It is with such sadness that we say farewell to our wonderful contributor Chaz Brooks. Chaz had been battling cancer for a while and sadly he lost the battle about a month ago. His wife Mandy, informed me that he was surrounded by his loved ones and spent his last days listening to his favourite music!

I remember the day that I met Chaz. It must have been 2017 and it was at a Courtney Marie Andrews gig at The Keep in Guildford. I was there reviewing it and saw a man sat next to us (my friend and I) writing notes so I immediately knew he was also reviewing the evening. At some point we got to talking about our websites and music tastes. As Courtney was a Loose Music artist, I recommended Andrew Combs to Chaz and he soon became a very loyal fan of his. When Chaz offered to be a contributor for me, I was delighted. He was such a talented writer and I felt privileged to have him.

Chaz was an absolute asset to this website. Not just because of his writing but because he was wonderful with advice, feedback and recommendations. Chaz was more than just a contributor, he was somewhat of a partner to the website. I had so much trust in Chaz – his work and his taste in music so much so that I always said to him to review what he wanted, to write what he wanted and to apply for any review tickets and interviews that he wanted without having to go through me. I was a busy stay at home mum you see and I found it hard at times to handle it all and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would represent Building Our Own Nashville very well and would be very respectful. Chaz was also very understanding and supportive of my situation and was constantly telling me not to worry about being unable to cover everything.

Chaz built so many great relationships with artists, labels, managers and PR teams. I know that Loose Music and their artists will miss him in particular as he was such a great advocate for their artists.

I loved reading his reviews and discovering new artists through him such as The Urban Voodoo Machine, The Hanging Stars, Sugaray Rayford and more! Once when he went to interview and review The Wandering Hearts, I remember telling him “just don’t write a bad review as I am a huge fan” to which he told them what I said in the interview haha! I was embarrassed but laugh at it now!

Without Chaz’ help, this website wouldn’t be what it is! He covered shows that I wanted to go to but couldn’t such as BST Hyde Park with Elton John and BST Hyde Park with Stevie Wonder and he wrote so professionally and interesting informatively. The reviews were always so detailed and kept you engaged.

I remember him telling me how amazing Stevie Wonder was and how fun it was to interview Corinne Bailey Rae at BST Hyde Park and walk with her from backstage to the stage.

One of the funniest things though was finding out just how much of a small world it is we live in. Upon requesting his address once to post something to him, I discovered he lived on the very land my Nan’s house used to be! A lot of my childhood was spent running around the grounds of what became his home. At the time, it was just my nans house but then she had houses built there and sold it. Chaz told me that he walked past her actual house every day with the dog. That story will never cease to amaze me! I don’t live in Guildford, never have so when we met, it was the first time I had been back in years and years.

We really will miss Chaz here. He was so loyal and lovely I can’t believe he is gone! I will miss his friendly and approachable personality and just being able to be honest with him about my fears of this work sometimes and him always reassuring me! I will of course also miss his wonderful writing. There are still times that I start to write an email to him when something great had happened and I can’t wait to tell him!

Our hearts go out to his family! He always spoke of them so highly! I loved hearing about him going to shows with his daughter.

To Chaz’s family – I am so sorry for your loss and I can’t imagine what you are going through. I wish you all the very very best. I will always remember him fondly.

Here at Loose we’re very sad to hear about the passing of Chaz. Chaz was a great supporter of Loose and we always enjoyed seeing him out and about at all manner of gigs. A fantastic journalist and a valued part of the UK Americana scene, he will be missed.

I am so sorry to hear about Chaz. Such a lovely man. It was always a pleasure to deal with him and see him at gigs. Please pass on my condolences to his family if you are in touch with them. – Claire Horton