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Ben Bledsoe Interview
Check out his myspace here! LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW (Audio will take a few minutes to load, depending on your internet speed)
Read the Transcript Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 (page 1 seems to be missing) Tracey: Right, that’s awesome. How close are you with your family since this solo career has started? Does your dad still go with you to all the events? (I love that man! He is so awesome!) - Nikki
Tracey: That’s good, then you get to see them too.
Michelle: Yeah.
Ben: So it’s a huge family thing.
Tracey: Obviously, this girl said that he was awesome.
Ben: Yeah, who my dad or my nephew?
Tracey: Your dad.
Ben: Oh yeah totally, absolutely.
Tracey: How old is your nephew?
Ben: What did you say?
Tracey: How old is your nephew?
Ben: He’ll be 3 on June 3rd.
Tracey: Ahh.
Michelle: Mine will be 3 in November so.
Ben: Oh yeah?
Michelle: Yeah.
Ben: That’s awesome. Where do you live?
Tracey & Michelle: Minnesota.
Ben: Did you say Oklahoma?
Tracey & Michelle: Minnesota.
Ben: Minnesota. I’m sorry, it’s kind of quiet here. That’s cool. Very cool. Well, we’ll have to let everybody hang out when I go to Minnesota.
Michelle: Mmhmm.
Tracey: Sounds good. In the About Me of your MySpace page, when you are describing “Insomniac's Guide to a Lonely Heart”, you say, It means so much to me to hear how so many people can relate to the songs, because we all go through relationships, and sometimes relationships go through us." What do you mean by "sometimes relationships go through us?" Can you elaborate on that statement? Can you describe how, exactly, (without naming names, of course), you feel that relationships have "gone through you" in your life, and how that changed you, personally and/or professionally? – Brandy
Ben: Uhm, wow. That’s a good question. I would say that a lot of this album came from basically a specific period of time in my life. And it was right after a relationship ended. It was kind of one of the first times I really opened myself up, you know, and just kind of went full force with it. Towards the end it kind of got tough, so that’s when I sat down and wrote, because she ended up moving far, far away. And it was one of those things. So, basically I was just saying relationships, good and bad, they go through you, because they become a part of you in every way. You see things differently, you do things differently. Songs on the radio you relate to, because of that you know. So it really does go through you. And so that’s kind of what I think I was talking about really, with that. There’s always people, whether it’s a relationship like dating or just friendship. There’s always relationships and stories in your life, but sometimes they impact you forever. And I think those are more the one’s that I try and talk about, the one’s that are life changing for me, you know.
Tracey: Right. Do you think your status as an ex-boyband member works in your favor, or against it in terms of being taken seriously as a musician? - Brenden
Ben: I would say, it depends on the situation. Lately, it hasn’t, nobody’s really seemed to make, nobody’s really seemed to care, because they are just excited about the music, excited about the whole project in general. I was a little worried at first, more so here in the US then anywhere else, because the rest of the world is a little more eager to hear what’s going on now. As the music progresses, and the career progresses, they’re willing to listen more. But here in the US, we tend to be a little more, not cynical, but a little more judgmental upfront you know.
Tracey: Yeah.
Ben: And I do it too. It’s fine, actually. I haven’t noticed anything at all. I’ve had a really good response at every show. And I’ve been doing a lot of promotion stuff, setting up a lot of tours that are going to be coming up in the near future. It’s all been really, really good. I would say, more then anything, it’s been a big help to me, because it’s name recognition, with me just my name individually. Some people will be like “Oh my gosh, I saw you on tour with The Monkees” or “I saw you on tour with the Back to the 70’s tour”. So you know, it’s cool, all these different tours that I did with the band. And they’ve just been, it’s nice that they can relate immediately that way too. I would say it hasn’t been a burden at all, actually.
Tracey: Yeah, any publicity is good. That’s what I say.
Ben: Yeah.
Tracey: That’s how I see it. Any publicity is good. Gets your name out there.
Ben: Yeah.
Tracey: How do you feel you have grown as a person and musician since Natural? Do you wish you could have done things a bit differently or do you not regret starting off in a Boy Band? - Meliza
Ben: No, no. I knew what I was doing. I knew it was everything I wanted to do, at the time. So I don’t regret it at all. I had the time of my life, out on the road with the band, and I met, they’re still some of my best friends. I toured the world. I met, literally millions of amazing people. I got to perform, which is like, my favorite thing in the world. So, it’s just, I would not take any of it back you know. It was the time of my life. I’m so glad that I’m actually getting to continue that. The thing that’s really nice now, is that I’m more able to do what I want to do, versus before it was like what we all agreed on you know. So now, I get to do all the same stuff, except exactly the way I want to.
Ben: Yeah, it is.
Tracey: If you could be any other musician for a day, who would it be and why? – Mandy
Ben: Stevie Wonder (laughs). Or, well, okay other Stevie Wonder, I was going to say Jacque Pastorius, because he’s the most amazing bass player that’s ever lived. But I would say, probably Stevie Wonder, because, I don’t know man. He is just ridiculous. He’s got an amazing voice. I want to, I almost wish I could be blind for a day, so I could see things the way he does, because he’s definitely got an askew point of view you know. I just, I think he’s amazing. So, if I could spend a day, straight up, being Stevie Wonder, knowing theory the way he does, understanding the life of what he does, I would be very happy. Tracey: What was it like opening for Hanson? Ben: It was great. It was one of those shows, where at first it was a little bit frustrating honestly, because everything seemed to be going wrong. I’ve played the House of Blues a million times, well not a million, but I’ve probably played it a dozen times. And it just seemed like everything was going wrong. I didn’t know if maybe they didn’t want me to be there, or something, because I won this contest to be in it. But then, I met the guys, and they were totally cool. They were the nicest guys, like ever. And I played the show, and they came and hung out. Taylor was there before, and he was asking me “Oh hey, I knew the band before” and stuff like that “That’s really cool what you’re doing now. I’m going to watch the show, I’m eager to hear.” And then, after the show, all the guys came over to hang out, and be like “Man, that was totally cool” and “I’m really glad you won the contest”, “ I hope to tour again sometime”. So they were the nicest guys. And their crowd was amazing, honestly, like the crowd that was there at my show was phenomenal. I went out with my band with me, and we just started the first note, and they were just like “Ahhhhh” you know. They were just a huge blast. I think the show was just, originally a little bit chaotic, because it was like, so many things going on you know. Tracey: Probably.
Michelle: I saw their show in Minneapolis.
Ben: Yeah, it’s great right?
Michelle: Mmhmm. Go on to Page 3.
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