Brooks Parker
Hello everyone! It’s that time again when we sit down with a local artist and find out those need to know questions. This month, we got an amazing opportunity to interview up and coming local musician, Brooks Parker.
So Brooks, how did you get your start in music?
I began playing piano at age 4. Most of my musicmaking during my childhood took place in church and the typical school talent shows. As I got older, I started playing background music for hours at parties and other events, which birthed my interest in improvisational playing and songwriting. Although throughout high school I was writing, playing, and singing, I would say that my move to Nashville, Tennessee in 2005 was the real beginning of my music “career.”
That’s great! So who got you interested in this? Who are your biggest influences?
My biggest influences?……Being a piano man who likes to play and sing his own songs, I have obviously been heavily influenced and affected by the work of Billy Joel, Elton John, and even Phil Vassar (who is known in Nashville as “the piano man in a guitar town.”) In more recent years, through my close friendship and time spent with Amy Grant and Vince Gill, my songwriting and interpretation has been greatly impacted by their work and example. They are two of the most brilliant songwriters in the world and I am lucky to have them as mentors.
I bet that has been an amazing experience. What’s been your most memorable so far?
I have been fortunate to have had lots of amazing experiences making music both in West Virginia and in Tennessee. From singing the national anthem at Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, to playing piano and singing on tour with Amy Grant, to singing background vocals in concert with Michael W. Smith, I have been blessed with many opportunities to do what I love with many incredible musicians. My most memorable experience, however, was one that is far less glamorous than those. The Bridge Ministry is a mission group in Nashville that gathers the city’s homeless (sometimes over 1,000 people) for a meal and worship time ever single Tuesday night, rain or shine, under a bridge in downtown Nashville. Amy Grant was asked to lead that worship time once last fall, and she took me with her to play keyboards and sing. Seeing the way that our music was helping God to move into the hearts of these people, and watching them come forward to commit their lives to Christ was one of the most moving and unforgettable experiences of my life. I have seen my music move people in many settings, but in that most unlikely place I saw and felt my music be moved by those people. It was a sensation that I had never experienced before, but from that day on will strive to create with every note I play or sing.
So what does the future hold for Brooks Parker?
The future for me?…..Currently, two of my best friends and I are developing a trio. We are writing, and singing our songs with full harmonies – which is my favorite thing to do. We are involved with a production and publishing company in Nashville and in the process of cutting our first EP. We hope to start work on our album mid-summer and begin touring in the fall. In the meantime, I stay busy writing both country and contemporary Christian music, singing background vocals and playing keyboards for other artists, and spend a good deal of time doing music for my church. These are things that I will always do, regardless of what happens with my solo career.
If you got to decide, what would your dream gig be?
My dream gig is to be part of a country group, involved both in the writing and in the performing. I also would love to be a part of the production process as well.
Any music for sale?
Music for sale?…..nothing at the moment. updates to come.
We’d like to thank Brooks for taking the time to sit down with us and give us all a glimpse into his world. Be sure to check out Brooks on Myspace and encourage this local artist on his way to the top!
We will definately keep everyone updated with one of our favorite artists, and have links to any albums or EPs in the near future. For now though, check out these tracks and videos!
Arts on the River
On Saturday and Sunday June 20 and 21st, Morgantown will host the Arts on the River Festival. This festival will take place on the riverbank near Garrett street downtown. The festival will include local artistry, from jewelry to wine, and food. 123 Pleasant St. will be providing food, and various local wineries will be selling and showcasing their wines. Local musicians will be performing on two different stages to keep festival-goers entertained between booths. One of our favorites, One Hundred Hurricanes is set to perform on the second day, and we can’t wait to see them play! More information can be found at http://www.artsontheriver.org/index.html
Andy Tuck and the Greens
For this article, we did things a little differently this time. Going with more of an interview route, I spoke with Andy Tuck of the Greens to find out what makes the Greens tick.
So let’s get the basics out of the way. How did Andy Tuck get to be the harmonica touting dynamite frontman of the Greens?
For me, getting into music was a necessity– I got into trouble at age 14, got put on really strict probation and couldn’t go running around with my friends. So I had to find SOMETHING to do. I just began messing around on my dad’s guitar. He showed me the basic chords, and I was pretty much self-taught from there. I played all day every day throughout high school. I was really into Nirvana and that grungy type stuff, and then went back thru the classic rock and so on…
I was lucky in that I had friends who were into playing rock too, so we started bands about age 16 or so. I was always driven to write original material. I moved to California in 2000, and moved back in 2002. I met Nathan Yoke, the drummer for The Greens. He and I (and about 7 bassists and 2 saxophone players) have had this thing going for alomst 10 years now.
Who are the biggest influences on your pursuit of music?
My biggest influences remain the classic rock bands: Hendrix, Zeppelin, and Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Miles Davis, Allman Brothers, Cream, CCR, Doors, The Band… plus singer-songwriters like Neil Young, (Bob) Dylan, John Prine, Tom Waits, and also black soul music– James Brown, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Funkadelic…
I think that there are basically 2 kinds of music: that which you like, and that which you don’t like…
The Greens have various albums out, all of which I’m sure people can buy, but what is your favorite part of the whole process?
Recording is a good thing because as a band, you feel like your truly working. You are making a product. It is very exciting– hopefully it will make lotsa money and fans! But that is secondary to the making of music that will last a long time. You will always have that. You are proud of it. You go into the studio (We always use Zone 8!), and you really get down into the details of making a record together with your group. For me the best part is when it’s all done, all the recording, mixing, and then you play the album in your car and it comes blasting out of the stereo. Damn good feeling there.
How about live shows? I’ve seen you guys play and you seem like the happiest person alive.
Playing live is pretty much my favorite thing ever. It’s here right now. It is reality. It feels like you are in the flow of life. You are truly free, if only for 2 or 3 hours. If the audience is up and enthusiastic, you feel like a superhero sometimes! If not, you still hafta get through the night. We have played many bummer shows. But I look at it as “what if this could be the last time we ever get to play music”, and so we don’t ever wanna get off the stage without feeling like we did our best. You give them all you got.
Alright, final question: What is your dream gig?
Dream gig?! Well…. this is one of those questions that if you asked me 100 times, you’d get 100 different answers, but as for now: The Greens with The Beastie Boys with Beck and Tom Waits and The Mars Volta and the ghosts of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa and Miles Davis, with an African percussion section and those Tibetan throat-singers in the back ground! Zowee!!!!
You can check out Andy Tuck and the Greens at their site http://www.thegreensmusic.com or their myspace http://www.myspace.com/thegreens
Southeast Engine Cd Release
From Athens, Ohio rolls in Southeast Engine, a five piece band of earthly tones. Friday, February 27th will mark the Morgantown release of their forth full length studio album entitled “From the Forest to the Sea,” a twelve track effort, a disc nearly two years in waiting.
Some nine years ago, two high school friends in Dayton, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Remnant and drummer Leo DeLuca, formed Southeast Engine in the Athens college scene, which seems to exponentially grow from year to year in terms of both size and talent. Athens would provide the inspiration for the band’s Americana/ Appalachian folk style, yet, having grown up in Dayton during the mid 1990s underground music boom, the pair also sites Guided By Voices, Brainiac and Swearing at Motorists as some of their earliest local influences.
Joined by keyboardist Michael Lachman and eventually Adam’s younger brother Jesse on bass, the band release its first record “Love is a Murder, a Mystery of Sorts,” in 2003, which gives some insight into the hard working nature of the band. And indeed these boys are still very hard working with upcoming tour dates as far west as Texas and all up and down the east coast right around the corner.
Rounding out the band’s stellar line up is local boy wonder and legend Billy Matheny who is also a member of Moon, where he joins the likes of other Morgantown hit makers such as Mark Poole and Woody O’Hara, as well as his own band, Billy Matheny and the Frustrations. Sliding nicely into place, Billy is known as the band’s utility musician and, of course, meets his responsibility with picture perfect accuracy. 
At first listen, Adam’s vocal reminds one very much of Ben Kweller, the great indie success story from Texas. There is just something in the way Adam ends his phrases, with a calculated whine descending into a fading note, that exudes both charm and a sense of the curious pursuit for understanding.
Biblical imagery certainly has a place on this record. With song titles such as “Quest for Noah’s Ark” and “Preparing for the Flood,” the band seems to have stayed in line with its struggle for discovering purpose and place in the universe on this record. In fact, “From the Forest to the Sea” is entirely centered around a main character who is continuously trying to juggle the knowledge of a greater purpose with his earthly desires. This is a great means of relating to the audience and the battle between the physical and the eternal that lives within us all. Perhaps this character will find balance? The only way to find out, clearly, is to buy the band’s record!
Southeast Engine’s Morgantown CD release is February 27th at 123 Pleasant. One Hundred Hurricanes will open the show, followed by Southeast Engine, with Librarians delivering the knock out punch. For information regarding ticket prices and the like, check out 123 Pleasant on Myspace. All three bands are also easily found on myspace.com.
For a complete list of tour dates, biographical information or to purchase “From the Forest to the Sea” as well as previous releases visit the band’s website at southeastengine.com.
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One Hundred Hurricanes
[singlepic=122,320,240,,]One Hundred Hurricanes Will Hit Morgantown on January 30th
In September of 2008 while speaking at a meeting of South American political leaders in Brazil, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez confirmed that his worst fears had come to pass as the economic downturn wrestling global financial markets had impacted his nation’s oil profits with the force of “a hurricane, or more than one hurricane, its one hundred hurricanes!” Clearly, Mr. Chavez was well aware that far, far away from his presidential podium four twenty-something aspiring rockers were in the process of recording their first full length studio album. On January 30th, One Hundred Hurricanes WILL hit the free market system with the release of “60 Years Under the Stars,” a fifteen track debut effort that is sure to leave all who hear it emptying their pockets.
Two seemingly distant years ago, Denny Dingus III, Nick Kirk, Kyle Williams and Michael L. Withrow formed yet another four piece rock and roll band in Morgantown, West Virginia with the simple goal of playing live music for, at the very least, apathetic under aged drinkers. After several name changes and endless months of playing in side street dives, the boys finally landed on their current name and the repertoire of songs that produced a strikingly catchy first disc. From the onset, the album bangs out meaty guitar riffs, eardrum busting kit work and alternately melodic bass lines rounded off with culturally aware lyrics delivered by a classic rock and roll approach to vocals.
One Hundred Hurricanes draw their sound from the music that encompasses the soundtracks of their day to day lives. With solid influences like the Beatles, the Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys, the group has made composing eclectic tracks their calling card. From the indie friendly “Duke Hat” to the closing ballad “When the Pictures Fade” the album literally has something for everyone. Songs like “Be That Way” and “Live” are sure to leave listeners from the NYC school of rock and roll pleased, while “One More Try” exists as an updated ode to the early 60s sound that merged Spectorian doo-wop with a British twisting of Chuck Berry. “Space For Myself” is as radio friendly as it gets, in a college rock sense, and “Snake” offers no mercy for the corporate high jacking of modern day FM dials.
Produced and engineered by Morgantown legend Mark Poole at Zone 8 studios, “60 Years Under the Stars” could easily provide a reference point for the current scene and offers a refreshing exhale as independent music continues to grow and expand the proverbial box. Fifteen tracks for ten dollars: just a little less money to go around for Chavez’s oil. He must be shaking in his boots!
One Hundred Hurricanes will be playing a CD release show on the official release date of January 30, 2009 at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown. U92’s Daniel Conway will open the show on his turn table, following a live concert of the entire album, with Pittsburgh’s Omega Love providing additional entertainment. Please visit 123Pleasant.com for ticket information.
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