{"id":8795,"date":"2017-04-27T03:34:14","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T10:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spikpc.wpengine.com\/news\/rick-brooks-to-bring-unique-style-to-kenai\/"},"modified":"2017-04-27T03:34:14","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T10:34:14","slug":"rick-brooks-to-bring-unique-style-to-kenai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peninsulaclarion.com\/2017\/04\/27\/rick-brooks-to-bring-unique-style-to-kenai\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Brooks to bring unique style to Kenai"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rick Brooks is used to traveling with the music. His fingers travel up and down the fret board. He\u2019s travelled throughout Alaska, the Lower 48 and the world to learn and play music, and on May 6 he\u2019ll be traveling to Kenai to play at Veronica\u2019s Cafe.<\/p>\n

Brooks, of Anchorage, describes his personal style as \u201cacoustic eclectic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an exploration. I\u2019ll go from an Irish folk song to a jazz tune to one of my own instrumentals to a Brittany Spears tune,\u201d Brooks said while strumming his guitar into the phone, showing his wide range. \u201cYou know, you just follow your muse at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll play some Brittany Spears, I play Katy Perry. The way I play most of those songs is you take on most of the parts,\u201d Brooks said before breaking into \u201cI Kissed A Girl\u201d by Katy Perry, taking on both guitar sections and singing the song\u2019s infamous chorus.<\/p>\n

Brooks started playing guitar long before Katy Perry had any songs to cover. He started taking lessons at 8 years old in Mississippi and continued to play as his family moved from place to place because of his father\u2019s position in the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 10, we were at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and I found this amazing teacher \u2026 He set the groundwork,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cThen we moved up here and I backed off on playing a little bit \u2026 but I picked up an electric guitar and it was like \u2018boom, I want to play this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

From Mississippi to France to Georgia to Alaska to Los Angeles and back to Alaska again, Brooks has picked up a lot of influences in each unique location he\u2019s visited along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy roots, my preferences, are more folk-based but I play anything \u2026 I go for stuff that is a challenge on the instrument,\u201d he said. \u201cIt comes to two things, is it a good song and is it going to be satisfying to play?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks has played all throughout Alaska, \u201cfrom Nome to Homer,\u201d and has toured throughout the country. In his early years as a musician, he spent time touring with bands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played in bands up until about 1994 \u2026 which was more of a party than a career,\u201d he said. \u201cAt some point, I had to get serious about whether I was going to be playing for the rest of my life and I didn\u2019t want to stop playing guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

So instead, Brooks decided to embark on a solo career in order to continue his passion and make a living while doing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solo thing happened and I got a lot more control of the music and being able to look ahead,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was in a band, I didn\u2019t decide what I was going to be playing or what I was going to be doing in the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to covering songs, Brooks writes his own while still feeling the influences of the songs he plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times, I\u2019ll be noodling around with three or four songs that have a certain approach \u2026 and see if I can write something along those lines that don\u2019t sound like those three or four songs,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just noodling around with ideas and something pops out. Sometimes when I write, it\u2019s because I want to develop a certain skill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks\u2019 CD, \u201cThe Mississippi John Hurt Songbook,\u201d is out now and available at his website, akrick.com, or at his live performance on May 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring college, I would spend time just fingerpicking John Hurt tunes at my aunt\u2019s house with her next to me on a rocking chair,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cWhen she passed a few years ago, I made a demo of those tunes \u2026 which became the album.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spent time back in Mississippi during his college years, before spending time in Los Angeles and making his way back to Alaska, feeling a pang of culture shock each step of the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a long haired hippie from Alaska, you really stand out in 1978 Mississippi \u2026 Then there is a huge culture shock again when you go from Mississippi State to Hollywood and are living about two blocks away from the boulevard,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n

After spending time in Hollywood, Brooks made his way back to Alaska and at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 6 will be making his debut to Kenai for his show at Veronica\u2019s Cafe at 604 Petersen Way.<\/p>\n

For more information about Brooks, or to hear a selection of his songs, visit his website at www.akrick.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reach Kat Sorensen at kat.sorensen@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net\/peninsulaclarion<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rick Brooks is used to traveling with the music. His fingers travel up and down the fret board. 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