Blog posts

• 

  Oct 09, 07:52 PM

  Band Geeks Of The World Unite!

  Hi friends.
  
  This is great - check this out:
  www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=93
  
  Three local high school bands have recorded versions of Catch My Disease for a contest run by the radio station TBTL in Seattle. The winner will have the Seahawks drum line, Blue Thunder, perform at their school. The winner will be announced on air tomorrow.
  
  New album release news VERY soon!
  
  Xoxo
  Ben
• 

  Sep 10, 05:03 PM

  Suburbs Of Love

  Hi all
  
  I wanted to show you guys a video clip that Ione and I co-directed for the song "Suburbs of Love", performed by Jessica Chapnik, from 'The Square' soundtrack.

  We made it at home on Final Cut, its the first thing I've ever edited so we had fun. If you dig the song, head over to myspace.com/jessicachapnik and leave Jessica a message.

   

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfeVGP2KQNE

   

  On a different subject, a lot of people ask me about where I go in India to see Narayani Amma. There is now an offical video of Amma's Sripuram Golden Temple at youtube.com/watch?v=hvhZeATRc2A Check it out and soak up the Divine blessings.
  
  I hope you're all well. New album news very soon!
  
  Xoxo
  Ben
• 

  Aug 14, 05:45 PM

  Garma

  Hi friends.
  
  I just spent an extraordinary week up at the Garma Festival in Arnhem Land, Australia.
  
  For those of you who aren't familiar with Australian culture, Arnhem Land is home to the Yolngu people, an Aboriginal tribe who are the traditional owners of the land. Since 1931 Arnhem Land has been a traditional Aboriginal reserve, which to visit one needs a permit. It is incredibly rich with Aboriginal heritage and history, and contains many sacred sites.
  
  The Garma Festival was put together by the Yunipingu family (members of the band Yothu Yindi) and is one of Australia's most significant Indigenous festivals. About 20 Indigenous clan groups gather at the festival as well as non-Indigenous participants who are interested in learning about traditional Aboriginal culture.
  
  Ione and I spent 5 days camping in the remote bush site, meeting many Aboriginal people, listening to discussions about the challenges facing Aboriginal communities today, and learning ancient craft and healing techniques.
  
  There were so many amazing moments, it's all a bit of a blur in my mind right now, but a few stand out.
  
  I jammed with many young Indigenous musicians. There are some fantastic bands up there, who are really creating their own brand of music, mixing traditional elements with rock and reggae structures. Hearing a group of primary school kids singing a traditional song about "dancing in the rain" is a moment I don't think I'll ever forget. There were little "jam rooms" set up in sheds around the site and kids were learning instruments, songwriting and jamming constantly. Here is a photo of me and Rylson Lalra, a young musician teaching me a song about his homeland.
  
  
  
  We watched a canoe being carved out of a tree trunk by an old Aboriginal man, while old women chanted and cried through the ritual. Apparently the last time this canoe ritual had been performed was a generation ago. As the elders pass on, many of the ancient techniques and knowledge is being lost. The women were mourning.
  
  Each night there was a concert. I performed back up for a young band and then played "We're All in this Together" to about a thousand people, most of which were Aboriginal. It's hard to explain how profound this was for me. Growing up in Australia, I had maybe once been in a room with 8 Aboriginal people at one time, and here I was with 800 Aboriginal people at once! As I looked out at the sea of beautiful Indigenous faces, the fact that Australia truly was their country long before mine, hit me at an emotional level. Of course, I had grown up knowing this at an intellectual level, but really feeling that truth was a whole other thing...
  
  I met an Indigenous woman who had been involved in a land rights battle with the government for 30 years. The case appears to be close to settlement. She spoke of her ability to find the sacred sites on the land without a map. This information was in her heart.
  
  Jimmy Little, the legendary Aboriginal singer, performed at one of the events. He was so graceful and relaxed. He shook my hand and told me how much it meant to his people that they could share their spirituality with other cultures. His handshake was warm and nurturing. Here is a photo of us together.
  
  
  
  
  The patience and warmth displayed by all the Aboriginal people I met was almost shocking, considering the right they have to be resentful of their treatment by white Australia. I thought about how many resentments I hold against people for trivial things, nothing to the extent of having my land taken away, or having my children removed from my home. It's amazing what a little perspective can do...
  
  There were many other great moments, but above all, I came away with a very strong understanding and conviction that Indigenous culture in all forms must be protected and encouraged to thrive. It isn't enough to offer minorities "Affirmative Action"-type advancement plans, although these are important. It isn't just about integrating Aboriginal people into our modern life. We need to learn from them. We are all at risk of losing our connection to land, spirit and nature in the fast paced modern world. The few groups in the world that still hold this connection firmly, should be admired, studied and encouraged. We could all use the wisdom that they have.
  
  Here are a few articles about Garma that you may find interesting:

  
  

  Ben Lee Hoping To Build Musical Bridges

  
  

  Old Lore, Brand New Beat
  
  I would encourage people, wherever you are, to investigate the history of the Indigenous culture of your area. Life moves fast, and is only moving faster, and it is comforting to know that there is a simplicity and ancient wisdom that has never left this planet, and will always be there to return to, as long as we protect it.
  
  Big Love
  Ben
• 

  Jul 24, 09:18 PM

  Mastering

  Hi all -
  
  Sitting in the mastering studio with Greg Calbi as we speak putting the finishing touches on my new album. The last few days has been full of seemingly endless tweaking of mixes and reshuffling song sequences. And in a matter of hours it will all be final!
  
  Just wanted to alert you guys to a few cool things to check out.
  
  Last week was a big one for people affected by global warming, politics and the ecnonomy (i.e. EVERYONE) as Al Gore made an important speech about setting firm goals for making the shift to renewable energy resources. I urge you all to check out his speech at www.wecansolveit.org.
  
  Another cool thing to check out is www.youtube.com/user/masternanlu. Some of you will recognize the name Master Nan Lu from the liner notes to "Awake...". He is the Qigong master I studied with for several years, and who introduced me to Narayani Amma.  There are some great videos of him that feature his philosophies on healing, growth and change on his Youtube channel.
  
  Finally, here is a photo I found of me making out with Alex from Phantom Planet live on stage in Pomona, CA a few years ago. Incidentally, this was the same day I wrote "Catch My Disease". I will allow you to make your own smutty jokes and double entendres linking the two events.... :)
  
  
  
  Be well
  Ben
• 

  Jul 16, 11:26 PM

  The Answer To Life's Many Mysteries

  Not sure how to put it in words...but I am certain it's in this video.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePqn6BDB098
  
  I have watched it hundreds of times. Each time I play it for a musician friend, they say "Can we watch it again?"
  
  Stevie Nicks had gone through so much at this point of her career, yet here she is, taking such pure joy in a new song she's written, with barely an audience.
  
  Of course, she's beautiful, but its more than that. Watch the way she's singing. She's playful. Her cheeky eye-contact with her make-up artist and back-up singer. She's a child, in the best possible way.
  
  Why can some people hold on to that feeling and others lose it?
  
  It's the secret of art, love and life. Finding that enthusiasm we all had as a kid, and bringing into our adult lives.
  
  She looks natural. Nothing forced at that moment. Nothing to lose. It feels magical to me.
  
  Moments like these are few and far between. They remind me what music can be. Not just a recording, but an event.
  
  Love to you all
  
  Ben
• 

  Jul 02, 12:57 PM

  Album Update 3

  We finished tracking the album today!
  
  Wow. Bittersweet feelings abound. Creativity is so intense. It seeks expression and then the moment passes. Forces us to keep growing, changing, moving, and letting go.
  
  The joy and sorrow of completion. This record feels overwhelming to me. In a good way. Full of ideas, images, feelings and sounds that come from deep inside.
  
  Some more song titles for you:
  
  Boy With A Barbie
  Families Cheating At Boardgames
  Surrender
  Song for the Divine Mother of the Universe
  Bad Poetry
  I'm a Woman Too
  
  Had a great "group vocal party" the other night, with friends old and new belting out the crowd singalong bits of a few songs. I will post some footage soon.
  
  Any suggestions for album titles?
  
  I hope you are all hunky dory
  
  Xox
  Ben
• 

  Jun 20, 12:17 AM

  Album Update 2

  Good evening. I'm sitting in the departure lounge at the San Jose airport waiting for a delayed flight back to LA after playing a free outdoor show here this afternoon with Augustana.
  
  Lots to catch you all up on in album world.
  
  My good buddy Missy Higgins came by the studio to hang out and added a sweet vocal hook to "I Love Pop Music". She sounds great on the track. Its the most political song I've ever written. The chorus is:
  
  "I love pop music
  this is how we do it
  its politics you can romance to
  I love pop music
  sprinkle sugar through it
  philosophy that you dance to"
  
  
  
  We also recorded a song called "Yoko Ono" that I'm really psyched about. It's a formal request for guidance for our civilization, as well as an official cultural apology.
  
  The other day we recorded a Stones-y track called "Blue Denim" that I actually wrote around the time of "Hey You. Yes You". It's a meditation on emerging teenage sexuality and blue jeans. Courtney Taylor-Taylor from the Dandy Warhols is hopefully gonna harmonize with me on the chorus. He will kill it.
  
  Another one we've tracked is called "Wake Up to America" that sounds like New-Order-meets-Nic's-living-room and explores my long, complicated and passionate relationship with the country I now live in. As a proud Australian living in the US for the last decade, I've thought alot about America and what it means to me, whats right with it and whats wrong with it. We listened to lots of Abbie Hoffman speeches for inspiration. You know he named his son "america" (with a deliberate lower case "a"). He was a genius.
  
  We are shooting the album cover next week. Its going to be pretty eccentric and great. All I can tell you right now is angel wings, boomboxes and Nic and Lara in capes. Excited yet?
  
  This is a pretty eclectic album. There are so many musical and lyrical moods that I feel have been building in me for a long time. "Ripe" was definitely an exploration in my more conservative inclinations, a fantasy of a pop radio record I would have heard as a kid. I adore that record, but this is definitely a different beast. This one is beautifully chaotic, opinionated, confused, passionate and real. I think you guys will dig it.
  
  Some more photos from the studio...
  
  
  
  
  
  Speak soon
  
  xoxo
  Ben
• 

  Jun 10, 11:33 AM

  New Album Update

  Good day to you all.
  
  
  
  Last week was our first official week of recording the new album and it went great. So far we have tackled two new songs "I Love Pop Music" and "What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)?". Both have a great, up tempo, and even dancey (!) vibe. Its great to be in the studio with Brad Wood, Lara Meyerratken and Nic Johns. We haven't ever worked together in this combination before and its really exciting.
  
  
  
  Had a wonderful trip to India to see Narayani Amma that left me very charged-up and ready to get into this creative process. It's funny, having known Amma for quite a few years now, and working with people that I have known for a long time, some similar themes are emerging. Its often scarier to go deep with people you know and are committed to. It can be easy to reveal yourself to strangers. Intimacy raises the stakes. This relates to marriage too. I guess I'm feeling ready to raise the stakes a little higher. Get deeper in a familiar world. Commit. Get challenged by those who know me best. It's exciting.
  
  
  
  If you have a moment, check out the article "Coming Home" at this link. I am friends with Stacey, the author of the article, and Simon, the subject of the article. I introduced them and am really excited they got together to help Simon share his amazing story.
  
  
  
  Also check out www.pantiesforpeace.info This is a brilliant, creative campaign from a Burmese peace activist group working worldwide now.
  
  
  
  Here are some short videos to include you in the daily nonsense going down in Valley Village at the moment:
  
  
  
  Nic and Lara "talking amongst themselves"
  
  
  
  Brad programming drums
  
  
  
  Ben doing a Hulk impression
  
  
  
  More news soon!
  
  Hope alls well
  
  xoxo
  
  Ben
• 

  May 02, 08:03 PM

  PLOT TWIST

  Back home after doing two weeks on tour with Foldsy. Wonderful tour with lots of great college audiences, lots of "Ninja Warrior" and "Unbeatable Banzuke" on G4, and lots of songwriting.
  
  In fact, I've had a surge of creativity over the last month and decided to head into the studio June 1 while it's all fresh and make an album! Even though Ripe is still bubbling along, and people are getting into the "American Television" video (watch), I've learned from the past that I really shouldn't put my creativity on hold for anything. Its important to start in the flow of nature, and stay loyal to the mysterious muse.
  
  Ione and I are headed to India on a couple of weeks to see Narayani Amma and hopefully set a date for the wedding. When we get back I go straight into the studio to start the next album.
  
  The twist is, and I know this will excite many of you out there, the team making this album with me will be Brad Wood, Lara Meyerratken and Nic Johns. This should be a fun one.
  
  As for the songs, they are a little different this time. Observations about the world, politics, feminism, yearning and optimism.
  
  What will it sound like?
  
  Hard to say. But here are some visual clues.
  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  Hope you are all well.
  
  Ben
• 

  Apr 03, 04:24 PM

  REMAKING

  Greetings.

   

  Had a great rehearsal today with an awesome band we put together for our performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow night. The band features myself and Nic, accompanied by the awesome band Everybody Else, and Jon Siebels (Monsters Are Waiting, Eve 6) on guitar. We are playing American Television so I wanted to go all out with the triple guitar attack! It simply had to be done. Make sure to tune in!

   

  I wanted to share some thoughts with you about my "Earth Hour" experience last weekend.

   

  There were about 8 of us who spent the hour with no electricity, together. We began the evening with some chanting of "Om Namo Narayani" - meaning "I surrender myself back to Mother Nature", a very powerful Hindu chant. We then read a discourse by Narayani Amma called "Today is the Day!". The general message of the discourse was that the events of today are a result of yesterdays actions, so the events of tomorrow will be the results of todays actions. Following this train of thought, there is no point in worrying about the future. If you want to change it, take good action and do good deeds.

   

  This discourse felt very relevant as we all discussed our feelings about the environmental challenges we face today. Personally, and for most people I speak to, there is a sense of panic and worry that arises any time we get faced with the reality of the destruction of the natural environment that is occurring now. We all want to contribute to a better tomorrow, but it is very difficult to make practical changes in your life, when you are overwhelmed by anxiety and dread.

   

  That is why, to me, the environmental crisis appears to be also a spiritual crisis. It is about our ability to accept our current situation without fighting it, and to do everything we can, with a clear mind and constant dedication, to improving tomorrow. It seems comparable to someone getting diagnosed with cancer - if they stay calm and look at the illness as a chance to change their approach to life, it can improve the patient's chances of beating the cancer. We live in a world that is undoubtedly out of balance; this is a kind of sickness. We are all being asked to collectively heal this planet. What approach will we take?

   

  Some people think "Surrender" (a word bandied about in spiritual contexts very often) is an instruction in passivity. To me, it is the opposite. It describes a state of mind that aids us in taking the perfect action, free of stress or ulterior motives. Our ability to remake and re-think our relationship to the planet will be intimately connected to our ability to stay calm, and take small well-intentioned steps in the face of many challenging situations.

   

  We finished the evening with a prayer and meditation. We asked to be guided through the challenges ahead with a calm heart and a clear mind, and to be able to come up with solutions to lead us to a healthy, nurturing, nourishing, future.

   

  Big Love

   

  Ben