Ben knew what he wanted to do from the time he was nine years old. “After watching a show with Buck Owens, that really fired me up, that was exciting.”
But, music was a part of his life even before that, “I got my first guitar when I was three years old and the sounds I made on that ole’ six-string would have probably been more fit for a good Tylenol commercial than anything. I’m sure Mom and Dad probably kept a pair of ear plugs handy! That first guitar was a Buck Owens red, white and blue special; I just had to have that guitar. When I really started playing, I was around twelve years old or so. A guy down the road from me had an old Sears and Roebuck guitar and an old silver tone amp settin’ in his closet and I used to go down and look at that thing all the time, just itchin’ to take it home with me. One day, we worked out a deal that I would cut his grass for him three times as trade-out for that guitar and amp. So, that ended up being my first electric guitar. Whew, I can only imagine how Mom and Dad enjoyed me havin’ a volume knob to boost all that noise! Although guitar is my main instrument, I piddle around with quite a few different things, although I wouldn’t claim to play ‘em like I do my old six-string. Along with my pretty good selection of acoustic and electric guitars, I have a mandolin, a resonator guitar , a bass guitar, a banjo and a few other toys to make some noise with, as well. But as I said, as far as really being able to really play one, guitar is my instrument.”
Ben didn’t start out playing country, his first love was rock. “During my younger years my father played drums for a rock band and I always enjoyed that high energy music that was shaking the floor. Then when I was in my teens, I played with a rock band called Street Legal. We had license plates and everything. Of course we painted them ourselves. We sure had a lot of fun, it was just a bunch of friends and it was that 80’s thing ya’ know. We did all the popular radio stuff like Bon Jovi, Gun-N-Roses and even some heavier rock stuff. Although we were just a cover band, we really had fun together. We had a guy that was a good friends of ours that owned a pizza joint on old Hwy. 90 just down the road from my house. We knew him as Lou Burgoo. What a nice guy! We talked him into letting us come in and play our music. Of course we had to beg just a bit, but he paid us with two large pizzas and ten dollars each. We had a ball that night. It was some great memories.”
Ben credits the birth of his daughter, Amanda, with his switch to country music. “I was twenty years old, a few hours after she was born, I walked out of the hospital, got in my truck to run home and grab a shower and there was Bon Jovi’s ‘Slippery When Wet’ cassette in the tape deck, which was an awesome album, no doubt, but, I unconsciously took it out and started going through the radio dial. That’s when I heard Keith Whitley. I didn’t know who he was, but I heard that voice… When I heard that man sing, the sincerity he had in his voice, in his song, how he presented it, that literally sent chills down my spine. I wore out about 3 cassettes of that Keith Whitley greatest hits before I finally bought the CD and it’s lasted a bit longer, thank goodness for CDs. Shortly after Amanda was born, I sold every bit of my electrical music equipment and I walked out of the music store with an old flat top acoustic guitar and that’s when I started writing songs and singing. To that point I didn’t much try and sing, I just stood back there and jammed on my guitar with as much distortion as that old pedal would provide.”
“My daughter being born was the one thing. without question that changed me more than anything, it opened my eyes to…… well everything! You know, it seems like she was born a couple weeks ago and here she is getting ready to graduate high school. She’s wants to go to college and has already been approved at both institutes that she has applied for. She works, she’s on the dance team, she’s already taking college courses and she continues to be a straight-A student. As a matter of fact, as a high school senior, she is already holding a college 4.0 GPA with the classes she is already taking towards college. We’re all very proud of her, she’s got an extremely bright future ahead of herself and I love her with all my heart.”
Ben followed in his father’s footsteps as a welder. "I’ve been welding for fifteen years now. That’s currently what I do here in Nashville during the day to keep the lights turned on and then I hit town to do my pickin’ at night. Once, a couple of us from back home got hired to go down to Alabama, to train some boys at a welding shop, it was like a 450 mile drive one way. I had a 1970 Chevrolet pick-up truck that I literally ran the wheels off of that carried me back and forth. On one of the trips back down into Alabama I was rollin’ down the interstate with the radio cranked up when I heard this loud BANG! Timing chain snapped! When it happened, I really wasn’t in the best of positions. I had a tractor-trailer rig dead in front of me, one in the passing lane beside me and one rollin’ up on me like his hind-quarters had just caught fire! Of course, my engine was dead, so I was slowing rather rapidly...that trucker almost turned me into a pop can. I didn’t have a big air horn like he did, so I made sure to wave at him as he swerved by! When I finally was able to get off the road, I had coasted onto a bridge that was about a mile long and, as you know, there’s not much room on the shoulder of a bridge, so every time someone would blow by, it would literally feel like I was fixin’ to roll off into the river. And, by the way, might I add that it was winter time which brought the temperature down to a not-so-pleasant degree. I had to sit there for seven hours on the side of that bridge. But you know, I don’t really have a single complaint about that venture because, luckily, I had my faithful ole’ six-string with me and that time I spent sittin’ there, I came up with some great ideas for some songs.”
”I did five years of hosting shows on country radio back home before I moved down here to Music City and it’s something I really enjoyed doing. I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity of hosting many other types of events and shows as well. Events such as horse shows, fair events, truck pulls, tractor pulls, mud runs, and many more. I’ve always enjoyed doing that sort of thing and hope to get the opportunity here in Nashville to host quite a bit as well.”
Ben’s family was always supportive of his dream of making it in Nashville. “My Granny! Now she was always my biggest fan. There was actually a time she believed in me more than I believed in myself. She’d call me a couple of times a week, are you writing anything? What are you doing toward your goal? I always made sure to try and have at least something accomplished just so I wouldn’t have to answer why I didn’t have anything. I always had the utmost respect for my Granny, she was a strong woman. She actually would write letters to folks Nashville to try and help me along the way. I remember one letter that she had written to Dottie West, but tragically about a week after she sent that letter, Dottie was involved in that horrible accident. Granny was a huge influence, not just in my music, but in everything that I did. We lost my Granny back a few years ago and I miss her more every day. You know, we lose more than some folks take the time to realize when we lose their wisdom of life in general. I’ve had a lot of people in my family that were musicians. Some of them even made it professionally in the business... And then there’s the support from my family. My wife and daughter, Mom and Dad and all my family and friends back home, they are the only reason I’m here pursuing my dreams. Without all the influences and support from them, well, I don’t know!”
Ben and his family finally made the decision for him to try his luck in Nashville. “To get to a point where I could actually make the move down here took quite a few years, to say the least. I remember all those years of throwing my guitar in my truck on the weekends and pointin’ my grill towards Nashville to play my music anywhere they would listen. Back in those days, I was actually able to talk my way into meeting with labels and producers. Those days are, of course, a thing of the past. The business has sure changed with the times. If you’re one of the millions that try every year to send your songs to Nashville with the hopes of getting’ discovered without that material first being requested by someone at the label, then you may already know that they do one of two things with that song. They are either kind-hearted enough to send it back at ’cha or it gets put straight in the trash can that sits by the secretaries’ desk. The big difference is, today’s business you have to be down here, because there is so much talent right here in this town that it comes down to payin’ your dues. That’s what I’m here doin’ now. And there sure ain’t anything easy about it! See, my wife, daughter and all my family are still back home in Kentucky. Even though its not that far away, sometimes it seems like a million miles. I sure do get to missin’em . Financially, of course, its tough as well. I have eaten a lot of TV dinners since my move, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m here and I’m gonna’ make sure Nashville pays attention!
“You can visit me online whenever you want. You can go to benwest. net or go to myspace. com/benwestcountry to hear a few of my songs and see a picture bio. Most of the songs you’ll hear on myspace, I am playing all the instruments, doing all the vocals and have written and recorded the songs, as well. I used to record with an old 4-track recorder at the kitchen table, and even though I don’t do it much different now, it sure took a considerable amount of time to get the songs recorded because of the outdated equipment. Not to mention that I had to clear the table when supper was ready so we’d have a place to eat!”
Currently, you can catch Ben performing his original music all over Nashville. He’s doing a lot of writing and co-writing, working toward the one song that will last for generations, and then some to just get you through the evening. He’s looking toward pitching a few songs to some of todays top artists, but, wants to make sure he puts enough back in his guitar case to take to a label he could call home and say, “Lets put another star in the sky, I’m ready, Nashville!” Don’t forget to visit Ben on the world wide web so you’ll know where to catch him next.
Looking ahead, Ben says, “Hopefully, I’m on the road makin’ my music for huge amounts of fans for many years. The career of folks like myself depend completely on the fans. Without them, you’ll be singin’ in the shower! One goal I have always had for my career is to have at least one greatest hits album. I know that’s a mighty big feat, but if you can accomplish that you evidently had some serious success. Also, I want to spend as much time with my family and friends as a feller’ possibly can while tending to his career. Then, when its all said and done, I want a beautiful piece of ground to raise my family and some horses on. I want a big ole’ bass pond full of monster largemouths and a home filled with love. Now, that would be heaven right here on earth. I’d take my oath on it! YEE-HAW Y’ALL!”
| written by Debbie DuBois Miller
