywhere man, all about New Hampshire and the different locations. And I said, all right, let's do it. And the Governor and I we've been friends for quite a while now and yeah, so it's like, sure, you know, come on over, we'll do some recording. And he emailed me the lyrics and we worked it out and he did a great job and so you'll have to look it up.

It went viral. So speaking of the Los Lobos show, it's I was in my hotel when I was up doing that show with them, and my bass player Al he was across the hall in his room and he texted me a picture of his TV and it's CNN and it's me and the Governor. CNN's playing you know this this music video and doing a segment on it and it was hilarious and I didn't get to see it at the time, but yeah, yeah, so yeah, it's been a real busy year. Yeah, yeah, it sounds it. Yeah. Yeah, when when I first met you at that point, I think even even then, like back when when I had first interviewed you, you you had played with.

Who were some of the early people that you played with? Because I think I think i've obviously BB King, right Lewis and the News. BB King is who I was thinking of, because I remember we talked about that before. Yeah, yeah, Huey, Lewis and the News, Pat Benatar, Jez, a bunch of people. Yeah, there's a list somewhere. I think is BB King though? Is he kind of the first? Like bb is the big, the big, the big thing. So do you remember in Manchester here there was a Singer Park and there was the stage the music.

Yeah, so the BB King was playing there and the date got ranged out and rescheduled to September eleventh, and so I was at that show and a friend of mine brought me to it and I got to meet BB King and so it was with b Beyond nine to eleven there and kind of became friends with him and told him what I did, and I believe I think gave him a CD or something of the sort he had my music, and uh, just recently, probably right after that, I got an email from his agent at William Morris asking saying, you know, bb would like you to open up and play some shows.

Wow. And I wasn't prepared for anything like that. Yeah, And you know, I remember where I was standing the moment I got that news, and I was like in my head like okay, I have this, so what what what am I going to do with this? And I like get on the phone and uh oh yeah, here's the so yeah. So the other shows, Collective Soul, the Wallflowers, trying to think of what some of the early ones sellside Johnny and the Aspbury Jukes. I played a lot with them were starting out, and Rick Derringer, Negar Winter Wow, and those are fun yeah, and just you know, just good times and uh, you know, just learned a lot from him, you know.

But it sounds like that that opportunity with BB King really kind of launched you right there. Sure was. Yeah. Once you and that's the thing you start there, and it's like, well where do you go from there? You know, And I was like, but BB was, He's definitely, you know, the most humble man. And I learned a lot from him and had a lot of conversations with him, you know, over those years, and it was really sad when he passed away. Yeah, and I remember him telling me, you know, because he I knew, I knew this was the moment in my life where it was one of the shows I was playing with BB King and I walked back to the dressing room, I'm going into the venue.

I got my guitar in my hand, I got my suit everything, and I take my suit jacket off and I put it up next to BB King's in the dressing room while he's sitting there eating dinner and is with him Willie, and I set my guitar down next to Lucille his guitar, and that is like one of those moments where it was like, you know, the surreal like moment, you know, because I you know, I was you know, younger then, but you know, I was watching him, you know, on DVDs, and I had every single album and you know, just soaking it in and learning that and then all of a sudden, there I am in this small little backstage room, you know, and my my friend of Straton next to Gibson, you know, Lucille and my coat.

I always knew that, you know, dress sharp. So anyone who knows Bev. He always had these very stylish you know, suit coats and everything like that. Oh yeah, and I remember him he said, uh, always dress when you're going out there to perform, like you're going to the bank for a loan. Yeah, yeah, that's good. Yeah, yeah, it must have been. It must have been a shock when you when you got the call, because I would imagine like when you hand him your CD or you handed it to or as manager or whomever, Like in the back of your mind, you know you're you're doing that because you know it's smart to do that, but you probably don't really expect anything's going to happen, right because because so many of us, you know, we have that you know, uh, we we get an opportunity to hand something to somebody, and but but we know that, you know, they've probably got people handing them stuff all the time.

You know, they're they're never gonna listen. What are the odds that they're going to listen to it? And then when it when it happens, when you get that call, I mean, that must have been mind blowing. Yeah, it sure was, you know. And uh and then to do more shows afterwards. Yeah, after that first, you know, initial show, and you know, the whole point was to just do a really good job and you know, hope, hope it all goes well. Yeah, cross your fingers and you're up there, you know, in front of a few thousand people, you know, And yeah, that was my first big show, you know, like, yeah, I was there with opening for BB King and there was probably like three four thousand people I think at that first show.

Yeah, and I never experienced anything like that prior, and you know, I just wanted to go up there and do the best that I could. And where was it that show? That first show was that hand to Beach because Sino ball Room. Oh okay, that was my first you know, my first gig gig. Yeah, yeah, you know wow, and uh so yeah that was fun. I played there many times over the years since with Huey Lewis in the news and Pat Benatar and yeah, a bunch of folks and uh, that's always a fun room to play. Yeah, yeah, no doubt who have you played with who would really is there someone you've played with who would really be kind of surprising because well because when for example, when you say Huey Lewis and the news, it's kind of like, yeah, okay, I he's a great guy.

Yeah, yeah, loves golf stocks. We walked around the casino, so Huei's I believe it was his grandfather. He tell me his grandfather played. Yeah, I think his grandfather played drums in a big band, a swing band back in the day. And they actually played at Hampton Beach Casino and Hue and I walked around inside and he was telling me like where the stage used to be, and you know, all these great stories and yeah, just a really nice guy. Yeah yeah. He give me a big shout out up on stage and oh that's cool.

And I thought that was pretty cool. I was like, all right, you know, because I grew up, you know, I was born eighty two and you know, Back to the Future and you know all of those songs, you know, the album Sports and all that like, and then like whoa you know Huey Lewis. You know, he was such a you know, a big name in the eighties. Oh yeah, you know, and Back to the Future that whole soundtrack. Yeah, and uh and fantastic. I mean they sound just like the album when they're live. Really, I've never I've never seen them live.

I have some good friends who who are big fans who have seen them live. But yeah, he doesn't play anymore. I know. It's terrible. What happened to him. That manear's disease. I think it's called yea. Yeah. I remember seeing an interview where he was talking about it. It was when they came out with that last ep Weather. Yeah, it was a few years ago. Yeah, and he was talking about how they're playing a show and just all of a sudden is hearing like either just couldn't hear or everything sounded strange, or so it's hard to like sing in team you know and tune.

Yeah, and I think too, he said it it comes and goes, so he'll have moments where his hearing is somewhat normal, but it doesn't last, so he's he's pretty much pretty much done. Yeah, Yeah, it's terrible. Do you ever worry about that? Do you ever worry about something happening to you're hearing? I mean, I'm sure you have some hearing loss because part of being a musicians, you know, you're you're in front of loud amps and you know, I mean I got only I haven't gotten my hearing tested because I'm literally afraid to be same here.

I think I would be afraid. Yeah, I don't have any issues yet, knock on wood. You know, I haven't had any any type of ringing in the ear, and yeah, any you know, I try to do the best I can when I'm on stage performing usually those large shows there either I'll have any your monitors and or you know, the monitor mix is a pretty healthy you know, yeah, yeah mix. But once you start getting you know, the horn section up there and you know everything else. And I remember, I'll never forget this. This was that same show with BB King at the Casino and I'm up there and we're doing our sound check and in BB him an organ player, uh had two Leslie's And I remember my keyboard player, Jeff, He's up there and he goes to the hit the first note.

We were doing something and I could feel the air and the sound on my bat and I was like, oh my gosh, my ears. And that's the one time I think in my life where I was like, oh jeez, I you know, better be careful here. Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm pretty well. I don't. I don't play anymore, but I notice like I have tonitas, but I only really notice it when I first wake up in the morning, so it doesn't bother me yet. But I don't listen to headphones anymore except when I'm doing the show. Yeah, but like I, you know, I miss putting on headphones and listening to loud music.

But I'm actually afraid to now because I don't want it to get any worthy, you know. Yeah, I you know, I tried to use the in ear monitors when we were on tour with Three Dog Night. We used them, and but I always found myself pulling out an ear really yeah, because I just I love that natural you know, yeah five the feel because it's too isolated in the mix, and you know, I feel like I'm not there right right, exactly exactly now. When you go out so on this tour with George Thoroughgood, you're gonna be no, you said you're not bringing the band.

No, no, maybe there'll be some a date or something maybe added where you know, I get to bring the guys, But yeah, no, no, so this is myself and George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers and uh yeah, so so what what do you do? You just go out and you just go out on stage by yourself or yeah, yeah, so I'll go out and yeah, yeah I've I've gotten to that. You know, the last summer there, you know, a twenty five thousand people there in front of me. I was like, yo, okay, I got this now. Yeah you know, yeah, it took a moment.

You know, I's gonna say that must be that must be scary at first, because when you're you know, when you're up there with a band, it's like, you know, you can all kind of lean on each other and it's like that it's like a security blanket. Yeah exactly, it's like we're all in this together. But uh yeah, it's it's it's a little different when you're up there by yourself and you have all those eyes looking at you. Yeah, you know, you're like, you know, just okay, everything, you know, let's not break a string.

Let's sound good. You know. I try to make sure like I don't talk too much or whatever during you know, the day before hand leading up, you know, I try to save as much energy, because when I go out there and perform like that, you know, I try to give it everything that I have. Yeah, and I try to not leave anything, you know. So I go out there and I do the absolute best that I can, and it usually shows because it looks like I just came out of a swimming pool by the last song. Oh yeah, yeah. And then I'll go back in my dressroom and take a shower or whatever and go back out and you know, listen to the rest of the show.

So but the first time, it must have been pretty scary walking out there by yourself, I would imagine, right, yeah, you know it. Yeah, for those size shows, you know, I kind of, you know, I built myself up for like the smaller like two thousand like seat venues, but like you do those other ones that are you know, twenty twenty five thousand people, it's like an ocean. Yeah. I mean this was in Chicago. We were in where was it. Yeah, I think Chicago, Illinois is twenty five thousand people. Like Meadowbrook looks big.

But you go to some of these venues that are out in the Midwest and stuff, and it's Meadowbrook look very small, and and they're all set up the same, they're just you know, wider spread, more people. Yeah. But it's really interesting though going to all the different cities and towns and you kind of like

every city in town is so different, like the people, like the audience, Like you could be playing and you know, so one of the dates on there's lex Kentucky. I've played there before, and it's so much different than say you go a couple hours away and you're in Nashville or Knoxville or whatever. Like the audience, the crowd reacts so differently. Some people they'll just sit there and then they'll clap afterwards, or more people are standing up cheering and you know during So it's so different. So it's really neat to see.

Yeah, well when you're opening too, I would imagine there's probably some crowds, you know, because we've all seen it happen where you know, if they don't if you're the opener and they don't know you, you know, this is that I would imagine sometimes as that beginning thing where they're a little tentative. Yeah, but then you know, a couple of songs in there like okay, yeah, this is cool, yeah yeah yeah yeah, and then usually I'll I try to go out like to the merch table or whatever, you know, after I perform and sign a few things, or usually we have a guest list, people will come backstage.

You just kind of meet some people and uh you know, you get to uh see see a lot of different things on the road, and that's for sure. Yeah. Ye Does your approach to playing change at all where you're with the full band versus when you're by yourself. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you know, I'll have you know, my main guitars with me, like my you know, Fender Stratic caster and my Martin Acoustic with me and stuff like that. But yeah, the song choices are different, my you know, my style playing is still the same, you know, obviously you have to put a little bit more into it.

Yeah, you know, and but it opens it up a lot, so I can play a lot, you know, a lot of my original stuff a little bit more different, not different, but you know, more open sounding. And you know, the key thing is really just keeping my voice, you know, and checking and being able to have that because you know, at the end of the day, when I'm out there's you know, it's it's my guitar and my my vocals. Yeah, So do you ever have any trouble with your with your voice? No? You know, you know, usually if I if I do quite a few nights in a row, like long nights.

A couple of nights ago, I played for three hours straight and that probably wasn't the best. I noticed it, and I can notice it a little bit today, like I'm really raspy, and usually it's not. Usually it's fairly smooth. Yeah, yeah, do you do you actually feel it or yeah? I can sear it, yeah, you know, right, and hear a little bit. But you know, I try to drink you know, I got like throat coat, and yeah, I drink a lot of that before I go out and play yea and do vocal exercises warming up. So no, that's good because you know, a lot of vocalists don't a lot of vocalists don't take care of their throats.

And then you know, at a certain point, you know, things start to kind of give out. Now. J Fed is in the Facebook live chat. He's one of our friends from Vermont, and he asks, and this will sound like a strange question, but I'll explain afterwards why he's asking this. He says, do you think he will do an ice bath with George path with George. Now, the reason he's asking that is he's a very j Fed is a very big proponent of the ice bath. You know, I'm familiar with it. Yeah, so I did a show I played with the drummer for Bruce Springsteen, Max Weinberg.

Yeah, and Max does an ice bath for his arms after the show. No kidding, Yeah, so I'm familiar with. Does he just put his arms in it or does he get into the bath? No? No, just his arms? Oh okay, yeah, oh see j Fed, he he gets into the ice bath. Yeah, we don't have bath backstage. We have showers, showers. Yeah, yeah, maybe if I go back to my hotel and you know, my tour manager call him up and say, hey, can you know, fill it with ice and phil yeah, Philip Brooks is you know bathtub with ice? Yea, they might scratch their head, but you know, but that would But in that case, so you'd be doing it by yourself, like you wouldn't invite George over pretab Yeah.

Yeah, maybe maybe we might have you know, a whiskey or something together before, but yeah, we usually keep the bathing to ourselves, right And Texas. Mike joins us in the Chatterman says, Brooks were you Were you the one to portray Garth Brooks at the Palace Theater during the pandemic. Yes, that was me. Oh now so okay, so what is I don't know about this? What is uh? What is this? Yes, sue, excuse me. Over at the Palace Theater, we did a show during the pandemic. It was called Brooks Place Brooks Okay, And it was a Garth Brooks tribute show during the pandemic that we did.

And I put a band together, I'll be damned. Yeah, yeah it was. It was just it was this idea that I had. Yeah, it was like, oh, this would be neat and during COVID, like you couldn't really go out anywhere, so it's all videotaped and you know, and you know, the whole big production, the video wall, the lights, the smoke, the whole nine yards. Yeah, some of it's on YouTube, I think, no kidding. Yeah, if you do Brooks Place, Brooks, I think it's oh, I think it's on there. Yeah, I didn't know about this.

That's cool. Yep. So yes, that was me and with a full band or just you full, oh full, yeah, everything and you and it's just all Garth Brooks Brooks. Oh wow, I'll be damned. Yeah, Texas, Mike says Garth Brooks is his favorite artist. So yeah, that was a lot of fun. Wow, that was a one and done deal. Did you happen I'm not a big country guy, but did you happen to do a hard luck woman? And I don't believe so? Uh, the only reason so I have an affinity for well, Kiss is my favorite band, and of course Garth covered that, and of course and on the cover that are recorded, Kiss is actually on the track with him.

So and they even uh, I don't know if you've ever seen it, there's a YouTube video of them performing it together. Look that I did not know that. Yeah, they performed it together. This was nineteen ninety four. They actually performed it together on the Tonight Show. Really yeah, it's it's uh yeah, it's pretty cool. Well, we should, uh, let's play another track. I played ventil later earlier, but we should give this other one to listen. Uh, dream Away and the latest album supply Chain Blues. Yeah.

Yeah, so we'll play this and then we can and then we can talk some more. Any anything you want us to know about this. Did you also record this at Mojo? Yeah? Yeah, this is from Mojo, and yeah it was a great So this this song I wrote actually way back when I lived in Manchester a long time ago. I wrote and recorded like on one of my first EPs, and I was asked to re record the song and make it a little bit more bluesy and put it on this actual album that went out. And this album, It's If, actually went to the top of the charts for a while and even past Buddy Guy for like a week, don't okay.

I was like, Okay, this is cool, this is cool. Yeah, but yeah this song dream Away, Yeah I did very well and I'm very proud of it. Cool. All right, check this out. This is dream Away from Brooks Young. Every day dream away

that fall good, fall in love with me. It seems just like yesterday the afors saw you, fash you made my house give a beach, flooded

inside of men, dreams and never money. I was shouting, wake by you. You make me feel so complete, So I don't you say you'll stay with me? I want to touch your lips. I feel you with my single chimps, watch your body by, would I kiss you good night?

Every day I had dream away that I fought a girl to fall. Lowe Brooks Young is here. He is at the news desk. Hello, Hello, Hello, wonderful to have you here, sir, and uh yeah, if you're just joining us. We've been talking music and Brooks has an upcoming tour with George Thoroughgood and we've been playing playing a couple of the studio tracks, really great stuff. So Brooks, how many how many albums have you recorded? You must you must have quite a few at this point, right, Oh geez, that's a great question.

I want to say five five albums five yeah, five, five some studies, some live, a live album, a couple of studio albums, a couple of EPs, and the goal is by the end of the year to go back and do a follow up on the latest album. Excellent, yeah, excellent. Are you going to do? You think you're gonna making full length albums because we live in an era where you've got a lot of different options in terms of how you approach it. Yeah, you know, And that's interesting you say that, because I have been thinking about that, and you know, everything nowadays, you know, it's all about throwing out the single, you know, put the single out there.

But there's something about the continuity, the having the whole album work with each other, you know, all the tracks, you know, kind of melt together, and I like that. I like going into the studio and having that mindset of I'm going to make this cohesive project, yeah, you know, rather than just go in and record a single, which I've done many many times, which is also fun. But there's just something about walking out and knowing you have a whole album, right, you know. I can go in there and make a whole album and then maybe put two songs as singles out first and just kind of test the waters a bit, right, you know, which I've which I did with this album.

So yeah, you know, a whole album. Definitely whole album. Do you like being in the studio? Love it? Do you good? If I could do, if I could be anywhere all the time, it would probably be in the studio. Oh interesting, Okay, So you prefer that to being live, don't I look at them as two different things? Yeah? Yeah, you know. I love the live aspect of the performing part of it and being able to that connection with the audience and the performer something about the studio that I love is be the creative side of me.

Like I can be very creative, I can stop, I can you know, reduce something when I'm doing live it's that's that's the moment, right, you know. And something about going in the studio and just knowing that you know the skies, the limit, you know, and you know recording and so I don't know, I enjoy it. Now. Do you have if you worked with producers or do you produce yourself or usually you know, I produce a lot of the things with you know, the gentleman who's at the studio, Anthony and I. I'd do a lot of their producing.

I had on this album a good friend of mine, Charlie Cantrell. He was the executive producer on the last album. And so yeah, usually there's a couple of us. Yeah, I know a lot of times too. You know, sometimes you might go into a studio and the engineer becomes almost a de facto producer if they're someone who has a lot of ideas and suggestions. Many hats Yeah, Charlie Cantrell, that that name is familiar to me. Should I is that someone I should know? You're probably thinking of the cantrell the guitars.

Maybe I don't know. For Alison Chains, I just I feel like I've heard I've heard that name. So yeah, Charlie,

he owns the world's smallest horse, Einstein. Maybe you've heard of that chronicle and oh maybe that might be that might be why Yeah, the world's smallest horse. Yeah, yeah, Einstein. We're good buddies. Ye.

Now has your approached to recording changed over the years. Yeah, yeah, I know when to stop recording and I know what to listen for. I know, you know where I'm at. You know, I can go in the studio and say, okay, that was a great take. Yeah, not do like thirty takes of you know, the same thing. Like I can go in there and I know exactly what I'm looking for, and you know, i'd like I've tried different ways where we go in and record like a scratch track with the band and then we will start from the drums ground up and you know, overdubbing things like that.

Yeah, the Supply Chain Blues album was recorded a little bit differently. Supply Chain Blues. That's a great name, Yeah, I thought so, right, And uh so you know that that album there was full band. We all kind of recorded together, the drums and the bass and keys, and very little overdubbing, Like all the guitar that you hear is me actually playing it. Why I coorded it, okay, overdub anything. Really, the only thing I did was the vocals. Okay. And when you said, now you know when to stop instead of you know, thirty takes.

So when you when you used to do a lot more takes? Was it is it perfectionism or were you just never and just searching for well, could it be something else? You know, it's just the riff or could there be a better riff? Yeah? You know. And so now I kind of go in there into the studio prepared, you know. And I we always went in prepared. Yeah we could. We could knock a whole album out, you know, usually within a weekend the band, no joke, like really, we do a lot of rehearsing prior, yeah, and we go in knowing exactly what we want to do.

So we don't go in there blind. Yeah, because we don't waste anyone's time at the studio and we don't want to waste our time. Go in there with a mission and we do it. And in and Out and uh yeah, excellent, excellent, they focused. Yeah, and now in your live show, obviously, you know you have a lot of originals, but I assume do you also do some covers. We do a few covers. Yeah, we actually, uh so we're we're doing like a fun little like a club pub kind of show coming up next Friday and Conquered at Pucci's.

Oh okay, and we actually put a cover and we're doing Dirty Laundry by Don Henley and oh, that's so weird, Brooks. I was thinking reason for it. I was thinking about that song today for Yeah, that's so weird. These weird coincidence has happened to me. I was thinking about that song specifically for something because of something completely unrelated to music. I was thinking about, uh, Progosian and Russia. His plane went down yesterday, and I was thinking about that song, that line from Dirty Laundry, It's interesting when people die, Yes, I was.

I was thinking about that today. That just popped it because I relate everything to music, so of course that it's just so weird. Anyway, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to derail you. I said, that's just so weird. Though A lot of songs. You mentioned that one. I've always wanted to do it, and uh, you know, our keyboard player Jeff just got a refurbished almost mint new nineteen thirty seven, him and B three with Leslie Nice, and I kept hearing it in my head and I was like, oh my gosh, we have this now, like, yeah, we can do it like that, dude.

Yeah, and oh that's so cool. I just I love it. I don't know. So yeah, so yeah, we do a few covers, a lot of originals. Yeah, you know, we do a good mix and a show like this, it will be kind of like a sixty forty mix or so. But gotcha, gotcha? Very nice? And uh, what's do you know what's happening after the George Thorough Good tour? Do you know what I'm going to album that's gonna be next time agenda? Yep? I think from what I hear, you know there's gonna be some more show dates added on while I'm on tour, some other projects and things, and probably maybe a few more George shows added on.

We just added I Believe and another show just last week onto the tour. Oh excellent. Yeah, so we keep adding on. Why we're there, so yeah, yeah, and and yeah, so if that push us back the album, that's actually a good problem to have because you want those you want those dates with George obviously. Yeah, well exactly, you know, out on the road and performing. I love that, and then you know, nothing, you know cooler than coming off the road and then do an album. By the way, if you ever broken a string while you're doing the solo thing in front of them, I never have you never, never once?

That's that's awesome. How do you avoid it? Do you change? Because I've known guitar players who will literally every show they'll change all the strings just to make sure. So I I'm very particular about my guitars and I go through them with a fine tooth comb. Yeah, everything before and yeah, so and I just you know, take you know, good care of my things. I use quality stuff and and do the best. But sometimes, you know, stuff happens. Yeah, you know. Unfortunately it hasn't happened yet. Good, so good.

Yeah, yeah, I'll think of you. I'll be calling you. I don't I don't blame you. I don't blame you. Very good, very good. And uh, are you gonna do any do you have any plans to do anything sort of out like the like the Brooks Brooks what did you call it? Brooks that was that was a one time moment. If you were there, you witnessed it for the one time in history. Yeah, I know, there's a lot of work. There was a lot of work and you know, to be somebody else and yeah, no doubt learn all those songs, the whole group, and there was a lot of rehearsing, a lot of Yeah, so it's a big production.

Yeah. Yeah. And what about collaborations, because you know you talked earlier about collaborating with what was your name, Ruth? Yeah, because again you know, going back to the intern of having different options for how you create music and or how you release music with all this technology. So yeah, I mean you can really you can collaborate with anybody anywhere in the world. Yeah, emailing tracks back and forth and it's it's quite remarkable. Yep. So yeah, you know that that would be great, and you know, you never know what will happen, you know, especially with this tour.

Yeah, you know what what collaboration might come up to be on the next album, because it seems like so you've you've had this great opportunity to play with with so many of your heroes. But it must be I would imagine you've probably thought about wanting to record with some of these people. So, you know, my my, my main you know, everyone has a dream. Yeah, and you know, right now, I'm very fortunate I've been able to set myself up to be able to do what I'm about to do. And you know, it just was hard work, dedication and sticking with it, you know.

And it's a lifestyle, and it's a type of job that most people don't understand, right because you know, it's not your ordin here everything, right, it was hard for some people to grasp. Yeah, you know, but my biggest dream would be to record and do something with their Clapton with clapt At. Yeah. And uh so you know, I definitely see that in the future. Yeah, and that that's kind of my my big ticket, that's my my my my bucket list. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no doubt. Yeah. I always say, you know, because you were you were talking about your collaboration with his daughter something about with the pandemic.

Yeah, terrible thing, but we have to find these silver linings where we can. And uh, one thing that I always found was a silver lining is we're kind of lucky in a way that it happened when it did, because if it had happened twenty years earlier, or even ten years earlier, where we didn't really have I mean, you know, ten years earlier, yeah, we you know, we've had the technology, but people weren't necessarily as comfortable with it, you know. And but you know, it happens in twenty twenty, and you know, people are musicians are doing incredible things, not just collaborating, you know, getting used to the idea of collaborating online with emailing tracks back and forth and things like that, but but actually doing live performances online with other musicians in other places.

You know, we saw in fact, we saw some some bands doing that who hadn't even played together actively in a really long time, doing doing reunions online and playing some of their classic songs. So we did. So that was that was pretty amazing, and so so you know, we're lucky that it that had happened and when it did, you know, in terms of timing, geez, I think if if it had happened when I was growing up, that would have been awful. Before we know, she's you know, so so fortunate that way. Now is the and it's so the song you did with Ruth, is that available online?

Yeah, it's on Spotify, Apple Music, everywhere. It's called Promises Promises. Okay, I'll check on her one of her dad's songs. And it's funny because it's her favorite song that her dad does and it's my favorite song. Yeah, And so I said, do you think he'll be okay with it? And she's like, well, let me ask. And I'm like, oh, geez, no pressure, you know, and she's like, no, he's fine with it. He's fine with it. And we recorded it and you know, she laid down her vocal parts over over there and yeah.

So yeah, it was just a great time and being able to do that in her and I would video back and forth and talk about the song and this and that and yeah, there's a little clip if you follow on my Facebook, there's a little clip of her talking about it. Another Yeah, oh, very cool, very cool. So when does the Before we run out of time, I want to make sure people know. So when does the tourist start? The tour starts October twentieth. I believe you can go to Brookshong dot com and there's a tour poster there with George and I on it, and oh yeah, what's the first date on there?

Matt so October twenty feet in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Excellent Palace theater. Yes, well the Palace. I feel like that's such a common name, the Palace theater. Yeah, try try when you have to tag it on social media. Yea, that you're doing. How many different palace theaters pop up? No doubt, no doubt. By the way, the videos, I like the music videos that you do. Do you do you have someone specific you work with on that or you see it all yourself? This guy right here, no kidding. Wow, Yeah, they're very pro they look great, thank you?

Yeah? Absolutely? How many? How many music videos do you do? I mean, do you have rather? Oh geez, I don't know. You quite a few? Yeah, there's there's there's a small like documentary thing on on YouTube about the band, yeah, which was also recorded a whole live show. So that's a good five five or six videos just that itself. Oh okay, yea. And locally I see too. You're gonna be at on September one, You're gonna be at Pucci. Yeah, that's gonna be fun. It's gonna be you know, it's it's a fun little spot and conquered, you know, I grew up and conquered.

Yeah, and it's just gonna be fun. A bunch of people, friends and fans and family and the whole band's going to be there and we're just we're gonna rock out and we're gonna have a great time. Where's the first place you played? Do you remember the first place you ever played live? Yeah, Franklin Opera House. No kidding, that's not a bad start. Actually, that's a that's a decent sized place. Yeah, when I lived in Manchester. Yeah, I see. I thought you were gonna say, somewhere and conquered, like like maybe Perucci.

No, no, no, I didn't. I didn't even play Panucci's until just a few years back, I think, really before the pandemic. Yeah, I brought I did a show there with Boyd Tinsley, the violin play for Dave Matthews bands. Yes, yeah, so him and I became good friends, and you know, he brought me out to a bunch of Dave shows and him and I did some tours together before the pandemic, and uh, we actually did a show at Panucci's. Oh no kidding and h wow. Yeah so that was fun. So yeah, yeah, but Franklin Oprouse was the first, I believe.

So, you know, I did a couple of small things, like when I was younger, in my early twenties, I lived here in Manchester and I used to go to all the different blues open jams, and that's kind of how I got my feet wet of playing with other people. Yeah, and then that and while I was doing that, that's when I met BB King at Singer Park, gotcha, And then that's where it all started. Do you recommend that? Because one other thing I did want to ask you is, you know, like a kid who's maybe just starting out and they're really into they really want to learn to play blues, blues rock and so forth.

Uh should is that something they should do? To go to blues jams and just try try to play with different people on different days. And definitely, for sure I recommend that more than sitting at home playing along to a YouTube video. Really yeah, get out there and play with other people. You know that that if you want to perform live, Yeah, it's going to be your best practice. Yeah yeah, interesting, Okay, did you take lessons or you self taught? My grandfather taught me a bit when I was younger, and then I kind of took it from there on my own.

Okay, gotcha, gotcha. I did a lot of when I was growing up, a lot of sitting listening to BB King and Eric Clapton, And luckily, you know, I played trumpet for a long time, and I know how to read music and stuff like that, so I was able to apply my knowledge of that and you know, carry it over to the guitar. Oh okay, so you started on trumpet? Yeah, oh interesting. Do you still play it? I do? I do. I was actually a fun little fact that many people don't know is I was awarded by the Marines the Suffer for Della's Solo Artists for playing trumpet.

Oh no kidding, Yeah, I'll be damned. Oh that's cool. You ever play alive? Very rare? Probably not? Yeah? Yeah, your hands full with the guitar, Yeah yeah, no, it makes sense at home, you know, play some Miles Davis or no kidding little tunes? Yeah. Yeah. Oh that's cool, very cool, very cool.

Matt Connarton Unleashed: Brooks Young

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