I’m not the only one victim of this addiction for this talented Kentucky cellist ! NPR named Ben Sollee, “Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year“, and my fellow blogger Susana has collected a great interview. Better twice than never : it will be the opportunity for me to stream another song : It’s Not Impossible (Boys Don’t Cry), an excerpt of a performance hold last year at Fourth Street Live in Louiseville. Delightful!
Thank you Ben for taking the time out of your busy tour schedule to answer a few questions for the youcrazydreamer.com readers!
YCD: You don’t see many lead singer, cello players. How old were you when you started and did you have doubts about it being a main staple in your music and live act when you started ?
Ben Sollee : I started playing cello in fourth grade in my public school, but I was never much of a singer. I did, however, have this personality that just wanted to sing all the time and I still do. It’s kind of embarrassing cause I don’t know I’m doing it sometimes. As for making it a live show, I couldn’t really help it. I love performing and I’d just find myself on stage doing it. By the end of college I was thinking about how to make a career of it.
YCD : When i was a child i wanted to be a ?
Ben Sollee : There was a time when I wanted to be a dancer, then I wanted to compete in gymnastics, then a major league baseball guy. All were big dreams, but the one that has stuck with me longest is making music for Disney movies.
YCD : What song are you inspired by or cannot live without at the moment, yours or someone else’s ?
Ben Sollee : I can’t live without Patty Griffin’s Mother of God from her Impossible Dream CD.
YCD : When meeting a fan, one of the first things they say about your music is, or that it reminds them of ?
Ben Sollee : There are so many different reactions, but mostly people feel connected and they say there’s something in the performance of the songs that take them away. People give just as much to these songs as I do, but I’m glad I can be their Dick Van Dyke and draw a little sidewalk drawing in which they can leap.
YCD : With all the changes and uncertainties going on in the music industry today, what inspires you to keep doing what you’re doing and why ?
Ben Sollee : It’s never been about the music industry in my thinking, but we musicians must make a living somehow. For a brief window of time, we have the chance to experience real democracy in music. People vote by purchasing and/or sharing your music with others, and things are relatively equal. Soon the labels and other related businesses will get it all figured out and we’ll be back in the game of hearing mainly what’s being propelled by the giants. That makes this time extremely fertile.
Artist : Ben Sollee
Label : SonaBlast Records
Where to buy : Sonablast, Emusic.com
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