Brooks Williams

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
At the far end of the street, beyond the bottle tree and the overgrown alley, is where I learned of Tornado Smith, the first Wall of Death rider in the UK, which, in turn, is…

PRODIGAL GUITAR RETURNS!
I switched on my phone as our plane touched down at Heathrow. The iTag ping alerted me to the fact that, and I quote, ‘Your guitar is no longer with you. It was last seen at JFK…

At the end of March, on a day that didn't know if it was spring or winter, I drove through sun and hail to Turnstone Guitars. I was there to play an After Hours Session. The concept is this…

Folk Music and I met by accident when I was a young ‘un. I had an acoustic guitar. Folk Music had its coffeehouses and folk clubs. I wanted to sing and play and folk music offered me a stage. We’ve…

In terms of guitar chords, none is more rockin' than E. The E-chord gives you all six strings to pluck, pick and bash. If there's a better sound on the planet, I haven't heard it yet. Lots of famous rock…

The Digital Download Scare of 1997, the first one of its kind, left a lot of musicians reeling. We didn't see it coming. Nor did the record companies we were signed to. But we're an adaptable lot and we'll do…

In my late-teens a guy gave me an electric guitar. He heard me play a few songs and said, I've got three guitars, two kids, a wife and a full-time job. One of ‘em has to go. Honestly, I…

Jo and I are having breakfast with Judi Dench - no, this is not a dream! - and talking about what we've got planned for the day. Our friend, who invited the three of us to stay over with him…

The other day, in a brief window of time between checking out of the hotel in New Haven, Connecticut and checking into our flight at JFK Airport in New York, time slowed to a delicious crawl as we walked around…

   Would you like to ride in the front with us?, the Los Angeles paramedic asked Jo. Sure, she said, and went to get into the left side of the cab. Shall I drive? Oh yes, said Jo, forgetting (being British)…

   A London bus is a welcome sight any time of the day or night. Urban lore says they usually come in threes. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then all at once three buses rock up. Like my tours over the next couple…

   Some road-reckless-boy-racer took the turn at the end of our road a little too sharply and crashed into the brick wall. Between the road and the brick wall was the box where all the broadband connections lived and that was…

   I'm blinded by a bargain. Suggest one and you've got my attention. Like when I purchased the three super-sized bags of ‘fresh’ compost from the roadside farm stand on the Scotland leg of my solo tour a few weeks ago…

   I woke before the birds on 12th April to snow flying horizontally outside the window of the room where I was staying. I wasn't expecting to see nearly half-a-foot of snow on the ground. Weirdly, back in the UK at…

RE-STRING APPALACHIA
The ol' ‘Star 19’ guitar (photo below) has been getting a good workout lately. With back-to-back-to-back tours it has traveled some miles in the last couple months. Although I alternate between it and a 2nd ‘working’ guitar, equally…