start Me up
ronnie Baker Brooks’ new album, Times Have Changed, turned a few heads when it landed in the Guitarist office…
Ronnie Baker Brooks began playing the guitar when he was just six years old, encouraged by his father, bluesman Lonnie Brooks. By the time he was 19, Ronnie had been drafted into his father’s band, opening up a wealth of experience for the fledgling guitarist. “It was like going to college!” he enthuses from his home in Chicago. “Every night I got to see how my dad did it, and when he was on shows with his friends I got to see how they did it. It enabled me to do what I’m doing today.”
When Ronnie talks about his father’s friends, he’s talking about a who’s-who of blues legends. “I got to rub shoulders with a lot of them, man: John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, BB King, Albert King…”
We wondered who it was, apart from his father, that formed the principal influence in his formative years? “I always say that my dad lit the fire and Albert Collins threw the gasoline on it,” he continues. “Albert gave me a huge boost in confidence when I was very young. When I started, I was a little intimidated by my father; I was trying to make it look like he made the right choice in hiring me, being that I was his son. So when Albert pulled me to the side he said, ‘Look, you’re gonna be who you are – you can’t be your dad, you’re not going to be me, but you can learn from all of us and take what you like from us and make it yours.”
Valuable advice, but Albert Collins’ mentoring didn’t stop there. “Every time I would make a mistake, I would frown or get upset and Albert said, ‘Every time you frown, you’re killing the vibe – you’re letting everybody know that you made a mistake. Quit frowning! When you make a mistake, smile, because sometimes people will think you meant to do it.’”
Ronnie describes his current rig: “Right now, I’m using a Fender 1965 Reissue Deluxe Reverb. I usually use two of those with a Gibson 339, strung with Ernie Ball Slinky 0.010s, and on my pedalboard right now I’m using a [Fulltone] Fat-Boost and an OCD, a Vox wah-wah, a Uni-Vibe and a tuner.”
The Gibson 339 is a reduced size 335 – why this choice? “I like the way it fits in my hand, whereas the 335 was a little bulky and I think it’s more of a precise sound… for what I’m doing right now, it’s great.”
The new album sounds like it was a joy to make. “Absolutely right. I was in heaven, man! Working with [producer] Steve Jordan… I have a hell of a lot of respect for him. Then the musicians he put around me – it was like a dream come true.” [DM]