Know

    Ben + Vesper=Luv

    Photo by Helen Michelsen

    Ben + Vesper are that musical married couple from NJ.  They are the ones that are dually described as “lightly entwined earthbound angels” and  “two Disneyfied hyenas, yowling at each other.”  However you choose to describe their sound, it’s agreed that Ben + Vesper are a fresh, strange and important voice growing strong in the indie music world.

    Since joining up with Sounds Familyre in 2005, Ben + Vesper have been busy recording, performing and collaborating with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson), Kurt Weisman (Feathers) and Chris Weisman (Happy Birthday).  As a band, Ben + Vesper is a musical spectrum.  They are the full-on five-piece rock outfit, or the intricate and dynamic duo, or the high school theater pit band.  Ben + Vesper’s versatility on stage and in the studio comes from their love of working with musicians from different genres and backgrounds, while Ben + Vesper’s vocals remain always at the helm.

    Ben + Vesper’s first full length entitled All This Could Kill You (Sounds Familyre, 2007) earned hefty praise from Pitchfork with a 7.5 rating, in addition to being featured in Magnet Magazine’s “Magnified” section. All This Could Kill You also attracted many positive reviews from print and web-based publications, including Paste, Dusted, Anthem, Harp, Venuszine, American Songwriter, Under The Radar and Relevant. To support this release, Ben + Vesper toured from Maine to Nashville.

    More recently, the latest recording entitled LuvInIdleness (Sounds Familyre, 2010), a five-song pop anthem produced, arranged and recorded by Sufjan Stevens.  In tandem with the release of LuvinIdleness, Ben + Vesper produced their first music video which was premiered on Stereogum (2/8/10).  Drowned in Sound described the title track in their “Singles of the Week”, describing it as “a terror to type it is heaven to listen to…”  ” Magazine highlighted LuvinIdleness in their recent “Best of What’s Next” interview with Ben + Vesper.

    After a 5 week residency at Sycamore Bar in Brooklyn and a two week SXSW tour opening for Danielson, Ben + Vesper will be heading up through New England to do a two week house concert tour in preparation for their performance at the Egersund Visefestival music festival in Norway this July.

    While all this is happening, Ben + Vesper’s second full length album Honors is just being wrapped up and ready to release in October of 2010 on Sounds Familyre.  Honors was produced by Daniel Smith and Brian McTear and includes contributions from Sufjan Stevens and Holler, Wild Rose! members John Mosloskie and Steve Oyola as well as Josh Stamper of Danielson.  These three musicians provide the virtuoso rhythm section who are currently performing with Ben + Vesper as part of their live shows.

    Ben + Vesper plan to go on tour in conjunction with the release of Honors in the fall of 2010.

    Ben + Vesper’s Bio-Medicine

    Photo by Helen Michelsen.

    There are a lot of fascinating things to know about Ben + Vesper. First of all, there’s a guy out there named Ben Vesper. He is a brilliant chemist doing groundbreaking research at the University of Illinois. Strangely, Sufjan Stevens recorded a collection of songs about Illinois in 2005, and one of the songs is called “Chicago,” where Ben Vesper lives and works. 2005 also happened to be the year that Ben Vesper began his Post-doctorate work at the University of Illinois. Ben Vesper’s full name is Benjamin J. Vesper. Ben (from Ben + Vesper) also has a middle name that begins with the letter J – for Jacob. We found all this out on Google.com. He (Ben Vesper) appears to have the same hair color as Ben + Vesper both (dirtyblonde/sandybrown). The said hair appears to have curly potential, given some time to grow, just like Ben + Vesper. Currently Ben J. Vesper’s hair and Ben J. Stamper’s hair length is exactly the same (according to the only existing source photo). Ben Vesper’s favorite bands are Metallica, Green Day, AC/DC, The Beatles and Bon Jovi. Jon Bon Jovi has a house in Middletown, NJ which is a mere 21 minutes from the residence of Ben + Vesper (Orange, NJ). When Ben first moved to NJ eleven or so years ago, he wrote a song that talks about Middletown. He had no idea that Jon had a house there. Ironically, Bon Jovi’s forthcoming album is entitled “The Circle.”

    Needless to say, Ben Vesper will be receiving the complete discography of Ben + Vesper, as well as a lifetime supply of new releases and B+V swag. Ben + Vesper would like to gratefully acknowledge the groundbreaking work Ben Vesper is doing in the field of Bio-Medicine.