We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ben Brooks . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ben below.

Ben, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When you really think about it, there are only two kinds of songs, good ones and bad ones. I was young, maybe 4 or 5, when I first got that feeling inside that hearing a really good song gives you. You know, the one where the hairs stand up on your arms and the back of your neck. To this day, that feeling is the only true meter that I have in deciding whether a song is good or bad. It is also the reason I’m still writing and performing today. When I was young, my Dad had a bunch of cassette tapes that we would listen to anytime we were in his truck; Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Allman Brothers, Roy Orbison, The Eagles and a few others. That’s when I fell in love with music and first realized instead of being a professional baseball player or super hero like most young boys, I wanted to be a “rockstar.” After making an imaginary drum set out of pillows on my bed and playing the broom guitar for a while, I realized I wanted to be the lead singer and rhythm guitar player of a rock band. Or at least the lead singer…

I got my first guitar for my 12th birthday; an American Fender squire Sunburst Stratocaster and started taking lessons. Soon after, I started jamming with friends from school and have been playing in bands and writing songs ever since. It’s a habit I can’t seem to quit.

Ben, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When I hear the terms industry, brand, business etc. in the same sentence as “music” it makes me cringe a little inside. I just want to write memorable songs that make people feel good and hopefully make their life, or at least their day, a little better. I feel an obligation to give people that same feeling I get when I hear a great song or composition of music. For me, there is a certain tone that does that, and I try to convey that tone to the audience through not only the chords that I play but also my voice. I grew up in South Alabama and have a raspy, southern, soulful voice that I hope evokes emotions that leave the listener thinking, “I feel the same way” or “I’ve felt that before.”

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I was 18 and a senior in high school, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. At that age, there is so much pressure to decide what you are going to do in your life, and how you will get there. On one hand, I was terrified that I might not make it through this, and if I do, my path should be working towards a stable job with benefits, should life throw another curve ball. On the other hand, I thought, if I survive this I’m going to live my life the way I want to and be who I want to be because in the end you’ll only have yourself to blame, if you don’t. I made the decision to follow the latter, and work like hell not give up on my dreams; that’s what ultimately brought me to Nashville. Don’t get me wrong… it is hard. Really hard. And there are many days you feel utterly defeated, wanting to re-chart your life to follow the predictable path. I have come close to giving up on my dreams many times, but I have also realized that if you haven’t, you’re not doing it right.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Often, I’ve been asked, ” what is your goal” and I’ve never had a good answer for that. I think a lot of my songs or ideas come from the reality that I don’t know where I’m going or how to get there. I fear that if I ever have a finite answer to that question, that I would no longer know what to write about or how to relate to other people in my songs. I think most people spend their whole life trying to figure out what “that” is, only to realize life is all about the journey and not the end goal. For me, happiness means living a comfortable life, writing and performing music that I created, and sharing this with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://benbrooksmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benbrooksmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benbrooksband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCviq1uYVepnWF6fWfsDzn1Q
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0syxliFkNeOBXaCcWBZuDQ