PULLED INTO NAZARETH…
A few weeks ago, on a sunny, unseasonably warm early November Wednesday, I pulled into Nazareth in Pennsylvania. For a mere fiver ($5), I got a tour of the Martin Guitar factory. Why'd it take me almost a lifetime to do this? I have no idea. Since the late 1980s I've driven past Nazareth on my way to and from gigs more times than I can count, so to say I was overdue is an understatement. For acoustic guitarists, no matter what make of guitar you play, the Martin Guitar is one of the two foundation stones on which the whole beautiful acoustic guitar Americana-Folk-Bluegrass-Country Blues sound is built. But if you're a fan of Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tony Rice, Kate Wolf or Patti Larkin, to name but a few, it's the light on the hill…the alpha and the omega…the cherry and the cake. So, no pressure Martin Guitars, rock my world! It didn't, but it was a helluva lot of fun. Okay, it was a little bit of a cattle-drive through the factory, with not a lot of time for questions and conversation, but exciting to peek behind the curtain, so to speak. My first ever real gig was in a bar with my friend Terry, who played a Martin D-18. 99% of the sound of any guitar comes from the player, but there's a little magic in the dust of every guitar that is unique to it, and Martin has more than its fair-share of this dusty magic. For the true players - the true disciples - it is there to be discovered. Of course, the factory tour ended up in the Gift Shop, as they all do, and the swag was eye-watering. I avoided the most obvious temptations, but a little reminder isn't a bad thing, is it? Meaning no disrespect to any religious entity, I felt I'd reached the end of the pilgrimage and I wanted a little trinket to keep me mindful of how close I came to the light. To carry me through the dark, don't ya know. Nothing more. Nothing less. What better than a t-shirt for that? Unless, of course, you buy a guitar. Which I didn't.
HOLI-DAZE PLAYLIST 2024
I've created a 21-minute playlist for you of all the Winter-, December-, Holiday-inspired songs I've recorded (save one which I don't have in my archive). From my house to yours, so to speak, with our best wishes for the holidays! The download code is at the bottom of this email.
WINTER GIGS 2025
I'm looking forward to mid-January when we'll scrape the frost off the tour bus and get back out there. Especially when the schedule includes shows with Aaron Catlow. I love those gigs - and we hope you do too!
January
18th - 19th Guitar Workshop, Blue Boar, Maldon, Essex (my only workshop until July)
23rd Newport Folk Club, South Wales (Brooks & Aaron)
24th Cafe No 9, Sheffield (Brooks & Aaron)
25th Anteros Foundation, Norwich, Norfolk (Brooks & Aaron)
28th The Lightship, Blyth Harbour, Northumberland (Brooks & Aaron)
30th Paisley Arts Centre, Renfrewshire, Scotland (Brooks & Aaron)
February
1st Victoria Hall, Settle, North Yorkshire (Brooks & Aaron)
For the MOTHER LODE of Brooks Gigs Look HERE.
SHAKING THESE CHRISTMAS BLUES
Watch the official video for Shaking These Christmas Blues. Filmed and edited by my son Lee in 2014 in both Cambridge and Northampton, Massachusetts USA. We had an absolute blast filming this. No proper actors were harmed in the filming of this video. Watch the video HERE. And if you want to sing and play it yourself, you'll find the lyrics and chords HERE.
If you, or someone you know, is looking for a high quality guitar, I'm selling my Collings D-1. It's the one in the photo below. Contact me HERE for all the details. Elvis t-shirt not included. UK only.
