2008 Woodie Awards
Ben Lee is starting to "catch" on
Singer sits down and talks to Flyer
Derek Serafin
Issue date: 3/17/05 Section: Tempo
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And since 95, Ben Lee has kept himself very busy. Whether it was releasing four albums over that timespan (including the new and marvelously infections "Awake is the New Sleep"), touring nonstop, or recording and working on side projects with the likes of Ben Folds and Ben Kweller (a group the three formed and simply called The Bens), Ben Lee has been a very busy man. But not busy enough to neglect me and take time to do a quick interview.
Derek Serafin: Hey, how are you today?
Ben Lee: Oh I'm very good.
DS: You started writing music as a teen. Was there anything that really influenced that?
BL: It was fate, you know what I mean? If you get pulled into something inexplicably, you can't really avoid it.
DS: So there really was not one thing that influenced you into becoming a song writer?
BL: No, it was definitely just like a compulsion that can't be explained. Ideas came to me and I just had to write them.
DS: In the U.S. you really are yet to achieve commercial success, where in your home of Australia you seem to have caught on with the masses. Do you think that is a problem for you?
BL: No, I would say it is not a problem. I think I have enough fans (laughs). I mean, you want to make music for the most people possible. And you can never really tell where you will hit it big. Right now, I'm taking off in Spain, which amazes me. As for the Australia thing, they take my music on a higher cultural level.
DS: Well in your new single, "Catch my Disease," are you trying to talk about your lack of success in the U.S. at all?
BL: In a sense, that is what "Catch my Disease" is about. When you want to make a change, it spreads like a virus. You want to get that little contagious bug out there any way you can. And I am trying to do that with joy and enthusiasm.
DS: And you're going to be performing "Disease" on Conan in about a weeks time, right?
