Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:15):
On Vision Australia Radio. This is Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
S2 (00:23):
We've spoken to Bender in the past. Champion tennis player.
Maybe he's even a better musician. Let's find out. Ben.
Great to catch up again.
S3 (00:31):
Hey, Peter. How are you?
S2 (00:32):
Pretty good. Is it feeling like home when you write music?
S3 (00:35):
Oh, sometimes. Sometimes you get, uh, a good track across, but, like,
all of them are kind of like, uh, a journey of, um,
I don't know, um, getting better at music or getting more, um,
precise in what you want to say, I guess.
S2 (00:51):
Firstly, this track and your newest music. How has that
all happened?
S3 (00:55):
Well, it's this one's kind of. It's got a bit
of a story around it, so I'll kind of go
back a little bit. So I run a, uh, music
inclusion program. Well, I started an inclusion music program at
the city of Coburn at my role when I was
working there as the disability officer. And part of that,
we we had a facilitator named Charisse Thompson, who's a
(01:20):
touring artist around Australia and international. Um, and I had
him facilitating the program, and he invited the group, the
inclusive Group, to a concert of his. And we all went.
And the night before he sends me a message, he goes, hey, mate,
do you know Tour Door by Paul Kelly? And I'm like, yeah,
I know a little bit. He goes, good, because I'm
(01:40):
going to get you up on stage and you're going
to play it with me. And I'm like, oh my God.
S2 (01:43):
Oh wow, what a great song that is too, by
the way.
S3 (01:46):
Yeah, yeah. So um, like so he so when I
get there I'm like sort of sort of prepared and unprepared.
But he introduces me to the band, and the band is, um,
a fellow named, uh, Dave Johnson, who's a great blues
artist around Fremantle and another guy named Nathan Gaunt, so
(02:07):
I get up on stage with these guys and rock
out and, you know, standing ovation because, you know, they
love to see, um, you know, someone like, I don't know,
a blind person, get up there and mix it with
the with the crew. So that was really cool and
cool fun. But meeting Nathan Gaunt, he's a big time
artist himself and he's also a producer. And he says
(02:27):
to me, hey, mate, you should come and record a
song with me. And I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, let's
do it. So this, uh, Feeling Like Home was the
first track that we, um, did together, and the song itself,
like I did a demo of it, which is, you know,
has some similarities to it. But when you break it
(02:47):
all down with a producer such as Nathan Gaunt, it, it, um,
it feels different, but now it's feeling like home. Yeah.
S2 (02:56):
So the kind of, uh, the idea and the origins,
if you like, was within you. And then kind of, uh,
Nathan brought a bit more, more to it and out
of you from it as well.
S3 (03:05):
Yeah. Really kind of drew the. the feel and the
the music, um, into a bigger a bigger picture and bigger,
more precise picture too. So when we first talked about
this song, he goes, I reckon you've got like two
awesome choruses here and we only need one. So we
(03:25):
need to work this out like, yeah, so so that
was pretty funny. But yeah, we decided on which way
it would go. And, and thus it is.
S2 (03:34):
What was it like playing at that concert? I mean, yeah,
24 hours notice. That's not much. And, you know, it's
it's a big deal. You must be a little bit nervous. Uh,
that's what I'm saying is you're you're. It would have
even shone through, given the lack of preparedness and the
nervousness of the situation.
S3 (03:49):
Oh, it was. Yeah, it was pretty, pretty scary. Like, um,
when we he messaged me and I'm like, going, oh, God,
I better go and flip the song on and have
a play along, like just to make sure I got
got that sort of right. But on on the day,
like he introduced me to everybody and he's, um, got
me up on stage to kind of get my bearings
a bit because I can't see anything. Like absolutely nothing.
(04:11):
So it gets me up on stage. And he sat
me in because they had a keyboard. Nathan was playing keys.
He's also a great guitarist, you know. So he was
playing keys at the time. So he sat me next
to him and hands me the Fender Strat and he goes, yeah,
here you go. Like and sort of had a feel.
And so I got off stage and waited for the
(04:32):
time that he was going to call me up. I
had no kind of inkling of when that was. So
we were listening to to Carus and his concert, which is,
which is cool. Everyone's getting into it and I'm like, oh,
I've got to go to the loo, you know, go
to the loo. And you know what? I'm in the
toilet and I hear him call his name up.
S2 (04:48):
Of course, of course.
S3 (04:51):
So I.
S2 (04:52):
Go in.
S3 (04:53):
Yeah. And there's this like silence in the room, like,
is there any is there a Benny in the room?
Like what's going on? So I step out and he's like, oh,
here he is, here he is. And yeah, up I get.
And look, there was, you know, a hundred 100 people there.
And and it was like the type of concert that
carries organizers. It's more like a dining. So you have
(05:13):
dinner and then, um, you know, they, they he performs
and sometimes, you know, you might have a bit of
a jig afterwards. But when we got up there, like,
everyone started getting up for a bit of a jam,
you know, like a dance. So we had and, and
characters during the, during the show while I was up there,
he goes, hey mate, everyone's dancing. Like I'm like, cool, cool,
(05:34):
you know? And he got me to play. I played
the solo, you know, the no, no, no, no. You
know that bit of the. Yeah. The song. So they
weren't expecting me. So I just started playing the solo
and then Nathan's like, oh is he going to do
the high bit. Yes he did the high bit you know.
So it was pretty fun. It was a great night.
And um, yeah, everyone had a good time. And yeah,
(05:56):
the crowd went off at the end of that song.
S2 (05:58):
So on a serious note, Ben, like you talked about,
you know, the crowd was kind of, um, into the
fact that here's this guy who's blind sort of playing with,
with the group and obviously very good at his music.
I mean, that's an important kind of message to be
sending to the crowd, isn't it, about the abilities of
a person who's blind that the musical abilities, I mean,
you're kind of blind, but that's a secondary thing. The
(06:20):
fact that you're a talented musician is the primary sort
of reason for you being there.
S3 (06:23):
Yeah, well, I look, I think people kind of, you know,
think laterally a bit. He says, oh my God, he's blind.
And see, look how he's doing that. Like it's pretty
surprising for people. Um, how does he find the notes
on the fretboard without even, you know, looking? Yeah, without
looking in a sense, you know, but like, we talk
(06:44):
about this, um, socially amongst friends who are blind, who
into music and, you know, some concerts that are played
like the crowd sometimes don't even realize. Right. So. And
it's hard because if a guy if let's just say
a performer doesn't let the crowd know, then how does
the crowd know if he's engaging with them and or
(07:06):
is he being a bit boring. Yeah.
S2 (07:09):
Yeah.
S3 (07:09):
Yeah. So it's really important, I think, for us, um,
performers who are blind to just make it super obvious. Like,
I try to make it obvious. I basically go out
there and say, hey, mate, I can't see you guys,
so let me know you're having fun. You know what
I mean? So. So otherwise we don't know, like some,
some people are just head boppers and groovers and we
(07:31):
don't even know.
S2 (07:31):
So that's a that's such an important point though. And
I guess, you know, those of us on this side
of the stage or in the audience, maybe don't think
of that. But you're quite right, isn't it? You? If
you can't see what our reaction is, then you need
some sort of audio cue to know that we're enjoying
it or having a good time.
S3 (07:49):
Yeah. Or someone in your band is saying, you know,
they're getting into it. And Kara's working out in our
inclusive group live performed with him once before he did
his a concert at, uh, one of our International Day
of Disabilities events, and I brought my, um, snare drum and,
and percussion stuff. And I was just I, you know,
(08:10):
I said, oh, jam, jam with her, you know.
S2 (08:12):
And how'd you get into music? How did you kind
of discover music?
S3 (08:15):
Uh, yeah. Good question. So I think I was God,
I was in like grade 4 or 5 where I first.
Had my first guitar and I did guitar lessons, but, um,
I was music for me as a kid. I loved the.
Beach Boys. I used to get up in the middle
of the morning, you know, early morning, like, you know.
(08:36):
As the sun came up and I'd put on the old, um,
Beach Boys records and my, my parents used to hate it.
Because I'd like, couldn't help myself. I'd put on the
record and and play it. It's 5:00 in the morning.
And I'm singing along already. You know, I just I
just loved it, you know? And eventually that translated into. Uh,
(08:57):
buying my first guitar. And dad bought me a first,
my first acoustic guitar and. Yeah, sort of got. A
few lessons.
S2 (09:04):
And you play a few other instruments as well.
S3 (09:07):
Yeah, well, I slowly pick up on, you know, play
a little bit of drums. I've got a piano. Like
I'm not trained in piano at all. I just do it,
you know?
S2 (09:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like to say.
S3 (09:19):
Yeah, play by ear. Um, and just have a have
a go. I can't play any particular songs.
S2 (09:25):
Well, one of the things that's been discussed on this
program for, uh, the 30 years that I've been doing it, Ben,
is whether, you know, there are more people who are
blind that, uh, or that are born blind, that have
got perfect pitch compared to the conventional population. I'm not
sure if you got perfect pitch.
S3 (09:39):
I'd have to say probably not.
S2 (09:41):
I don't.
S4 (09:42):
Well, yeah, you shot down that argument.
S3 (09:44):
Look, I don't know. I can hear, hear music, but
I think perfect pitch is is a trained. I think
most people are trained into perfect pitch early because like
some notes like, well, I might hear it, but I
can't sometimes I can't get it, you know, as in
reach it. You know what I mean? Yeah. But yeah, definitely. Yeah.
(10:04):
It's a skill that can be really honed quickly, I think,
for blind people. Wow. Yeah, I don't know. It's. Oh,
it's a myth. Maybe.
S2 (10:12):
Yeah, well, someone should do a PhD on it. Maybe
they already have, but I reckon that'll be a good
one to take on board. Hey, Ben. Um, what about
as far as, uh, the song itself? Uh, where is
it available? How can people access your music?
S3 (10:25):
So at the moment I've released, uh, Feeling Like Home
on my Bandcamp site. Um, I'm, you know, trying to
be a bit more direct to customer these days. I
know the streaming platforms aren't, uh, really, uh, I don't know,
loving of indie small artists. Um, that's a whole nother
big debate argument, uh, about about making a career out
(10:49):
of it, but I am putting it up there. Uh,
it should launch on the streaming platforms. Um, on my birthday,
the 22nd of April.
S2 (10:57):
Oh, it's going to make you.
S3 (10:57):
That coming.
S2 (10:58):
Up.
S4 (10:58):
I noticed you have a birthday coming up.
S3 (11:01):
Yeah, yeah. So that's, uh, I usually release a song
on in some sort of, you know, day that I remember.
S2 (11:07):
I never eat a birthday cake. You release the song.
S3 (11:10):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something else to celebrate.
S2 (11:14):
Yeah, well that's fantastic. Hey, great to catch up. It's
a really it's a really great story. And we'll go
out with a little bit of your song feeling like
I'm so, uh. Is it an easy thing to do?
I guess you have to sort of. Planets have to
align for you to write a song that you're happy with.
S3 (11:30):
Yeah, well, look, writing takes a bit of time. Like
to get the. Get the feeling right, get the the
words right. Like you can bang out a song pretty quick,
but recording it and getting translating the, the sounds and
sort of things from your head onto computer, onto, you know,
onto the system these days it's it's tricky and it's hard.
(11:52):
And look, the accessibility for me is, is like, you know,
you can get half of it. But working with another person,
which is really what music's about, is working with others
to try and bring out the best ability in you,
like musically and and all that. So it does take time.
Like a good quality song, I think. Yeah, yeah.
S2 (12:14):
Terrific. Ben, great to catch up. Happy birthday for next week.
Good luck with the launch of the song. We'll play
a little bit as we leave you, and also we'll
put the details up as to how people can find
it with our show notes, but it's great to catch up.
It's been, well, it's been fun, but it's also been
very educational. You've really raised some interesting points, so we
appreciate that and we wish you well.
S3 (12:34):
Great. Thanks a lot, Peter, for having me and enjoy
the tune.
S2 (12:37):
Ben Wright there with his latest song Feeling Like Home.
S5 (12:42):
Thank you for listening to Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
This interview is available on the Focal Point podcast. Simply
look up Focal Point on Google, Spotify, iTunes or your
favorite podcasting service from inertia.
S3 (12:59):
In my veins like a Puffing Billy train. Some kind
of love exploding And in my heart. Deep inside a moment.
Here with you. The girl that I once knew. We'll
(13:25):
come together, fall apart.
S6 (13:32):
These feelings, they weigh us down. I hear you calling
me now. We just hold each other. Let the weekend pass.
(13:57):
With nothing to bother us. Lay me down, girl. You're
feeling like home.