You Say You Are Into Music?
Round 2 Response
What / who is your favorite band or artist?
Band of Horses. They are Ben Bridwell’s project.
Why is that your favorite band or artist?
Every album coming out has been a part of my life as I have struggled with mental illness since my late teens. They have been with me as I have struggled and overcome problems until the present day.
How have they been involved in your life? How long? How did you get into them?
From their first hit single, The Funeral, after I struggled at college and went into a depression and contemplated suicide. To St. Augustine, which related to my life with the same name as my confirmation saint and my struggles after a life-altering jailing experience. To Detlef Schrempf and Ode to LRC dealing with living in the same small town where I was jailed.
Cruel Hands of Time relates to me seeing my old high school buddy working at my local bar after spending time working with celebrities in LA, dealing with a new job, and struggling with medication and life. They have been part of my life today with Warning Signs where I struggle with work today and my turbulent past.
Where do they come from? How does that inform their music?
The band formed in Seattle, but Ben Bridwell and key members are originally from South Carolina. They began in the mid-2000s as our country struggled with the malaise after 9/11 and the wars on terror that followed. America was struggling, and so was I. But their southern roots allow for kindness and thoughtfulness to shine.
How many albums have they made? At which point did you come into them? What’s their biggest album? What’s their best one?
They have made six studio albums. I found them sometime after their debut album came out. Their biggest album might be 2009's Infinite Arms because it was nominated for a Grammy. Their first two were really capturing lightning in a bottle. Their best album was probably Cease to Begin, but it’s like choosing your favorite child.
If you were explaining them to someone who’s never heard of them to someone who’s never heard of them, what is the one song you’d put on that tells you everything you need to know about them?
Off of their debut album Everything All the Time, the song The Funeral. If anyone has experienced loss, this is a beautiful song to get through it with.
Why that song?
Just listen to it.
Have you seen them live? Where? How many times? What’s the most you’ve paid for a ticket? What’s the most you would pay?
I have seen them once live. 2016 at the House of Blues Houston. Since Livestreams became popular after COVID-19, I’ve seen them five times through that medium because I take medication for my mental illness, and most evening shows conflict with that. I paid two hundred for me and my wife to see them at House of Blues and would gladly pay that again.
Do they have any shows coming up that you are looking forward to? Would you travel to see them? Have you?
They have a live stream with The Revivalists at Red Rocks coming up. I just bought tickets for the livestream, and my brother came over right after and told me his friends had somebody drop out who was going to Red Rocks with them to watch them and gave him and his wife tickets, so I was totally jealous. I would definitely travel to see them. It’s a 3-hour trip from my house to Houston.
The Last Word
I love music and bring it on with me through my journey through life. Band of Horses has been with me through the years, and many of their songs relate to my life.
It’s cool to watch their videos on YouTube and see how their music affects other people’s lives, too. I’m going to create articles on songs that relate to my life. Band of Horses has the most, but there are more from other bands too.
