We caught up with the brilliant and insightful MarDe Brooks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

MarDe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

My dream started at a very early age. Some of my first memories as a child are sitting in an old mill house with my grandfather and his friends watching them play and swap instruments in a circle. I remember everyone in the room smiling and being so happy. As grew older and spent countless hours with my dad’s vinyl collection, there was no doubt what I wanted to be when I “grew up”. I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was 12 or 13. I wasn’t a prodigy but I loved it. I started my first band when I was 18 and covered rock songs in bars around AL and GA until I was 31. At that time I was married and raising my daughter and two step sons. Working a full time job and playing every weekend didn’t leave much time for my family so I decided to give it up. Just before I turned 35 my life changed in a big way. I went through a divorce and pretty much lost everything. Depression quickly set in and I pretty much gave up on life. After around 3 months of solitude, not taking care of myself, and trying to drink myself to death I was introduced to a whole new world of singer/songwriter music. The stories of struggle and pain the songs of artists like Jason Isbell, Benjamin Tod, Tyler Childers, and Arlo McKinley spoke to me in a way music never had. I picked up my guitar again and started playing these songs and it wasn’t long before I was booking shows again. I got invited to play a festival in West Virginia in August of 2018 and without much thought I accepted. When I got there and started meeting and hanging out with the other artists, I quickly realized I was probably the only one there that didn’t have any original songs. My set was at 8:00 on Saturday night… I gave it my all and the crowd loved it but I felt a different way. When I walked off the stage that night and my feet hit the steps I made a promise to myself that I would never feel that way again. I got back home two days later and with the help of two really awesome friends, I wrote my first song, “Memories”. I had no idea really what I was doing but I kept writing. Over the next year, I continued writing with some of my best friends and created what was to become my first album-Running Out of Time. More and more often I was finding myself sitting at my desk staring out the window and feeling like I was wasting my life. Up to this point I had lived the way society tells us to and had a job and insurance and put my hobbies and passion behind that. The breaking point for me was when my friend Ritch Henderson and I were heading back to Alabama from playing two shows with Arlo Mckinley in Arkansas and Oklahoma and whizzbang called him. They said that Arlo enjoyed having us out and they invited us to do the next 5 shows with them. I had to go back home to my job. It was then that I decided if I really wanted to pursue a career in music, that it was now or never. I put my notice in pretty quickly after that and went to back to West Virginia to make my record at Rose City Recordings. It was the best and most liberating decision I’ve ever made.

MarDe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m just a country boy from Alabama that’s been through the trials and tribulations of life, no different than most of us on this earth. I write about relative life experiences that I feel most people can identify with in some way. What makes me different or sets me apart from most others is my rock n roll voice mixed with my country/americana style. What I’m most proud of at this point in my career is the fact that I took the chance. I gave up all of my securities and took the leap with no safety nets. So many people let their childhood dreams die and they don’t have to. If you want something bad enough and are willing to work for it, nothing is out of reach.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a songrwriter and recording artist is being able to touch so many peoples lives. Seeing raw emotion on the faces of an audience as they hang on every word or receiving a message on social media about how my lyrics have moved them is an indescribably good feeling.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The best advice I have for building a social media audience is by far- Be you. Whoever you are or whatever your brand and image are, be exactly that. If you want a true fanbase, it has to be organic. Following fads and trends may get you attention and more “followers”, but is it the support and followers you want? If you’re who you are then you don’t have to pretend and keep up an image that’s not you. You also want to post regularly to keep your fanbase engaged and to remain in the algorithms. I recommend making at least one daily post at the minimum.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MarDeBrooks.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/MarDeBrooksMusic
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MarDeBrooksMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyygaT4mrVUfF7UC6pGgF-w
• Other: •Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7txM1hlPgJt6CGJosCgPgA Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/marde-brooks/1523683580 •Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MarDeBrooks/posts Twitter: @MarDeBrooks SoundCloud: Hear and follow MarDe Brooks on SoundCloud Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/artists/B08CZZZD2D/marde-brooks?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_D8xzUdOdnTG32rDvxN8u9dWld

Image Credits
Mike Dotson Photography