When Benjamin Gibbard came by our studios for his Morning Becomes Eclectic performance, he did so on the heels of his first solo project “Former Lives”.
For an artist whose normal associations are so astronomically successful, (read: The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie) seeing the completely stripped down songwriter by himself was profoundly moving. Even he said these particular songs wouldn’t, by themselves, ever have made it onto those other projects. Making it seem like the collection was somehow more personal (if that’s possible) than his previous recordings and destined for a solo release.
So, sitting at the piano, Ben introduced the next song as–at first–“one” of his favorite bands before self-correcting and calling them his “favorite band.” He then shared that whenever he got discouraged by music, he would put on one of their records and remind himself of the power of music and why he got into in the first place.
Our collective ears perked and we sat up a little straighter in anticipation for the artist to reveal his cornerstone, the epicenter from which all creative energy flows, the muse.
Teenage Fan Club?
In the split second between Gibbard pulling back the curtain on the wizard and playing the first chords on the piano, we were all a little blind-sided.
But then, as all great artists do, we were lulled into his world of inspiration and creation and quickly realized what he saw, or heard rather, in that seminal 90’s alt band from Scotland.
Well played Ben, well played.
Benjamin Gibbard covering Teenage Fan Club’s “Everything Flows”