Ben's BLOG

Hey, guys

"Charon" is the focus of this week's Album InSite.

"Charon" started out as part of another writing project back in 2000. I was working on a couple of ideas for concept albums, one of which would be a project where I would try my hand at writing in the style of some of my favorite songwriters. I had plans to do tunes from all sorts of writers such as Lyle Lovett, Paul Simon and more. The first song for that project was a tune called "Strange," which struck a balance between Edwin McCain and Tom Petty. After that one, I was to try and tackle the style of Grammy Winner Marc Cohn ("Walking In Memphis").

In Cohn's style, I saw a lot of introspection. Most of his work was related to his hardships and relationships, but a number of tunes had some more mythological and historical lyrics. I thought I'd try my hand at something from Greek Mythology. Having not read many of the myths since I was fourteen, I did some research.

Now, when I write songs, I do a number of different things to get my creative flow going. I usually sit down with my guitar, mess around with a few chords, and find a steady progression that I like. From that point, I improvise melodies over the chords, finding a few that suit the progression.

While doing this, I let my subconscious go: anything, absolutely any kind of lyric that comes to mind. Many times, I will let an abstract or concrete sentence dictate what the story will be. I tend to sing the phrase over the melody and chords to see if it is something that interests me. In the case of "Charon," that phrase came very quickly (riding on the river flow/an old man listens to the wind blow).

From that point on, the idea was set, and the song was finished not an hour later, save one major difference from the version on the album. “Charon” had a bridge. It wasn’t until I played it a few times and got some feedback that I decided to remove the bridge. It was more redundant than helpful, and the song is better off without it.

Since then, “Charon” has consistently been a favorite of mine and of those who hear it. I don’t know what exactly attracts others to it, but what I like is how powerful a song can be to a person. For the character of Charon, all he needs to battle his own solitude and banality is a little bit of music. I guess I can relate to that.

Howdy,

So, as things start to wrap up for the holidays, I just wanted to say hello. The new Web Exclusive tune, "My Sweet Angel," is up and on the music page, not to mention the downloadable lyrics on the lyric page. I really hope you enjoy it.

Take Care,
Ben

Hey guys,

Today's BLOG marks the start of a bi-monthly feature on benschormusic.com called Album InSite.

Album InSite focuses on the inspiration and situation behind each of the tunes on Nowhere On My Own. The first edition of InSite is about the song "Crush."

"Crush" came about through several circumstances in my life, but most specifically about 14 years ago. Like just about every kid in Elementary School, I had a massive crush on a girl who sat next to me in Second grade. This girl was totally cool, really nice to me, and a dead ringer for Danica McKellar (the girl who played Winnie Cooper on the Wonder Years), which was a big deal in '88. We used to play at recess together, back when it was still okay for boys and girls to play together. She was one of those kind of people who made you feel like you were a part of the crowd, which was a big deal to me since I had switched schools that year. Maybe it's cuz she wore it on our class picture day, but the memory of her in this large yellow sweater with the number 87 on the front is forever etched in my mind.

I remember being pretty good friends with her for that first year, but after that, we were in different classes. We would say hi in the hallway, but not much else. You could say that my crush really started to be strong when I started seeing her less and less. And, the crush showed no signs of slowing down for the next couple of years. I didn't think about any other girls I knew besides her for a long while(but Man, if that girl in the Fred Savage movie The Wizard wasn't cute too!).

It wasn't until Fifth grade, when another kid found out about my crush, that I even thought about telling her how much I liked her. Man, I was freaked out that someone knew, and that she might find out. There'd be nothing worse than this girl knowing I liked her!

Well, the resolution wasn't pretty. I guess I'd forgotten to account for the fact that we hadn't been close friends for a couple of years, so I was a bit shocked that she burst out laughing when I told her. I was destroyed. Just destroyed. But, the best thing about it was that I could put that crush behind me at last, and it wasn't long before I had eyes for another girl...

Hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I had a grand time with my family up in the Bay area, but I think I'll be avoiding freeways for awhile after having spent far too long on the road. They say the road does strange things to you...

Anyway, the Hotel Utah show was a good time, and I must extend my thanks to Josh Charney and Jason Vivrette for playing with me. We'll have to make another outing in San Francisco come the new year.

There's a new show booked in January at the Knitting Factory, and I urge all of you to check it out. Not only will there be a few new tunes in the mix, but I'll be playing the bill with an amazing guitar player, Mr. Jason Gambill. Jason's band will make it's LA debut, and it promises to be a great evening. I'll keep you posted on more shows as they develop.

Check back early next week for the new Web Exclusive tune, My Sweet Angel. And, be sure to keep checking the Blog for some cool new features coming soon.

Cheers,
Ben