'Ben Keal: The trials and tribulations of the underground music scene'

Written by George Webb

Photo: Sam Sharp

The Brookes’ frontman, Ben Keal, has had a several years’ experience with the ins and outs of being part of an unsigned band. Here, he discusses with me the real struggles that come with that lifestyle, but also the beauties and freedoms that come with it too. Like many bands from the underground alternative scene, The Brookes were formed thanks to a happy accident. ‘We began with myself and Elliot jamming with a few old members, playing covers and the odd song we’d written ourselves’, but this project quickly turned into something with quite a lot more potential. ‘After a few… shall we say, interesting… gigs, and a handful of positive comments concerning our music, we started to take ourselves a bit more seriously. Ben tells me that from here, The Brookes went from strength to strength, even managing to get their track ‘Lucy’ played on Radio 2 but this didn’t come without sacrifices. ‘As we went through that stage of life where you find yourself, members left to find their own path, which is always hard but you have to adapt.’ And that seems to be where Ben shows his intelligence as a band member, he further declared that The Brookes are stronger than ever and described the future as ‘promising’. Originating from Grimsby, The Brookes might not have the same amount of musical opportunities that bands in Leeds or Manchester might have. Despite identifying the problems this causes, Ben claims that these are issues that they are capable of overcoming. ‘You just don’t have the sheer quantity of people to be able to cater for a full functioning music venue. But once you test the water with the bigger cities, it becomes easier to get your name out there in the mist of up-and-coming bands’. Regardless of how much effort bands like The Brookes put in, the odds will always be stacked against them, and never more so than now for a British four-piece alternative rock band. But Ben places part of the blame for this on the industry itself. ‘We have experienced so many promoters and PR people expecting us to play for free or even operate on a pay-to-play policy, which I find absolutely disgusting.’ The source of this problem is what Ben sees as the most troubling thing, however, ‘laziness of listeners is the heart of the problem, until they start putting thought into giving these unsigned bands a chance, this will sadly always be an issue. When asked how he plans to get to the top of the pile in terms of British alternative acts, Ben concedes that there are many methods of doing so, but some come with more dignity than others. ‘A lot of bands use money to gain fame, and there aren’t any rules against that, but I think it’s cheating yourself out of what you’re really worth. Social media is another one, bands just following as many people as they can to push recognition.’ For The Brookes, the beauty of being in a band lies behind something much more pure. ‘It’s about the love of music for me. Everyone would love to headline Glastonbury, of course they would. But just being on that stage playing songs you’ve written to fans that you’ve touched on a personal level, is something special that no money can buy.’ For the frontman of a band who have been described ‘music for modern days angry youth’, Ben Keal undoubtedly shows signs of musical maturity which could take him all the way to the top. The Brookes have a new single out in November, and have a string of live dates to see the year out and lead them into 2018.