Ben Wood is a 25 year-old songwriter, novelist, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Originally from the outskirts of Liverpool, England, he now lives in Vancouver, Canada, where he is completing his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. His songs are sparse, literate mini-epics; tracks which pull you along with subtle narration—story songs in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen, with the emotional draw of Jeff Buckley—a sound that lies somewhere in the quiet crevasse between Alt. Country and Alt. Folk.
At the age of seventeen, Ben was performing to large audiences and supporting many established artists in the UK, at venues such as the The Kashmir Klub and The Social in London; The Cavern, The Lomax, and The Masque Theatre in Liverpool; and Newcastle's Live Theatre. He has recently played well-received shows at The Backstage Lounge and The Marine Club in Vancouver.
COME SEE MY SHOW ON FRIDAY
THE BACKSTAGE LOUNGE - GRANVILLE ISLAND, VANCOUVER, BC - 10 pm - BEN WOOD (ft. Martin Greisle on cello/vox/guitar and Josh McNorton - guitar/vox/djembe) COVER CHARGE: $5
FIVE POLAROIDS OF EIGHTEEN ROOMS
*NEW * NEW * NEW *
I've just finished compiling a brand new collection of songs:
"FIVE POLAROIDS OF EIGHTEEN ROOMS"
The five-song demo EP contains solo cuts of brand new tracks: "French Michigan," "Eyes Like Cameras," "Scene of an Accident" (ft. Carla Gillis of Bontempi), "I've Seen This City Sleeping" and "Motel Walls." I hope to have the EP available to buy at my next show. I'm gonna post tiny, tiny clips of the tracks on the site shortly, and the cover art on the 'EPs' page.
Stay sexy, people. Hope to see you at my next show!
xxx BEN xxx
What I'm Up To
Hey All
I'm currently in the process of compiling a collection of songs which I'm hoping to record nicely and get out as a nicely packaged EP. Will keep you posted... Hope y'all have had a great Holiday Season. Here's to a BIG 2006.
BEN xxx
In Several Top 10s
Okay, so, BROADJAM.COM (a music profile site for new artists across the world) has my song "You Never Seem To Get My Mail" in the Top Ten for Canada, the Top Ten for British Columbia, the Top Ten for 18-25 year olds (interesting, that's the age-range I wrote all of these songs between), and I have two songs (previously three) in the Alt. Country Top Ten. So, it's safe to say that people seem to be liking what they're hearing on BROADJAM.COM...check it out.
BEN :-)
TRANSCRIPT OF CONVERSATION
Official Transcript of One Side of a Conversation Held Yesterday at a Phone Booth Between A Nameless Canadian Man Who Could See I Was Waiting To Use The Payphone and Another Person I Couldn't Hear:
Man 1: Yo, dude. Yeah - it's me.
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Yeah. How was Pearl Jam? Was it sick? It was sick, eh?
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Dude. It was insane.
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: That's insane.
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Did he play Jeremy? He did. Insane. How bout Alive?
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Whoah, dude. That is in-f***ing-sane. Awesome.
Man 2: [..]
Man 1: So how about new stuff? Did he play new stuff?
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: WHOAH, INSAAAAAANE! That's insane. Awesome.
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Ah sick. Sick. Yeah? Cool. Oh my god, that's insane.
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Whoah, wait. Hang on, man. Somebody's waiting to use the phone...[pause]...So, how many encores did they do?
Man 2: [...]
Man 1: Oh. My. God. No way! THAT is ju-ust insane.
Continues in this vein for a further 5 mins.
END.
My Song in the Top Ten
Hey All.
My song "I've Seen This City Sleeping" is currently at number 2 in Broadjam.com's Alt. Country chart.
Blog to follow soon.
BEN :-)
USR #1
Unashamedly Sarcastic Rant #1
LINE UP, LINE UP: IT'S THAT SEQUEL NOBODY WANTED!
Thank God a hurricane didn't hit my local cinema this week. A life lived without "The Transporter 2" is frankly not worth thinking about. How long has the world been waiting now for the sequel to the equally brilliant original? Too damn long. I hope they give Jason Statham the key to the universe. And for the sake of mankind, please pilfer my savings account, oh Hollywood, scrape it for all it's worth so I can have "The Transporter 3" some time soon. If you need to: divert funds from charities. Take the loose change from every poor busker's guitar case you can find so you can dazzle me with another co-ordinated yet improbable car chase involving a snappily dressed Cockney whose smart mouth is just so darned witty while he's throwing punches that it makes all the problems in the world disappear. I can only hope that the company compiling the DVD extras was not struck down by an avalanche this week. If I don't get to hear the director's comments about that brilliant "wait, this has just come back from the dry cleaners" line, I may explode. Spectacularly and co-ordinatedly and without special effects. Can't wait for the prequels and the prequels to the prequels' prequels... My only complaint? The premiere didn't get anywhere near as much coverage on E! News as I'd hoped for, and CNN apparently had other things to cover...
BPR#1
Borderline Paranoid Rant #1
DON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES, GENTLE PEOPLE: ALL HOLLYWOOD HOOK-UPS ARE ONE HUNDRED PER CENT FALSE. YOU CAN FEEL SECURE THAT YOU ARE STILL WANTED BY YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE STAR.
Rules of Hollywood PR, Celebrity Dating Section -
(1) The Fading & The Rising
Always pair up a star on the way up with a star on the way down [e.g. Kutcher/Moore, Cruise/Holmes, Coogan/Love, Green/Barrymore, Hayek/Norton and so on...]
(2) Can't Get Any Bigger? Shock & Awe, People
Movie stars who have been promoted to the hilt and have hit their promotional ceiling are not able to be further promoted unless they do something to shock the public. This can range from shoplifting (Ms Ryder), to alcholism (Mr Sheen, Mr Douglas blah blah blah), to drug addiction (Mr Downey Jr, Mr Slater, Mr Sheen blah blah blah), to cradle robbing (Mr Lowe, Mr Cruise). Always hook up a "troubled" star with a perfect picture of wholesome wholeness (oh, look, Mr Sheen again, with that Richards woman).
(3) No Children? No Problem. Call 1-888-KID-NOW
Yes, that's right. If you want to be a movie actress and don't want to lose your figure, it's fine. You can hire a "baby actor" for a substantial fee. Be sure to be seen with a false belly for nine months (or so) then book yourself into hospital for ONE NIGHT, then be sure to be photographed going to the shops in your tracksuit and baseball cap with the newborn in a pram. Keep the photo-ops coming. Et voila. You're a parent, and now the good people of the world love and respect you. (Also, fading female stars note well: need instant media coverage at a low cost? A "Pregnancy scare" press release will do the trick. Try to make sure the father is a celebrity on the rise, though. Or it may not work).
Transmission Ended 2340hrs. Suspect Carted Away 2342hrs.
Hello Friends
Today is the first day of benwoodsite.com, my inaugral website. Here you friendly folks can find my brand new home demos - songs which haven't been heard by anyone or allowed out of my own CD case since between two years and two days ago. "Scenes of Accidents" is a small compilation of recent demos cut in a friendly Canadian kitchen on an old piano and a not-so-old guitar; "Scenes of Motives" is mostly older unheard tracks cut on a four-track in a very dusty spare bedroom in England about a year and a half ago; "Anemic & Anomic" represents a collection of older, studio-recorded tracks. Hope you have fun tearing them apart and scraping the bottom of my artistic soul for all it is worth. More will follow soon, as will my weekly (perhaps even daily) blog. I'd love to hear from each and every one of you. Give me an email or a friendly smile in an envelope...:-)