Ben Kweller
Benjamin Lev "Ben" Kweller (born June 16, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
A former member of Radish, Kweller has released five solo albums and appeared on several collaborations.
Early life
Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to the larger Texas town of Greenville.
Kweller was exposed to music at a very early age. Howard taught Ben how to play the drums when he was seven years old. For the next year, they would play together almost every night after Howard got home from work. Howard sang and played guitar while Ben played the drums. The duo played songs by The Beatles, The Hollies, Jimi Hendrix, and other artists of the 1960s. Howard is also a longtime friend of Nils Lofgren, a neighbor of his. Kweller has mentioned in interviews that meeting Lofgren greatly helped his exposure to music. When Kweller turned eight, someone showed him how to play "Heart and Soul" on the piano and the youngster immediately began to create his own songs using the same chords. By the time he was nine, he had a dozen original compositions under his belt and entered a songwriting contest sponsored by Billboard magazine, where he won an honorable mention.
Ben Kweller (album)
Ben Kweller is the self-titled third album by Ben Kweller. It was released September 19, 2006 on ATO Records.
One Minute Pop Song
For the 9 weeks leading up to the release of the album Ben Kweller previously took footage of himself and made an internet mini-show called "One Minute Pop Song." Each episode would usually run for 2–6 minutes.
Topics of the videos were varied. Some of the topics were about a fan who sent in a cover version of a song, talking about laying down the tracks and playing all the instruments on the album, showing a tour of the studio, Ben Kweller rating himself on each instrument, telling a story about Neil Young, and talking about how he learned to play the drums from his father.
Recording process
On his Myspace website, Ben described the making of the album as "very exciting, emotional and challenging." He explained that since he played all the instruments on the album it "was a big change for me and it produced something really intimate and special. It's such a different way of working but if you can pull it off it makes a very cool and unique sound." He also described a song on the album, "A bonus for me, and you, is I think I might have written my best song while I was in the studio. It's called 'Thirteen'. It's very personal and almost hard for me to listen to."
Podcasts:
Ben Kweller
ALBUMS
- Go Fly a Kite released: 2012
- Changing Horses released: 2009
- Live and Solo at the Artists Den released: 2007
- Ben Kweller released: 2006
- On My Way released: 2004
- Sha Sha released: 2002
- Bromeo released: 2000
- Freak Out, It's Ben Kweller released: 2000
- 2007-03-05: Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, Canada released:
- 2004-10-04: Verizon Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC, USA released:
- 2004-05-05: Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA released:
2007-03-05: Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Walk on Me
- Family Tree
- I Gotta Move
- Make It Up
- I Need You Back
- I Dont Know Why
- Run
- Different but the Same
- Living Life
- Hospital Bed
- On My Way
- Chug-A-Lug
- The Rules
- Sundress
- Red Eye
- Penny on the Train Track
- Here Comes the Breeze
- Nothing Is Wrong
- Love Is Better Than a Warm Trombone
- See the World
- These 3 Sins
- Wharf Me
- Notice
- Girlshapedlovedrug
- How We Operate
- Charley Patton Songs
- Blue Moon Rising
- Hamoa Beach
- Hangover
- Silence
- Rhythm & Blues Alibi
- [encore break]
- Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol
- Fill My Cup
- Get Myself Arested
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It's Up To You
by: Ben Kwellerverse1:
looks like we found an escape for the public,
the radio just hasn't played for seven years.
new information for all the kids to soak up,
my server is down and i'm in tears.
verse2:
i am the make up and the tongue ring and the mindless,
the man behind the desk names her the dollar sign,
we dance around the rosies and the blazing fire
and with devotion wait in line.
chorus:
you gotta do your own thing, honey, and stay true.
so please make us believers honey, don't ever leave us honey!
it's up to you
verse4:
don't be so pressured to pay your debt to america.
you're young, just do your thing, you'll see you're not alone.
the fatale girl seems to be much more important
than the baby girl that's born.
verse5:
climb through the atmosphere and hang out with some colour,
we stop and scratch our heads and think like taking drugs.
we are the cops, the crooks, that cats, the blind the geniuses.
its time to take out your ear plugs!
chorus:
you gotta do your own thing, honey, and stay true.
so please let us cry on your shoulder, honey,
you make me feel so much older, honey.