by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
WHO: Ben Kweller
WHERE: Jack Rabbits
WHEN: Thursday, August 9th at 8pm
EU: How’s the tour going?
Ben Kweller: The tour is going really good. We just played a show in Chicago last night. There’s a place called Schubas, a really cool little venue. I played there about four or five years ago on the Sha Sha tour and I had a lot of really good memories of playing there, so for this tour I wanted to play a bunch of small venues and that was one of them that I really wanted to go back to.
EU: Is your family traveling with you this time?
BK: Not right now, but we’re going to be in New York in a few days and then they’re going to join us for the rest of the tour.
EU: Is it tough traveling with a kid?
BK: Well, it’s a different type of touring, but it’s actually been really cool for me and Liz [Ben’s wife] because we actually get out and do stuff when we’re on tour. We’ve been going to museums and aquariums and zoos and stuff like that, so that’s fun.
EU: What’s your favorite song to perform live?
BK: It really changes like every day. I have a group of favorite songs but then I get sick of them and then I want to play other songs. So I just like to change it up. ‘On My Way’ is really fun, ‘I Need You Back,’ ‘My Apartment.’ Right now my favorite song to play is probably ‘Red Eye.’
EU: Why’s that?
BK: Because we sort of jam out on it towards the end and I get to really shred on the guitar and do some soloing, which is something that a lot of my fans don’t expect out of me, and it’s more bluesy, which is another sort of genre that I’m tapping into on that song. So it’s just totally different. It’s really fun.
EU: On your latest album you played all the instruments yourself. Was that planned?
BK: Oh, yeah, it was planned. It was kind of in the last minute though… I wanted to go in and make something really personal and unique. I wanted to portray the songs in a real personal way, so I thought that doing the instruments by myself would be the best way to do that because I wouldn’t be affected by any outside influence.
EU: Did you ever feel like you maybe took on too much?
BK: Yeah, sometimes it was overwhelming but I always stayed focused and I had a great producer in the studio with me. His name’s Gill Norton and he’s a legend and when someone’s had a track record like that and has done it for so long, it’s easier to put your faith in them and trust, and so he really was my biggest cheerleader through the whole session. [He] helped me get through it and we made something really good together.
EU: You mention on your website’s FAQ that Axl Rose is the meanest celebrity you’ve met. Is that still accurate?
BK: Ooh. Yeah, I think he’s probably still the meanest celebrity that I’ve met. We haven’t met anybody [else] really. He was just such a dick when I met him. But Slash is way cool.
EU: What happened to earn him the dishonor?
BK: We were at a private party with only a few people there and I went up to him to say hi and put my hand out to shake his hand and he just walked right by me and didn’t even acknowledge me and I was a kid at that point, I was like 16-years old. So, I just thought that was such a dick move where Slash was the one that would talk to you no matter who you are.
Ben Kweller will be performing at Jack Rabbits on August 9 at 8 pm. Tickets are $15. For more information, call (904) 398-7496 or visit jackrabbitsonline.com
|
EU Critic’s Choice Awards
