Last Saturday evening, John Ralston of the John Ralston band was sitting down on a black leather couch with a hoodie over his head, zipped all the way up. His feet were up against the edges of the coffee table while his eyes were tuned to the TV -- a stark contrast from what he conveyed on stage an hour before. His tour manager had told me that John was feeling down -- tough crowd, he said to me. Maybe John wasn't expecting such a large venue as Ram's Head Live!
I had a quick word with John Ralston's drummer, Jeff, and we talked about Ben Lee and how he was "a ball of sunshine, the beacon of happiness." Jeff also told me to look out for Ben's outfit. As I was walking backstage I saw Ben in a glittering gold suit -- he really is the sunshine.
I asked him to comment on the idea that musicians are put on pedestals, fans reach and reach but never get a grasp -- he agreed, "I'm in a business where the product that's sold, the music, sometimes the artist becomes the product instead, selling an image. That's something that I don't want to do." It seemed like this was a person who wanted to connect with people, that's why he asked me how I was doing. He further added that the influences for his band's music were not drawn from any specific type of experience, but from the idea of everyday living, as if to say that every second of our waking existence has the potential to become something profound and meaningful -- that every little thing counts.
We then started to chat about mp3s, file-sharing and the internet revolution. A lot of artists, of course, hate the idea of file-sharing, but John and the band members agreed that there was no way to stop it. John said that all this was a great way for small bands like his to get heard. He continued with, "I see kids in the crowd singing along. Then at merchandise I see the same kids buying an album." He knew it was odd knowing lyrics without the CD. "The kids say that they downloaded the music but wanted to support the band by buying one." This gesture only solidified the fact that the human relationship between musician and listener can exist -- maybe intensified it since they had the music already.
Even if music is about relating to people, we don't see many musicians working with other musicians. This is another area were John tries to break away from. He tries hard to collaborate. "For example, I would have no idea why someone made some decision -- it's completely beyond me, like a different language. That makes me want to learn why, so I work with these people." Working with other people expands his horizons, he said, adding new ideas and techniques to his own music and helping it grow. But because music is a business, "It's hard to find someone you can trust," John said while referring to his close friend and former band mate from Dashboard Confessional.
Our chat soon came to an end. I went outside and Ben Lee had already started his performance. I desperately wanted to hold an interview with Ben as well, to gain some insight as I had gained from John, but unfortunately I was unable to get a hold of him. I wanted to see what he thought about what John had just told me, about his philosophy.
I'll never know for sure, but as I listened to Ben Lee, snapping my fingers and moving to the beat, I couldn't help thinking about all the things John had told me and the conclusions that I had drawn. Music is about relating to people, being able to be on the same human level as those creating it and understanding that they draw ideas from life, lives just like yours and mine.
Ben had that aura. Maybe it was his golden suit or maybe when he took cups full of gold glitter and threw it into the crowd or his goofiness in general that made me smile and turn the men on the stage into people that I could maybe begin to understand. Even though I wasn't able to speak with Ben in person, I have an idea of what he would. What I was feeling was almost exactly what John had told me about his own music -- to not become the product himself, but to create something that others can empathize with because, ultimately, it's human where musicians are human too.
