Troubador Ben Brookes Belcher Talks About Songwriting, Producing and Performing as a Solo Artist

By: Jack Taylor

You’ve got to hand it to Ben Brookes Belcher, the man works hard rolling out some of the coolest country songs we’ve heard in a long time. Belcher nails down some fancy guitar licks while singing a mix of gritty hard tack down home spins and some of the sweetest heart wrenching ballads.

And he’s won the hearts of many country fans as both a studio and touring performer, building a following the hard way, bit by bit, with decades on the road or at the console.

The singer-songwriter arrived in this world in Charleston, West Virginia, where rural America meets the music of Appalachia, country and western, the hipness of rockabilly, swing and the Piedmont blues. Ben grew up listening to the stalwarts of rock and country from the legendary artists that make up the foundations of classic music, including Neil Young, Merle Haggard, The Beatles, Chet Atkins, and Mark Knopfler who came on later in his career to American swamp and country music.

Ben’s own style developed organically, with no classic training, but home grown from his father and musician friends, in the old style, learning songs from old 45s and hand me downs from his musician friends. And in this way, his own style emerged on guitar,  as his life experiences helped earn him a way with words, as his lyrics are eclectic that often offer us a bit of punch, as well as long lonely night portraits of life.

Working alongside or sharing a stage with such hitmakers as: Charlie Daniels, Dan Seals, Mel Tillis, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Suzy Boggus, Molly Hatchet and more, Ben earned his stripes on stage, watching, hearing and learning from some of the best in the business. He would also serve as the front man of Hank Laww, with Tony Cottrell, while learning under the direction of Bill Halverson (Crsby, Stills, Nash and Young, as well as Eric Clapton), before deciding to run solo.

With several albums under his belt, Ben Brookes Belcher is looking to release his sixth album, to follow two recent releases, “Highway Heart,” and “Live at the Shack” produced in his homebuilt studio at his farm in Georgia.

Guitar International is pleased to offer readers a look at Ben and his music and think you’ll soon find yourself a fan of this very, very fine singer-songwriter, Ben Brookes Belcher!

Jack Taylor: Can you tell us about your musical upbringing?

Ben Brookes Belcher: My family was very musical. My Father was a natural entertainer with story songs and played guitar and mandolin. I still have the old acoustic he courted my mother with and I learned to play on it. My mother played piano and my uncles on my dads side of the family also played.

There was always something musical happening around the house. Jam sessions with my dad and his brothers and their friends. Coin try dancing was a thing and my dad’s band played for those and I eventually got to play with them. I was self taught except for what my father taught me and a years worth of lessons in the 8th grade. I got some chord books and taught myself chords and positions on the neck. Then I figured out where i could play in different keys on the neck.

After discovering Chet Atkins , I would sit in front of the stereo and try to figure out what he was doing. I didn’t quite get there with Chet, but got me on my way to playing like me. I started studying Eric Clapton, Roy Buchanan, Carlos Santana and others. After I graduated high school I worked at a music store called Londeree Music Company and there was a jazz guitarist named, Vince Lewis, who really encouraged me and helped me along the way. I think he’s still teaching jazz Guitar and performing. I eventually started playing in bands around West Virginia, which led to many years of playing around the country and Canada fulltime.

Jack: What was it that attracted you to music?

Ben Brookes Belcher: It affected me deeply, always has. I remember hearing the Beatles and Percy Sledge the first time…man i was stunned. I just had to write stuff like that. I always had musical ideas in my head and playing guitar allowed me to communicate those ideas.

Jack: Are there are any key figures in your life that have influenced you in your music?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Yeah, I have to say my father was an influence up to a point in the beginning, but hearing Chet Atkins was a revelation. Then the guitar work of Clapton, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Beck and many others got me hearing those kinds of songs and influenced what I might play over certain changes. I hear things over other peoples’ playing that I wouldn’t necessarily think to play by myself, without some musical interaction with others.

Jack: With no formal music education other than the help of your father and musical friends, have you found that this has been difficult for you or have you found that there are other advantages to this way of learning?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Good question, yeah I think your ears develop more the way I learned, but it was hard to get what people were doing without being able to see that in a video , like we have now. But, you develop listening skills because you had to if you were going to stick with it. I was never great at learning solos note for note because I don’t read but I always had something close. [Laughs]

Jack: You were the lead guitarist for the late Dan Seals and have worked with numerous other artists, can you tell us more about your experiences as a session musician during that part of your career?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Well, I did play for Dan for a short time in some of his live shows. I was playing in a band in Ohio and his manager came in one night and liked us, and used us as his band for some shows. I had some great conversations with Dan and saw him out on the road in Arkansas after that.

His story was interesting; we were eating together in a restaurant and he told me that his fame came literally overnight. He and his partner had recorded a song one night and over the next day or so they had a national hit and started touring. Its was over pretty quickly and he started over again as a solo artist.

I met him during his starting over and his debut album was called, Rebel Heart. He was a great fingerpicker and it had a version of “Tobacco Road” that I still cover and have recorded. I’ve done quite a bit of session work over the years and always loved being in the studio more than anything I’ve ever done professionally. I had my first studio in Columbus, Ohio, based on a Otari 8-track analog tape system. I have another studio since then, here in Atlanta, that is Universal Audio based.

Jack: As an artist you’ve also worked extensively with producer Bill Halverson, what was that like and what effect did that have on your music?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Yep. I learned a lot from Bill and Tony Cottrill. To be fair, Tony introduced me to Bill thru the Recording Workshop in Chilicothe, Ohio, (Audio Engineering School). Long Story, but I had burned out from road work at the time and had moved to Nashville to try as a staff writer there. I was making progress when Tony called and asked if I wanted to make some Demos with Bill.

Of course it was, “Yes!” Bill liked me and wanted Tony to play drums and to get a band together and start showcasing. Hank Laww Band was formed for that reason and was out fronting the group . We recorded a lot of music with Bill, my songs and some Bill brought in from MCA and other publishing companies. He liked to engineer more than produce, but he let you know when you were going down the wrong path.

Bill liked most of my songs, but I remember one song that I had just written and was getting great response live, so I gave Bill a cassette of the song at the studio. Next day I said, “Bill did you listen to the song?” He said, “Yes,  get that thing out of my bag!” No explanation.. You learn to take rejection well, [Laughs] Bill had some great stories about recording Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and he was a good friend. Came to my wedding even after the group broke up.

Jack: As a guitarist, how do you strike the balance between working as a producer and writer in the studio, and as a performance environment?

Ben Brookes Belcher: They are totally different mind sets and functions. Unless your by yourself which is the norm now with no budgets. But, to be effective as a producer you need to be free from the technical aspect of the recording process and focus on the songs, arrangements and the individual musical performances. The writer wants the recording to capture what is in his head and stay true to his vision for the song. The guitarist is just trying to interpret what the song needs to be effective and not overplay. So, the producer should manage all these agendas effectively and create a good song and bring out the best in the singer’s performances. Some folks can do all these tasks well, but most cannot.

Jack: You’ve also been working in your home studio for a lot of your work, how do you find that experience compared to working in a traditional recording studio?

Ben Brookes Belcher: I think the main difference is the amount of space. For instance, Ocean Way studio is huge! So most of us don’t have the financial means to have that kind of square footage, but the results can be the same, especially now. The giant consoles looked awesome, but really they are not necessary now.

The analog emulations are so good now it’s mind blowing. Universal Audio is crazy good. I have a lot of their gear. I do use an analog vocal chain with various hardware pres and have some classic mics so there’s not much difference there.

Jack: Over the last few years you’ve been releasing music under your own record label, Timberwolf Records, what led you to release your music under your own label as opposed to working with another?

As you know, most of the labels are gone now. The product that funded those huge labels for decades is gone. No more physical records to sell. So the labels operating need to generate revenue and they do that by making the 360 deals, which leaves the artists with no viable income or support. Labels used to support artists on tours, draws against sales etcetera. So, I decided years ago to figure out how to fund and support myself. Thats what I did and that’s why I have my own studio and label.

Jack:What about gear? What are the pieces of equipment that you can’t live without to keep you inspired? I’m thinking guitars, amps and pedals etcetera.

Ben Brookes Belcher: I have a lot of guitars and amps, but my favorites are: ’69 Guild nylon string Mark 1 , Nash T-52 Tele, I love this guitar, and ’83  Fender Strat, Martin 1986 00018 , 67 Gibson LG-1, my desert island guitar; it records beautifully! Amps, i love are all my Vox AC-30 Classic , AC-10 , AC-4 and my Marshall DSL-2000 triple super lead, and my Fender Deluxe Tonemaster.

Jack: You’ve been in the music business for a number of years and have seen the industry change and evolve, what advice would you give to young aspiring musicians in 2022?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Great question, I hope to help some deserving artists with my studio and experience , but my advice for guitarists which your magazine focuses on is to learn from the greats and study how they moved people with their instrument. Thats the key, some many great examples out there of technical virtuosity, my god little children are performing on an incredible level. but are you moving people with a piece of music or simple dazzling them with technical ability?

Clapton could do it, Stevie Ray could do it, BB King could do it with one note and on and on the list goes. Realistically, for aspiring artists digital media is what we have now and for better or worse its accessible to anyone. Youtube can be financially viable if you treat it as a business and build your following with creative content. Work on the songs. Songs are king. It’s what most want and don’t have. Good songs.

Hardest thing in the world is to write great songs.

Jack: Outside of music, what gives you inspiration and creativity to continue your writing?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Getting outside, Staying spiritually grounded. Being thankful for what you have and helping others. Taking care of your physical and mental health and staying positive. Good things will come and your goals will be a reality, if you work hard. Successful people work harder than anyone else.

Jack: Your sixth album is due out soon, how does this differ from your previous records and what can your audience can expect from it?

Ben Brookes Belcher: I try to bring something different to every project. This new one I’m working on is a little more edgy than the last one. More electric guitar and songs are a little greasier. These new songs came very fast and I’ve been working hard to get them recorded.

I struggle a little with the fact that I’m always moving on to the next thing or song, but you have to respect the last project enough to do the proper promotion, business of the art. Business is a hard fact of life for artists.

Jack: Are you planing on doing some additional shows to promote the record?

Ben Brookes Belcher: The studio is where I’m happy, but I plan to book some small shows in the fall to perform some of this new material.

Jack: Do you have any shows coming up where our readers could come and see you perform?

Ben Brookes Belcher: Not right now. But, I could pop up somewhere though. I’ll keep you posted.

Jack: As we wrap things up here, is there anything that we’ve missed that you’d like our audience to know about?

Ben Brookes Belcher: I hope your listeners will check out the old songs and the the new material on all the streaming formats, and I’d love to hear from anyone out there, love to talk about everything music. We are all in this together, we are all learning every day. Thank you so, so much for giving me a voice on your channel. Peace!