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Interview: Ben Brooks Talks Debut Album, Jean on Jean

Rising Country/Americana singer/songwriter, Ben Brooks, will be releasing his debut album, Jean on Jean, on October 7, 2019. The new album stands as a wonderful showcase of Ben’s southern roots. Jean on Jean contains nine songs, all written solely by Brooks. We talked with him about the writing and recording process for it. Check it out!

Photo Credit: Laura Partain

Did you always want to be a musician or was there a specific moment that something happened that made you think "this is what I want to do with my life." If so, what was it?

My Dad introduced me a lot of rock bands like Tom Petty, The Allman Brothers, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd when I was really young. He had all these cassette tapes in his truck. We would listen to them and he would tell me all about each band. Who played what etc. That had a big impact on me from an early age and I remember thinking then that I wanted to be just like those guys. Then I got a guitar for my birthday when I was twelve and that pretty much sealed the deal.

You are getting ready to release your new album, Jean on Jean, Congrats! Can you give us a little background on the album? Thanks, I’m really excited about it. I’ve been slowly writing and recording it over the last few years. I recorded most of it in a studio called Jays Place on Music Row with my friend Scotty Rollins producing/engineering. We really took our time making sure it sounded like we wanted it to. There was no deadline or anything so we got to spend as much time as we needed on it. I’m extremely proud of how it turned out.

How did you know when you had the right songs? Well I’m always trying to write songs and most of them I don’t end up recording or finishing but, every now and then I stumble upon a good one. You just kind of feel it and those are the ones I recorded on the album. If they don’t make you feel something then they’re probably not worth recording.


Are there any songs that didn’t make the album that you now wish you included? There are some that I wrote after we had this album pretty much laid out that I feel are good, but I’m just going to save them for the next album.

What has been your greatest challenge in music business? I would say finding the money to keep going. It’s a tough business and most of the musicians I know have a job or two on the side. Working several jobs and not getting burned out can be challenging.


Do you plan on touring to support the new album? I plan on touring as much as possible and doing as much as I can to promote this album.


If you had to give up music – what would you do to be creative? That’s a good question, I don’t know what I would do. I’m not much of a painter.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have? X-ray vision so I could see through walls.


Any last words for our readers? Thanks for reading and please listen to my debut album, Jean on Jean, when it comes out October 7th.




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