Ben Lee (placeholder)

1. He is amazingly talented.

2. He is an inspiration.

3. He plays the guitar good/

I don’t think I really have a story about him, but I just find Ben to be interesting on all counts.. A very unique individual! I like his quirkiness and to be honest there is just something about him!

I was familiar with Ben Lee’s name for years, sometimes reading about his music and how great it was, but usually reading that he was the boyfriend of Claire Danes (at the time). Although I was curious to hear his music, I never got around to actually looking it up.

However, last December I was in Sydney, Australia for a bit of a holiday and primarily to see my favourite musician (Neil Finn) perform at Homebake. Fortunately, Ben Lee was also performing at this festival and I determined that this was the finally the time to hear what he’s all about. Well! Although Neil Finn is my musical god, Ben Lee became a very close runnerup after the show. Excellent melodies, smart and funny lyrics, and a sweet guy with lots of character – it was love at first listen. :)

I also found out that Neil Finn is an admirer of Ben’s music, and Ben is a fan of Neil! What more can a girl ask for??

I’ve been dying to see him perform every since and despite doing two gigs in Vancouver this year (last May and at the end of August), I haven’t been able to make the trip to see either of them. Bummer. One day, though, he’ll be back and I’ll be damned if anything will stop me from going. ;)

I met him in NYC and in Cincinnati. What a sweet person!

He opened up for Sam Roberts and I met him after the show. I got my picture taken with him and he signed my ticket. He was pretty nice.

I first read about him in a Seventeen magazine article when he must have been about sixteen. Sometime around the “Grandpaw Would” release. I was very impressed because he was so young and making a name for himself with his own style of music. None of this manufactured pop nonsense where somebody casts a good looking guy who can get the teenyboppers to buy his albums. Ben seemed like the real thing and well…real looking. I followed his personal life through the years. I’ve heard radio interviews with him, as well. It took some time before I really started listening to his stuff. Probably the “Breathing Tornados” disc and his most recent “Awake is the New Sleep”. If I got to meet him, I’d tell him that he doesn’t know it, but he and I sort of grew up together in a very roundabout way. Also I would say I think it’s funny he is singing about what is probably Pomona’s “The Glass House” and the wild Santa Ana winds in “Catch My Disease”. (Anyway, who else could make catching his disease sound so enticing?)