Home/Ben Kweller
Ben KwellerGeorge Bounacos2012-02-10T15:51:51-05:00
Stardom has been waiting for Ben Kweller since the late 1980s. That would be a little less unusual had Kweller not been born in 1981. A precocious child who learned how to play music and write songs early, Kweller won honorable mention in Billboard's prestigious songwriting contest as a pre-teen.
By the age of 14, he was in a band called Radish that had scored a Top 40 hit in England. He continued his journey by signing as a solo artist and opening for acts like The Strokes by the time he was 20.
Not long after the release of his first major release, Sha Sha, Kweller joined two other famous Bens: Ben Folds and Ben Lee for a tour of Australia that resulted in the trio's EP, The Bens.
With the release of the more eclectic and maturing sounds on his second major release, On My Way, Kweller, who plays guitar, piano and drums, was joined by Mike Stroud of Dashboard Confessional and other local artists. Their work was produced by Ethan Johns, son of famed British invasion producer and engineer Glyn Johns. The combination worked, and On My Way was Kweller's first album to chart on Billboard's Top 200 list, reaching a peak of #83.
Time is on the young Texan's side. He had already lived a career before he was able to legally buy a drink in the United States. As our review of On My Way shows, Kweller is indeed on his way to bigger and brighter days.