Freddie Brooks (musician)

Last updated

Freddie Brooks is an American singer-songwriter and blues harmonica player. A native of Wichita, Kansas, he started performing on the Southern California blues scene in 1989. [1] [2] He played West Coast blues.

Contents

Biography

Brooks began playing in Southern California in 1989. [3] He played with Bernie Pearl in a few bands before releasing his first and only album, One Little Word in 1999. [3] Brooks was a regular performer in Orange County, California. [4]

Brooks also played with Jim Belushi. [5]

A 2003 article in OC Weekly noted that Brooks had retired from music. [5]

Reception

Randy Lewis of The Los Angeles Times praised Brooks' 1999 album One Little Word, complimenting the range of emotions of the songs. [4] Mike Boehm, also of the Los Angeles Times, noted Brooks' versatility on the album, and compared his backing band to Booker T. & the MGs backing Otis Redding. [3] The OC Weekly ranked Brooks as No. 111 in the greatest Orange County bands of all time, calling One Little Word one of the best albums of the decade, citing its originality and energy. [5]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Ness</span> American musician (born 1962)

Michael James Ness is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter for the punk rock band Social Distortion, which was formed in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Ray</span> American rock band

Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single "Fly". The song's success led the band to shift its style dramatically to the more radio-friendly pop sound with their subsequent releases. Their best-selling album, 14:59, was released in 1999, and featured popular singles "Every Morning", "Someday", followed by a self-titled album in 2001 featuring the single "When It's Over". The band would release two further albums, In the Pursuit of Leisure (2003) and Music for Cougars (2009), though the albums and respective singles generally sold far less. The band continued to tour into the 2010s.

The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1979. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with their peers in Agent Orange and Social Distortion. Founding bassist Steve Soto was the sole constant member of the band since its inception until his 2018 death, with singer Tony Reflex being in the group for all but one album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance Hall Crashers</span> American ska punk band

Dance Hall Crashers was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its career, with the most recent lineup includes Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké on vocals, brothers Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon on guitar and drums respectively, and Mikey Weiss on bass. They have released four studio albums, highlighted by the 1995 release Lockjaw which featured the minor hit song "Enough", produced by Rob Cavallo and featured in the film Angus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Distortion</span> American punk rock band

Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness, Jonny Wickersham, Brent Harding, David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards).

<i>Adolescents</i> (album) 1981 studio album by the Adolescents

Adolescents, also known as The Blue Album due to its cover design, is the debut studio album by American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in April 1981 on Frontier Records. Recorded after guitarist Rikk Agnew and drummer Casey Royer joined the band, it features several songs written for their prior group, the Detours, including "Kids of the Black Hole" and "Amoeba", which became two of the Adolescents' most well-known songs. Adolescents was one of the first hardcore punk albums to be widely distributed throughout the United States, and became one of the best-selling California hardcore albums of its time. The band never toured in support of it, and broke up four months after its release. The Blue Album lineup of Agnew, Royer, guitarist Frank Agnew, bassist Steve Soto and singer Tony Brandenburg reunited several times in subsequent years, but only for brief periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.S.O.L.</span> American punk rock band

T.S.O.L. is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, art punk, horror punk, other varieties of punk music, and hard rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Carr</span> American drummer

Randy Carr was an American musician who played drums in many rock music groups in the Orange County area of Southern California including 7th Grade, Silicone Silos, 16 Tons, and Social Distortion. Carr also played guitar.

<i>Musical Monkey</i> 1997 studio album by Guttermouth

Musical Monkey is the fourth album by the Huntington Beach, California, punk rock band Guttermouth, released in 1997 by Nitro Records.

<i>Church of Realities</i> 1995 EP by həd

Church of Realities is the sophomore extended play by American rock band Hed PE. Self-distributed in 1995, it was the band's first release.

<i>Hed PE</i> (album) 1997 studio album by (həd)pe

Hed PE is the debut album by the American rock band Hed PE. It was released on August 12, 1997, by Jive Records, and has sold over 100,000 copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casbah Recording Studio</span> Recording studio in the Orange County suburb of Fullerton, California, United States

The Casbah Recording Studio or simply Casbah is a recording studio in the Orange County suburb of Fullerton, California that helped to spawn several highly successful acts, including Berlin, Stacey Q, and Social Distortion.

Orange County Ska refers to the Ska Punk music scene from Orange County, California, United States.

<i>OC Confidential</i> 2005 studio album by the Adolescents

OC Confidential is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in July 2005 on Finger Records. It was their first studio album since 1988, and followed their reunion in 2001 after a twelve-year breakup. The album features founding band members Tony Reflex, Frank Agnew, and Steve Soto, joined by drummer Derek O'Brien. It was the final Adolescents album to include Agnew, and their only studio album with O'Brien.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutefisk (band)</span> American alternative rock band

Lutefisk was an American alternative rock band based in Los Angeles. It was active in the 1990s as part of LA's Silver Lake alternative music scene. During this time, it released two studio albums on Bong Load Records and recorded a third unreleased record for A&M Records.

Robert Lucas was an American blues musician, singer, guitarist and harmonica player, who became the front man for the group Canned Heat in the mid-1990s and was also a solo artist.

Will Glover a.k.a. Willie Glover is a musician and songwriter from Southern California. He was a member of the surf group The Pyramids. He has the distinction of being one of the very few or possibly the only black musician in surf music.

<i>Live at the House of Blues</i> (Adolescents album) 2004 live album and concert film by the Adolescents

Live at the House of Blues is a live album and concert film by the American punk rock band the Adolescents, released in February 2004 on Kung Fu Records as part of the label's The Show Must Go Off! series. It marked a reunion of the band after a twelve-year breakup, and features songs from their original 1980–81 run and from their then-upcoming reunion album OC Confidential (2005).

<i>Fuzzy Little Piece of the World</i> 1992 studio album by the Pontiac Brothers

Fuzzy Little Piece of the World is an album by the American band the Pontiac Brothers, released in 1992. A one-time reunion album, the band recorded it because they missed playing together. They supported the album with a North American tour.

References

  1. Boehm, Mike (September 15, 1999). "Album Review; The Word on 'One Little Word'". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  2. "FORMER KANSAN MAKES SPLASH IN CALIFORNIA FREDDIE BROOKS IS A RISING STAR IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BLUES SCENE". Wichita Eagle . November 14, 1999. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 Boehm, Mike (September 15, 1999). "The Word on 'One Little Word". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Lewis, Randy (January 6, 2000). "The Orange County Contenders". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 "The 129 Greatest OC Bands Ever: 90 – 129". OC Weekly . June 19, 2003. Retrieved April 8, 2011.