"Hip Blues, New Blues whatever kinda Blues you want... Wayne Baker Brooks has got em...he did a fantastic job at this years Biscuit and is the new blues Supernova."
Jerry Pillow
Music Director
Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival
Chicago Blues Festival 2006
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The son of blues great Lonnie Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks may have been born into Chicago blues royalty, but that doesn't mean he hasn't paid his dues along the way. He joined his father's band as a roadie in 1988, and started playing guitar in the band in 1990. In 1997, he formed the Wayne Baker Brooks Band while continuing to work with his father and his guitar-playing brother, Ronnie Baker Brooks. In 1998, in addition to appearing in the film Blues Brothers 2000, he also co-wrote Blues for Dummies with his father and Cub Koda, earning his first Real Blues magazine award (Keeping the Blues Alive) for the effort. In the next few years, he also had cameos in Barbershop and Barbershop 2 and was asked to perform at the 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Chicago.
Brooks started his own label (Blues Island) in 2003, releasing his solo debut, Mystery, in 2004, an album of very contemporary blues that also draws on soul, funk, and even a bit of hip-hop. Brooks had a big year in 2004: in addition to releasing his debut, he was featured twice on The House of Blues Radio Hour with Dan Aykroyd, won five(!) more Real Blues magazine awards (including Best Chicago Blues Tune and Best Chicago Blues Album in the Modern category as well as Best New Talent), and headlined the Chicago Blues Festival with his father and brother. In 2005 the Brooks family received a lifetime achievement award from the Poconos Blues Festival. Wayne Baker Brooks continues to play with his father, as well as fronting the Wayne Baker Brooks Band.
Wayne's Debut Cd "Mystery" * * * * 4 Star Rating - All Music Guide
By the time Wayne Baker Brooks released his debut album, he had played
the blues in Lonnie Brooks' band for almost 15 years, served as a roadie for
two years before that, and led his own band for seven years (in addition to
still playing with his dad). Clearly, he did not rush into a recording career.
Instead, he paid his dues and took the time to find his own voice: a course a
less savvy bluesman might not have made, especially considering Brooks'
family legacy. It was a wise decision, because Mystery is not just a strong
debut, it's a fully formed new vision that updates the sound of the blues
without falling into the same tired blues-rock clichés. Instead, Brooks adds
some soul, funk, and even a little hip-hop to his solid blues foundation and
comes up with a great set of all-original tunes.Right from the opening title cut, you know this isn't your standard blues
album. It opens with a tremoloed Fender Rhodes vamp with an acoustic
rhythm guitar doing one thing in one ear and an electric doing something
else in the other. And, are those turntables in the mix?! Yep, but it's a subtle
touch like so many others throughout the album (and they're judiciously used
on just two cuts).
Brooks is a strong, soulful singer; he's got a big, meaty
Gibson tone; and his solos often don't go where you're expecting them to.
The production is crisp without being slick, and it's got a nice open mix.
Brooks knew what he wanted from the tunes, and his arrangements are
impressive. Hammond here, Clavinet there, horns on a couple tracks, some
tasty slide, and well-done backing vocals all add variety, but Brooks' singing
and guitar playing are always the focus. He's equally at home on uptempo
numbers ("Sooner or Later," "It Don't Work Like That") as he is on the slower
numbers like the soulful "Exiled." He brings a bit of the funk to "Baby Stop,"
and "Nu Kinda Blues" is just what it says with its pumping bass, scratching,
and killer harmonica playing over a ZZ Top-style groove. But despite these
additional influences, Brooks is a bluesman to the core, albeit a very modern
one, and that becomes clear every time he starts playing his guitar (and
check out the exchanges with Lonnie on "It Don't Work Like That").
Mystery is
not just a great album; it marks Wayne Baker Brooks as someone to keep an
eye on as the blues enter the 21st century. As Wayne himself said, "Blues
purists might not get my music but blues has to breathe fresh air sometimes."
Amen to that. --by Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
Mystery features:
Wayne Baker Brooks (Brooks Clan): lead/rhytym guitar, lead vocals
Ronnie Baker Brooks: (Brooks Clan) rhythm guitar
Schuyler Deale: (Michael Bolton, Billy Joel, Foreigner) bass
Jeff Jacobs: (Foreigner, Billy Joel) keyboards
Matt Walker: (Smashing Pumpkins, Filter) drums
Featuring: Lonnie Brooks Courtesy of Alligator Records
Ronnie Baker Brooks appears courtesy of Watchdog
Records
Produced by Jeff Jacobs/Big Dog Bites
Title - Composer
1. Mystery - W. Brooks, Jacobs, McCabe
(Two-Headed Man Music, Big Dog Bites Music, Cory Ryan Music)
2. Baby Stop - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
3. Exiled - W. Brooks (Two Headed Man Music)
4. Ain't That Lovin' You - W. Brooks, Jacobs (Two Headed Man Music, Big Dog Bites Music)
5. She's Dangerous - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
6. Nu Kinda Blues - W. Brooks, R. Brooks, Jacobs
(Two-Headed Man Music, Ronnie Brooks Music, Big Dog Bites Music)
7. It Don't Work Like That - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
8. Your Turn (To Talk to the Blues) - W.Brooks, Krech (Two-Headed Man Music)
9. Sooner or Later - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
10. Tell Me - W. Brooks, McCabe (Two-Headed Man Music, Cory Ryan Music)
11. You Make It Easy, Baby - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
12. Just Lika Butterfly - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
13. Root of My Soul - W. Brooks (Two-Headed Man Music)
Recent:
2005 - Induction into The History Makers: Music Maker Success
2005 - Poconos Blues Fest Lifetime Achievement Award "The Brooks Family"
2004 - Headlined The 2004 Chicago Blues Festival - Brooks Family
2004 - National Release of debut album "Mystery"
2004 - Real Blues Magazine Award - "Carry The Torch Award"
2004 - Real Blues Magazine Award - "Top Blues Stars of the Future"
2004 - Real Blues Magazine Award - "Best Chicago Blues Guitar CD/Modern"
2004 - Real Blues Magazine Award - "Best New Chicago Blues Talent/Male"
2004 - Real Blues Magazine Award - "Best Chicago Blues Tune/Modern"
2004 - Headlined The Chicago Blues Festival
2004 - Featured twice on the House Of Blues Radio Hour w/ Elwood Blues
2003 - Performed at The 2003 Major League Baseball All Star Game
