Quick Q and A with Brooks Williams
 by Kathy S-B  ·  23 March 2009

As his bio states, Brooks Williams is a road warrior. He travels year round and spends lots of time playing his guitar in front of audiences all over North America and the UK. One memory of seeing Brooks in concert is still vividly etched in my mind — several concertgoers sitting on the floor in front of the stage — utterly dazzled by Brooks’ amazing fingerstyle wizardry. Take a look at Brooks’ website for lots of wonderful information about him and his music. Here’s a cool video of Brooks doing “Highway 61” and another of him playing “Beaumont Rag.”

You’ve often said that the time that you spent listening to your older brother’s record collection was a pivotal point in your life. What albums were the ones that really made you stop and listen and learn?

The vinyl albums that stopped me in my tracks and made me sit-up and listen were by Hot Tuna (“Burgers”), Yes (“Roundabout”), Ry Cooder (“Purple Valley”) and Stevie Wonder (the one with “Superstition” on it).

How did you come to discover all those legendary blues artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Boy Fuller, and Robert Johnson?

When I moved to Boston at 18 years of age, I first heard acoustic music on the radio. And it was the blues and folk programs on WERS, WUMB, and WGBH that first hipped me to the fact that much of the music my rock-blues guitar heroes played came from deeper roots. So I went to the source, for the first time, and was — and am — blown away by the power and insight in these old songs.

I’ve always thought it was very cool that you have taken some jazz standards that were not written for the guitar but you’ve managed to make them your own. Not an easy feat. Is the process of taking a popular song and turning it into something that works for your style of guitar playing something that comes naturally to you or does it take a long time for you to transform it into something new?

I guess it comes naturally. I’m a self-taught guitarist, so didn’t learn the guitar knowing all the “rules.” I tried to play anything and everything and in doing that discovered a method for transforming songs from their original context and putting them into another. It’s a cool creative process, for example, to take Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House” and play it on acoustic guitar. Different nuances show up and the song becomes “new,” yet the substance of the song remains the same.

Have you heard any contemporary music that has impressed you lately?

I listen to a lot of contemporary music. I’m a fan of rock and jazz especially. My favorite CDs in recent months are “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, The Fleet Foxes and a UK singer called Amy McDonald.

When you’re not recording, performing, or teaching, what do you do with your time? You’re one of the hardest working musicians I know! What do you do to unwind?

I like working out. I like good wine. I’m obsessed with The Simpson’s and Home Movies (the animation series). I like dogs. Oh, and I like to play guitar — it’s both my job and my hobby!