Ben Brookes Belcher
Interview conducted on July 07, 2022
By Dan Locke
Ben is a singer songwriter / guitarist , who toured with many acts over the years. Based in Atlanta Georgia, Ben has released 5 albums under his own independent label ” Timberwolf Records” . A unique guitarist , who plays fingerstyle guitar. His repertoire includes covers by : Micheal McDonald , Sting, Blues artists , Leon Russell , Willie Nelson , Hank Williams , Eagles , Beatles, Allman Bros. , Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison , Eric Clapton, to name a few
What is your upbringing?
Raised in a bluecollar family, with both parents and 2 brothers. My father Ben sr. was a natural entertainer and played guitar and mandolin. I have the guitar he courted my mother Mona with and the one i learned on. An old Harmony Cremona from the 40’s. My mother played piano and we owned a baby grand. Music was always a big part of growing up there on Belcher Hollow rd.. Dad had musician friends come to the house to play regularly and jam on old country and mountain folk songs, it was something we looked forward to. I eventually got to play with them as i got better on guitar. Our home in Charleston W.Va. was isolated and rural, my great grandfathers homestead. Not much to do other than work on the farm, ride horses, swim and play music. Dad and I would play together most evenings but i resisted as I got older, I wanted stretch out to play edger material LOL. That… didn’t go over too well in my house…yea
How did you discover music?
My earliest memory was listening to the radio. Music moved me so deeply and put me in a trance sometimes. I would take my harmonica to grade school and the teacher would have me play for the class. I always had music in my head and i would just try to make those sounds on guitar. Around age 11, i discovered Chet Atkins he was like a god of guitar to me…he played all the parts by himself and sounded like a band! I was stunned. I asked my parents to buy his records and i wore them out sitting in front of the record player trying to figure out what he was doing. I never quite got Chet down but took that and found my own path. My female cousins and others had all the Beatles records. Man, did that change things. I absorbed all that music along with Flatt and Scruggs, Percy Sledge, Merle Haggard, Southern Rock, Eric Clapton. Jeff Beck, Roy Buchannon, Jerry Reed, Charlie Bryd and many Many others.
How did you start to write music?
I always had music ideas floating around in my head… I wrote my first song at 12 or so…lt was called II I’m troubled 11 wasnt very good as i recall..lol. I kept at it and studied how the songs of the day were structured so i could make my own songs. I was better at writing songs than emulating someone else. I hear or am inspired to play things on guitar by hearing other musicians play..i’m a good improviser , i guess on guitar…or good faker..one or the other lol. I guess playing along with records all those years helped make that happen. Being able to improvise well has served me over the years in bands and studio recording sessions. Being married at a young age and divorced early on and on the road constantly for years gave me lots of material to write about. good and not so good i guess
Describe your music.
Its a sonic gumbo of my life experiences, Heartbreak, Messin up, Love, and Stories and characters I’ve created and everything else thrown in. “Americana11••• is my assigned genre i think..
What was your first performance like?
It was at the Daniel Boone Hotel ballroom in downtown Charleston W.Va. with my Dad’s square dance band. I was 13, i think? Scared to death…………………………………………….. knees knocking and i was hopin to impress a certain girl in the audience but she wasnt impressed……
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
I am a BMI writer.
What makes a good songwriter?
Simply.. Someone that can create something that didn’t exist 15 minutes before that and make you feel something. It can be an instrumental or just a rough guitar and vocal, but a good songwriter will make you feel somekind of an emotion…lt could be jealousy..lol but something. The great ones will leave you stunned and shaking your head. Like the first time I heard the Beatles or Percy Sledge singing ” When A Man Loves a Woman” man…….
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
“Im troubled II yea i recorded live with a rock band i was in called” Fury”, it was on a 1/4″ analog tape..got lost during a divorce…
Tell me about your single. “If I Lost You”? What is it about?
The way i’ve lived has not been easy on relationships, the song is a snapshot of a relationship. Too little too late so to speak, but realizing it wasn’t about who’s right or wrong but how important the relationship and life investment into that person was to me.
Tell me why you created the video the way you did?
its a stream of consciousness type of piece, with shots of being inside that warm place and the contention that exists there also.
How was it to work with Shawn Sullivan?
Shawn is a very talented creative in his own right. He works at The Shack Studio with me and does engineering and was very instrumental in the building of the studio here along with Arianna, his wife. He is always forward thinking and works very fast, which is great. I’m proud to call him my friend.
We worked together well. “Toast And Jam” was a very comfortable venue. Sadly it had a catastrophic fire after that.
What is the process of writing your music?
Its never the same..sometimes early in the morning i’II pick up the acoustic and a lick will appear from nowhere that is interesting. Most of the time it’s something i jot down or record on the phone that i like and develop into a song. Its so so hard and demanding, especially when you do it for a while, but also so gratifying if its good. Once its released its forever and you created it. Nobody can take that away, regardless of what you earn from it. I don’t know if others feel the same but its also a mental challenge to not get discouraged when its not flowing? You wonder II will i ever write another song? Is the well dry?”…
What are you feeling about streaming music?
Well…. its all changed. The music business used to be a business with product to sell. We bought Albums,
unpacked them, listened over and over…
Streaming is what we have now..so we move on and embrace it. It seems to be cyclical tho back to vinyl we will have to wait and see?
If we dont find a way to monitize the artists , in my opinion the Art will suffer. Artists need to support themselves thru thier work, similar to a Home Builder , How many Homes can you personally fund and build just because you love it, before you go homeless? Everyone is trying to figure that out..
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music? yes………………………………………………………… i am guilty
Digital vs. vinyl?
They both have their place. Vinyl is nostalgic and an experience. Digital is what we have…
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
“Help”We need it..
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid- 19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Its changed it , no doubt.. Will we get back to pre-covid? Maybe…………………………………………………….. but I think live music has been struggling long before that.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Only if you needed time off to write and record new projects. Otherwise not working is not a good place.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
writing , recording, working on the studio, and other outside projects to make a living. Money makes everything work smoothly…..
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
Exercise, Eat healthy and drink a lot. Forget i said # 3 Oh.. Popcorn is very important..
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
who has time????
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, then you Omicron, which as cause many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music.
How would you like live shows to be held and still keep you and fans safe.
I dont think ” safe” is realistic…People will evaluate the risk and do what they want.but video experiences is becoming the norm?
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Its a thing now! Because artists trying to break dont have a guaranteed draw. So promoters will take thier money and its no risk for them. Its where we are right now. Playing live shows and tours for any band or artist starting out is just NOT sustainable without label support.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 30 holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Absolutely!
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
Well my answer is i would go build something and get the MOJO back and go for again. You cant stop really…even is you want to. Health might be a factor but.and this business IS VERY age biased so you might hit a wall there at some point.unless your Keith Richards!
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot
of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his
1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offering by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
Depends on my financial outlook and age…
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer.The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary. Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
Yes..it appears to be moving in that direction…especially when TIKTOK radio is launched
Anything you would like to say in closing.
May everyone stay safe and keep on keepin on. Its all about the music..Peace & Love, Ben Brookes Belcher
