Ben Kweller
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Ben Kweller (born June 16, 1981) is an American rock musician. Kweller is also the former lead singer of the 1990s band Radish.
Biography
Ben Kweller was originially the frontman for the band Radish, a group compared to Nirvana by Rolling Stone Magazine. The band's popularity grew in the Dallas, Texas music scene from its formation in 1993. However, the band was dismissed by critics as little more than an imitation of Nirvana with the novelty of an extremely young lead vocal-guitarist (Kweller was in his teens for the entire existence of the band). Nonetheless, Kweller and his two bandmates, bassist Bryan Blur and drummer John Kent, were signed to a major record label in 1995 by Mercury Records. Regardless of a much-hyped beginning, which included appearances on The Weird Al Show, Conan O'Brien and David Letterman, Radish failed to strike big success with either its first record Dizzy or its sophomore effort Restraining Bolt.
Kweller began his solo career with his 2002 debut Sha Sha which included the very radio-friendly and popular single 'Wasted & Ready'. The title track reconciles his past career efforts with Radish and the difficulty of finding an identity as a 20 year-old artist beginning a musical career for the second time. The record kept many of the familiar sounds of Nirvana, but also worked in other pop music influences such as Weezer and Ben Folds. The album grew in popularity with a grassroot effort with his website and a promotion group called TeamBK, which promoted word-of-mouth advertising.
In 2003, Kweller toured Australia with Ben Folds and Ben Lee as The Bens. The trio produced an eponymous EP. Kweller's second solo effort, 2004's On My Way, has attempted to match the modest but well-received popularity of Sha Sha while creating a more mature and subdued sound. Kweller is now working on a new album that will be produced by Gil Norton, who has produced such prestigious albums as the Pixies' "Dolittle" and the Foo Fighter's "The Colour and the Shape."
In September Ben Kweller will be releasing his third album, titled "Ben Kweller". His tour for the album will not be solo acoustic, but rather a 6 piece band complete with an organ.
Ben's first child (with wife Liz), Dorian Zev Kweller, was born on May 30th, 2006.
Trivia
NJ pop-punk band The Ergs! released the Ben Kweller EP in 2002. It includes a song about Kweller entitled "Ben Kweller"Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
External links
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