BEN LEE

BEN LEE

Ben Lee would have to be the poster boy for what not to do during an interview. He was 18 years old when I interviewed him at a cafe in Kings Cross (Sydney) in 1997. He was already an accomplished musician with several high profile supports under his belt and yet his attitude was one of utter indifference to his success, as if it was already ordained and he was just fulfilling his destiny.

He talked about IT and never satisfactorily explained what IT meant. I entitled the story - Auspicious Beginnings - but my editor John Tingwell changed it to Full of IT. I freaked out initially but John insisted, “Allison, come on, it’s obvious.” And he was right of course, it’s the perfect head line. No matter which way you look at it, Ben Lee was certainly full of something that day.

He was petulant, arrogant and reluctant to talk about any of his recent success, or the people he’d worked or toured with, let alone his then relationship with actress Clare Danes. I deliberately didn’t ask about Danes because if it didn’t have anything to do with the music, ie the lyrics or song titles etc, then I don’t push for it. I did ask him about the people he had supported and worked with, but he was unwilling to adequately answer any questions.

I don’t know why he behaved so oddly, it wasn’t a mystery as to why he was being interviewed, he was back home in Australia to promote his new album and graduate from high school, mystery over.

He was obviously in an anti Australian frame of mind at the time of the interview and I get that. When you’ve lived OS for a while it’s really hard to come home. Australia seems somehow pedestrian compared to other countries, and almost backward in its professional approach. As strange as this may seem, OS success can hurt your chances of being successful back home. We have the Tall Poppy Syndrome here, which basically means we like to chop anyone we consider too big for his or her boots down to size, which is a bizarre custom, as every one strives for success on one level or another. But what grates us most is when someone deliberately flaunts it in our face or denies the relevancy of those who helped them along the way.

Maybe Ben thought it was uncool to name drop or maybe he was embarrassed to acknowledge all his high profile support, either way he should have said something, because by the end of the interview he just came across as an ungrateful teenager.

He went on TV and complained that he was “misunderstood” and misquoted” blah, blah. I made a copy of the tape and sent it too his management people and asked them to get back to me with any aspects of the interview that I took out of context or misquoted etc. Needless to say I didn’t hear from them.

I don’t misquote people. I don’t deliberately make people look bad and I don’t set people up. Suffice to say, he didn’t do himself any favours every time he opened this mouth. I’m sure after the story went to print he was coached by his team to be more mindful of his words and attitude.

A tip for anyone entering into the entertainment industries – play the game, and always be open to talk about your music, the people you work with or artists you support to help promote the product; your music. If you want to keep your private life private, then by all means it’s your right to do so. However, it is not a good idea to deny you’re unenviable success or disregard the people you have worked with who have helped you along the way. He was only young at the time and I keep saying that as an excuse, because maybe he didn’t quite know how to play the game. However, that doesn’t really fly as he hung out with high profile people already ensconced in the industry. If he had watched how they behaved he could have learnt some valuable lessons. I’m sure maturity and wisdom has kicked in by now.

We’re all a cog in the wheel, we all play our part, without a functioning cog the wheel stops turning. 

BEN LEE: Full of IT

29^th April 1997

Ben Lee story by Allison O’Donoghue

Out of the blue this teenager with the kung fu sounding name of Ben Lee hits the alternative music scene with his solo album, Grandpaw Would. And then hits the world touring with The Lemonheads, Pavement and more recently supporting Ben Harper on his Australian tour. Something to gloat about may be? Not so with Ben Lee, he’s busy playing the whole thing down.

I caught up with Ben at a café in Kings Cross (Sydney) while he waxed lyrical about non-specific goals, the Ben Harper tour and those other previous high profile supports, as he nervously peels the paint off the table.

“HE’S (Harper) totally cool, but they’re not goals, they are the ways of getting to the goals,” says Lee in semi protest as I gloat for him. What are your goals if its not to play with totally cool people as you have so early on in your career? “IT.” He says, alluding to metaphysical speak.

“MAN, it’s just playing, but there’s way more going on than that. I can’t even begin to explain it. It’s chasing the thing, you know?” What is this elusive and mysterious ‘IT’? “Of course it’s elusive,” he says, cutting me off in mid sentence. “If you could ever get it, it wouldn’t be of any value. I’m working on it.”

WHILE he’s working on IT, he completed his HSC with a grade of 99.3 and also managed to release another album, Something to Remember Me By. A somewhat incongruous title for a lad of only eighteen still at the embryonic stage of his career.

“THE HSC is like performing. It’s giving people what they want and need.” But isn’t it what you want? Doesn’t the HSC act as a safety net in case the music fails?

‘NO, it’s got nothing to do with that,” he says defensively. “I’m into going to Uni and stuff, but the music is just the start.” But then he goes off on a tangent. “I was at a friends place in LA having breakfast outside when a call came through from my mother.” Intrigued by who this friend might be since his high profile associations are widely known, I ask who the friend was. “Just a friend. What difference does it make who it is?” He spits. Could that friend be Clare Danes? Breakfast. LA. I didn’t ask as he was so reluctant to talk about any of his high profile connections, I presumed his relationship with Danes was a no go zone.

EVAN? Or maybe Melissa Auf der Maur from Hole? I persist. “Who’s Evan?” He asks in all seriousness. “Melissa who?” He asks again, refusing to indulge me.

“LET me tell the story,” he insists. “So, I’m there and we’ve just finished breakfast and there’s a message from my mother saying congratulations.  I thought I’d won an ARIA or something. I was racking my brain to think of what it could have been. It turns out it was my HSC results.” I wasn’t aware you were nominated for an ARIA. “I wasn’t”. He says, as he continues to peel the paint off the table.

BRAD Wood produced Something To Remember Me By at the Beastie Boys G-Son studios in LA. While the majority of songs on the album are acoustic, lending their support on a few tracks are Mike D playing drums on Two Sisters, and Melissa Auf der Maur from Hole can be heard whispering on Grammercy Park Hotel. Petra Hayden plays fiddle and Money Mark tinkers the keyboards on New Song.

BEN Lee’s narrative folksy song writing style on all of the tracks is rather curious considering his 18 years on the planet, although his life experiences thus far have obviously matured him quickly (in some areas). No doubt, whatever Ben Lee does or doesn’t do from now on, he has had more luck and the ‘right’ support than any other individual in the music industry that I can recall in recent history.

“THAT’S because I work hard,” he says, with conviction. (Not that anyone else works hard). “I work harder than any one I know. I don’t know what it is about this country?” He says, almost as an aside.  “It’s the same with the Dirty Three (Australian band) they’ve worked hard too. I don’t think Australia has caught up with us yet or maybe they’re just not ready.” Maybe he’s right when you consider the amount of time they have collectively spent outside of the country touring. “Why waste time trying to be accepted here when it’s already happening overseas?” queries Ben. Why indeed!

“SHIT, I’ve destroyed this table,” observes Ben. For all his confidence and hints of arrogance to come, underlying this veneer is boyish insecurity and nails bitten down to the quick. Where Ben only rang the doorbell once to jump start his career, others are still banging away to be heard, let alone helped. Unfazed by his obvious successes, he shrugs this observation off with a ‘meant to be’ look. The words grateful, luck or fortuitous associations has nothing to do with Ben Lee’s success as far as he’s concerned.

HE takes a month off doing “absolutely nothing” before he heads back overseas to play the Fleadh Festival in New York City in June. This Irish tradition will be held for the first time outside of the UK, featuring Van Morrison, Suzanne Vega, Sinead O’Connor and Natalie Merchant.

VERY auspicious beginnings indeed.

After he finishes Fleadh, Lee plans to tour with Juliana Hatfield around Australia, no less! How does he feel about the new ‘Bob Dylan’ tag? “Its all bulshit,” fobbing off the intended compliment. “Who writes this promo stuff?” He asks, grabbing the press release from my hands.  Probably your own PR people!

Something To Remember Me By is out now through Fellaheen Records. Ben Lee supports Juliana Hatfield at the Valhalla in Glebe on Saturday, May 3^rd.