By: Kathryn Hoxie Nixon
Writer
I recently sat down with Vol State’s own Ben Graves at a bustling café across the street from campus to chat about his journey in music and teaching, as well as his latest LP, “Settle Down.” The hiss of frothing milk and the names of customers being announced served as a kind of ambient background music on the chilly Halloween morning of our meeting.
I knew that he had been a long time professor at Vol State, but didn’t realize how long his teaching background went. He was a graduate assistant 25 about years ago and then picked up a part-time adjunct position in California initially. All in all, he’s been an adjunct faculty member for over 20 years and a full-time for 13-14 years now.
When I asked him what took him from being strictly performing to teaching higher education, he jokingly replied, “I was doomed.
I’m the son of an academic so somehow I got the memo to go get a grad degree in my 20’s knowing that teaching would be a part of my career path. And no regrets.”
Both of his parents were pianists and started him on piano when he was five. He quit at the tender age of 7 because he didn’t want to do what his mom and dad did, punctuated by a bad church recital. He moved to guitar and saxophone around the age of 9 years old. He started playing sax in the school band in 6th grade and he started studying guitar around 5th grade because his sister had a classical guitar. So it seems that music has always been not just part of his trajectory, but the trajectory.
I was interested to learn which artist or musician was his greatest influence. It’s always an enlightening question to ask a seasoned musician where they get their early influences from. “There are so many, but James Taylor is an early candidate because he was the singer/ songwriter that I became familiar with and loved all of his music. He also adds American jazz guitarist, Bill Frisell, adding that they’re not only good musicians, but also good people. He got to meet both of them at different points and feels that who they are as people is as important as their musicianship.
So much of the past has influenced the current state of music, but the music and the music business fall into vastly different categories. When I asked Be what he thought of the current state of music, he quickly replied, “It’s abysmal. It’s been devalued.” On the other hand, he noted, “it’s a time to be creative; it’s a time for artists to be their authentic selves because what’s the point of doing anything else?” So there are definitely different perspectives depending on which aspect of music you’re looking at.
Another aspect of music now is technology and it’s impossible to have a conversation about music without also considering technology’s role. He said that he has to look at technology optimistically and to look at these tools as being supplementary and supportive of the creative process. Technology is certainly here to stay so adaptation is the key.
Ben Graves recently released an LP entitled, “Settle Down,” and I was curious about how that record came to be. He dove right into the details of the LP and the musicians that worked on. “A lot of those tunes were already written. Only a couple of them hadn’t been recorded; I just wasn’t happy with the recordings. I have wanted to work with Matt Rollings (Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Reba McEntire, etc.) for 20-25 years…and I knew I wanted Victor Krauss (James Taylor, Tom Jones, Carly Simon, Kacey Musgraves, etc.) because those two guys work great together. Jano Rix from the Wood Brothers was a last minute, serendipitous addition. I couldn’t have imagined how well he would complement the project.” I asked where people could find his music and how they can support his latest project and other releases. He explained, “It’s available everywhere and it’s FREE. I just want people to listen to it.”
Being that Ben is an avid performer and recording artist, I wanted to know if he had any pieces of advice to offer music students at Vol State. Here are some words of wisdom from someone who’s been doing the work for pretty much his entire life. “Spend as much time doing your thing as you can…You have to do it. There is no magic bullet…And if you’re not passionately motivated, you’re probably in the wrong field.”
Being part of the music program myself over the last two years, I asked if he could share some information about the music program. It’s something that I also feel passionate about and would love to help spread the word to students considering a music degree from Vol State. “Our survey classes are great; we’ve got wonderful faculty to teach our Music 1030, our Intro to Music sections. And certainly for majors, we have wonderfully invested, applied faculty that really want you to learn theory and really want you to learn your instrument.” It should be noted that the Winter Showcase is taking place Friday, December 6th at 7 pm in the auditorium at Caudill Hall. The show is free and open to the public.
We had just enough time for my final question (well, three actually) as we both had to head to campus to get to class. As a fellow creative, I’m always eager to know another creative’s favorite book, favorite movie, and favorite song. So if you’re looking for a great read, a good watch, or a worthwhile listen. Take these into consideration. Books, Cider House Rules by John Irving & To Kill A Mockingbird. Movies, Cinema Paradiso & The Edge with Anthony Hopkins. And song, “Soft Place to Land” by Sara Bareilles from Waitress.
And if you’re considering a profession in music, know that Ben Graves is a wealth of information and experience right here on campus. You can also catch him live at a plethora of venues downtown. You can find his performance schedule on his website, https://www.bengraves.com/.
Make sure to check out his new project, “Settle Down,” available everywhere you listen to music.
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