ENJOYING THE ‘VIBE’
New Zealand’s Like a Storm happy to be touring with heavyweights
Kent Brooks enjoys seeing the American landscape while on tour — even if it is rural Nebraska.
“There’s not a lot out here,” he says in a recent phone interview. “And there’s beauty in it all.”
Brooks is a member of the rock outfit Like a Storm. The band is rounded out by Zach Wood and Brooks’ two brothers, Chris and Matt.
The band formed in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2005 and quickly became known for its heavy guitar and the use of didgeridoo, a wind instrument used by indigenous Australians.
The band is on tour in support of its most recent album, “Catacombs.”
If that weren’t enough, Like a Storm is opening for the Godsmack/Shinedown tour, which makes a stop in Albuquerque on Monday, Aug. 6.
“We’re really excited to get an opportunity this big,” he says. “We also are joining Godsmack on its European tour later this fall. We’re only a few dates in, and the vibe on tour is good. The other two bands are putting on insane shows with lights and pyro. We couldn’t be happier.”
The album, released on June 15, is fairly new, and Brooks says the band is playing a few songs in the set.
“As we start touring more, we’ll incorporate more of the album,” he says. “On our tour bus, we actually have a jam room set up with little amps. We start jamming through the album and determine which songs will make the set. It’s one thing to record the songs in a studio; it’s another actually playing them live. Creating that muscle memory is important.”
With “Catacombs,” Brooks says, the band took its time in creating the album. The brothers self-produced the album. “We took a couple meetings with bigger-named producers,” he says. “We had a vision and wanted to genuinely enjoy the process. Producing is something that we always have enjoyed. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started producing other artists’ albums in the future.”
Being able to share life on the road with his brothers is a major perk for Brooks.
“There’s no one else I would want to be on the road with,” he says. “We’ve grown up together, and now we’re in a band and growing as men. We’ve learned to give each other space. It’s special to get to new places and be with your family. When we get to Albuquerque, it will be our first time there, and it’s a time to explore and see new things.”