New Music

So...

At Thanksgiving last year, I began to sort through the stacks of lyrics on the floor of my room, in boxes, notebooks, etc. I had a couple thousand pages of hand-written material on different sizes of paper, plus miscellaneous napkins and pieces of cardboard. Many pages were duplicates; after sorting and condensing, I was left with approximately two-hundred and fifty songs at various stages of completion and another fifty pages or so of scraps.

Most of it is garbage, but I think that there are probably twenty good songs in the pile and another ten sketches which might eventually develop into good songs with the addition of a little more material.

Once I finished sorting lyrics, I moved on to sorting compositions and fragments of compositions. I have a huge box of cd's with recordings from various times and places, three portable voice recorders containing twenty hours of music, and a pile of manuscripts. I categorized each piece by tempo, key, time signature and style. As with the lyrics, there was some duplication and some junk. However,a piece of musical junk can of real use in the proper setting, whereas a junk lyric is really just junk.

I probably have three albums worth of material altogether. It can be frustrating to have so much to work with, and also to know that it will take a lot of time to complete it all. Also, I expect to write a lot of new material while I record the old material, and thus to perpetuate the backlog.

I have recorded the first tracks of a new album now. Those of you who have seen me play in the last couple months will recognize "Sweet Babysitter" which is the first tong to near completion. The new record will be more straight-forward than 18 Wheels. The focus will be on tight, articulated compositions. Also, there will be a lot of guitar.

I'm still figuring out equipment, but I know a great deal more about recording at this point than when I started 18 Wheels. I figure that I am about two thirds of the way towards building a complete studio for myself. The good news is that I won't have to do much running around until it comes time to record drums.

That's all folks.

Ben

Downloads

More downloadable materials are now available at the Downloads page.

CD Release Party

The New York Mills Cultural Center will be hosting Ben's CD release party on Friday, July 10th at 7:30 pm. Ben will be sharing the bill with folk-rock duo Travis and Johnny. Tickets will be five dollars at the door.

More songs will be available to download soon.

In the news

Here is an informative article about the production of "Eighteen Wheels of Pain." It appeared in today's Park Rapids Enterprise.

Bemidji Pioneer article

Check out this article in the Bemidji Pioneer.

Downloads available

Downloads are now available. I have posted two cuts that did not make the album, "Jolly Sunrise" and the "King Solomon Method". Look for more material soon.

Getting in touch

I am getting in touch with everybody involved in the the project. If you worked on Eighteen Wheels of Pain, and I haven't talked to you yet, please send me an e-mail at ben@benransonband.com.

Don Hoffman at Rex McDonald studios shot some pictures of me last week. They should be up soon. Also, sample downloads are on the way.

Credit cards

We now accept credit cards! As with our mail order purchases, all revenue from online credit card purchases goes to benefit the Tin Ceiling. You can read more about the Tin Ceiling at the Store.

Construction of this website is continuing. Sample music will be available for download soon.

First CD available

Eighteen Wheels of Pain is now on CD! I received my first thousand copies via Fed Ex two days ago. Purchase by mail order is now available! Hopefully, we should have a credit card system up and running next week. Purchase by download may take a month or two.

I am now forming a band. The band will be called "Eighteen Wheels of Pain." I can't be sure when we will start performing. It will be as soon as is possible. In the mean time, I will play some solo shows using my new pedal-board (which will allow me to play bass lines with my feet while I play the guitar). There is a good chance I will play my first shows with a drummer. When I have dates, we will post them.

This website is still under construction; your patience is appreciated. Kudos to M.R. and Bertha for the fantastic work.