Published: February 10, 2010 7:53 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight February 2010 Edition
Ben Rusch
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Ben Rusch
He has an amazing voice that is full of life and energy. He is also an accomplished songwriter who writes beautiful and meaningful lyrics. In this recent spotlight with our Webzine, Ben Rusch speaks candidly about many matters of the heart. Want to learn more about this talented artist? Read on in this ultra chic spotlight.
Isaac: I just listened to one of your songs titled, "Until The Coast Is Clear". What was the inspiration for making this song and your new album?
Ben: I wrote the song for two friends of mine - thinking about the obstacles that some people face simply by choosing each other, loving each other, when their particular choice of person or gender is unpopular with others. The lyrical concept of the song is that two people are out at sea, withdrawing in moments when things on land are against them. It's a play on the tension between the metaphorical world in the song on the one hand and the real world on the other, where people take refuge on land when the sea is rough. The song is in a 5/4 beat throughout, to give it a steady marching feel that is soft at the same time. That's the idea anyway.
Isaac: Who were your influences?
Ben: In general terms, aside from the undeniable debt that every musician owes to The Beatles et al., there is Jethro Tull, who, in my personal opinion, is one of the best things that ever happened to popular music, and I can't help thinking that that belief has rubbed off on my own songwriting. Knowing that there are people who love songs as interesting and complex as theirs is wonderfully reassuring, so I've never felt I needed to dumb down my music at all. In the more contemporary vein, I really like Sigur Ros, although their sound is so idiosyncratic that they're perhaps more of an inspiration than strictly an influence on the music as such. Also, a big fan of Irish Folk and of progressive Bluegrass - I think they call it "Newgrass" sometimes - from the Gillian Welch or Chris Thile neck of the woods.
Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and lowpoint(s) of your career to date?
Ben: I'm deeply and profoundly grateful to have the chance to share my music with people who appreciate music, so the last two albums were definitely high points because I'm happy with the way they turned out and people have said kind and nice things about them. The two albums are the twin peaks of my career thus far, so to speak, and apologies for the silly pun and "product placement". I'm firmly intent on making the next album the next highlight so we'll see how that goes.
The lowest moments were corporate gigs we were forced to play simply because we needed the money so badly, like I remember playing a show for a pharma company on New Year's Eve, rather than celebrating with our friends and/or other halves. Just miserable and not to be repeated...
Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.
Ben: Classical piano to begin with and then things just got out of hand, with more and more instruments in the mix - slightly eclectic ones as well like the bagpipes, the bodhrán and the mandolin . Over the years, I've written songs for quite a few bands, and then turned all selfish so I record the songs myself instead. The music has been described as being outside any conceivable stylistic framework and I'm sometimes not sure whether that's a compliment, but I certainly invest a lot of energy in trying to make
each song sound unique. If you wanted to describe the albums overall, you could say that the unifying theme is a progressive rock root with nods to classical music, folk or acoustic music, and perhaps world music in places. Live performances sound entirely different though because the orchestral sound is substituted with whatever you can squeeze out of a single instrument.
Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist? What is the live music scene like in your area?
Ben: London - UK, that is, not Ontario - where I live comes quite close to being the Indie nirvana for audiences, with an unfathomable number of bands and venues to choose from every night of the week. The slight downside for bands and performers is that getting gigs at larger venues can take time with so many bands in the mix competing for spots. So getting the right kind of gig can be challenging for sure, but there's a liberal sprinkling of smaller venues available depending on how desperate you are to play. As I focus on songwriting, it's not so much of a hindrance or an issue for me personally but I know that new bands struggle to get a foothold in that market, so they need to rely on other ways or promoting their music concurrently. New Indie bands seem to me to be quite technology-savvy as a result.
Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment? Do you listen to radio much at all? Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?
Ben: When I'm in the thick of writing songs, I never actually listen to any music at all but when I have days off I'm definitely a fan of Internet radio. There's nothing quite like the incredulous, resounding joy you feel when you come across music you really enjoy that you've never heard before, music you didn't even realise existed. Online radio stations and the Internet generally have made that process of discovering new music a great deal easier. For Indie bands, this has meant that it's easier to get
exposure, particularly exposure beyond a band's immediate geographical reach. It's helped Indie musicians to establish a counterpoise to mass-produced muzak. Of course, you can argue that the proliferation of music overall has almost become so extreme that bands feel there's no point unless they carve themselves out a narrow niche because they're competing with bands around the world. In some cases, I feel that when bands have found that niche, their songwriting can stagnate a bit as a result. This is why blogs that highlight good songwriting are so crucial to the development/progression of indie music - encouraging good songwriting and giving songwriters an incentive to keep writing fresh
music; you could call it quality assurance. Driving songwriters to write the songs they would write if they had the world's best musicians at their disposal.
Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?
Ben: Oh dear, oh dear. So many fantasy line-ups to choose from! How about Monte Montgomery on the acoustic guitar to make jaws drop. Christophe Godin on the electric guitar to add humour. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull on the flute to add musical excellence and glamour. Ringo Starr on the
drums - Ringo is the undisputed drummer in all my fantasy line-ups. Sarah McLachlan and Alison Krauss contributing angelic two-part harmonies. Yo-Yo Ma on the bass guitar. Yes, I know he plays the cello but in this fantasy, he'll be just fine. And myself on the piano just so that I can be a part of it all. Oh, yes, and Penelope Cruz on the maracas or the triangle. I would probably make sure the fantasy band would record an album as well.
Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?
Ben: The last two albums - "Time" and "OH, YES!!" - are on sale as mp3 downloads from iTunes, Amazon, ShockHound, lala, LimeWire, Napster, Rhapsody, the Nokia Music Storeand a few others are forthcoming, so there's a few options.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music, videos, blogs, and anything else about you online?
Ben: A thousand thank-yous to the fans. Actually, that's a bit effusive and un-British, isn't it, so let's say "multiple" thank-yous to the fans for listening and for spreading the word. I'm lucky to have very music-loving and discerning fans who keep me on my toes and I wouldn't have it any other way.
And thanks ever so much to you, Isaac, for having me.
