I must admit, I was surprised when I heard singer-songwriter Ben Lee refer to himself as an "elder statesman". He's 45 years old, turning 46 next month. Login or signup to continue reading Then again, he has been making music professionally since he was 14 and his band, Noise Addict, caught the attention of Sonic Youth and Beastie Boys.
He went solo at the age of 16 and, over the years, has given us songs like Cigarettes Will Kill You , Catch My Disease , Gamble Everything For Love and We're All In This Together . There are too many Lee collaborations to list here, but the most important has to be his marriage to Ione Skye. The pair describe their record label Weirder Together as a "creative container" for "left of centre" musicians and other creatives.
It's a multidisciplinary platform where content can be made and shared. Lee has been using the term "elder statesman" to describe the sense of responsibility he feels towards musicians and other creatives new to the scene, waiting in earnest for their "big break" to come. "Ultimately it's a case of figuring out how to be most useful in your community," he says.
"I've always liked the behind the scenes stuff and Ione are both interested in developing and producing and helping other people get their things together." He has a new album due for release next month, This One's for the Old Headz , from which he has released two singles, Heavy Metal and Positive Energy . The music video for Heavy Metal was directed by Nash Edgerton a.