So then, what’s the band name and what do you ‘do’ in the band?
My names Ben Wright Smith and I play the guitar, the blues harp, and I sing. My Band consists of Daniel Spiers on the upright bass, Jesse Williams on the electric guitar, Even Lineham on the drums, and Esther Holt plays keyboard and sings too.
Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, who are your influences?
We love all sorts of stuff. We are influenced by bands who like to keep the sound simple. The music that influences our playing seems to change all the time. I find myself writing lots of different songs in different styles, because it’s so easy to get exposed to new stuff.
What do you love about making music?
I think that there is something rewarding about creating anything. Music is a very expressive art so it immediately rewards to the player, yet the process itself is still very mysterious to me. I like just jamming out a tune with the band and seeing where it goes. We tend to be fairly loose with our parts, which means it’s always different when we play. Sometimes mistakes can be the coolest part of a song.
If you could assassinate one person or band from popular music, who would it and why?
As far as I know, the assassination business is pretty risky and surprisingly competitive. I don’t know if I’d make a very good assassin so I guess I’ll leave that to the professionals.
What can a punter expect from your live show?
Twangy Stratocasters, honkey tonk piano, and weird stories. Just some good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll.
What’ve you got to sell CD-wise?
We released our first album Autumn Safari at the end of 2011. It’s all over the Internet, in some record shops, and you can get it on iTunes too. I’ve also made an EP called Benny ‘The Kid’ & Other Moonlight Ballads, which you can get for free from my website.
When’s the gig and with who?
We’re going to be playing a show on Tuesday March 6, at the Old Bar with Junior Bowles and Cisco Rose. We’re also playing Red Bennies on Thursday March 22, with Planet Love Sound, and Tehachapi, which is going to be really sweet.
