Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Ben Johnson is a classically trained piano-player, but on this six-track EP there’s really not much classical music to whet your appetite about. Instead there’s a whole lot of American-sounding singer/songwriter stuff, but instead of having the guitar being the driving force, as in most singer/songwriter cases these days, Ben Johnson naturally lets his piano-playing be the main thing alongside his vocals, which turns out to be this CD’s saving grace actually. This guy has got talent – no doubt about that. - Past and Present Webzine
Ben Johnson is a classically trained piano-player, but on this six-track EP there’s really not much classical music to whet your appetite about. Instead there’s a whole lot of American-sounding singer/songwriter stuff, but instead of having the guitar being the driving force, as in most singer/songwriter cases these days, Ben Johnson naturally lets his piano-playing be the main thing alongside his vocals, which turns out to be this CD’s saving grace actually. This guy has got talent – no doubt about that. - Past and Present Webzine
Ben Johnson is a young man blessed with a strong voice and some powerful songs.
Raw and bruised opener "Most of All" sets us off to a fine start. "Higher than the Rock" becomes a male answer to Tori Amos sound. Johnson plays the piano with skill and precision. "Not Enough" winds a simple melody against a sad lyric as the song becomes a strong moment. - Anna Maria Stjarnell
Ben Johnson is a young man blessed with a strong voice and some powerful songs.
Raw and bruised opener "Most of All" sets us off to a fine start. "Higher than the Rock" becomes a male answer to Tori Amos sound. Johnson plays the piano with skill and precision. "Not Enough" winds a simple melody against a sad lyric as the song becomes a strong moment. - Anna Maria Stjarnell
Ben Johnson wears ruby red lipstick on the cover of his debut EP, his CD's title seemingly carved into his cheek with a knife. So you know right off, the guy's into drama. And drama is delivered in spades on Johnson's adventurous and arresting curtain-raiser. Ben channels Nina Simone on the opener, "Most Of All," accompanying himself on a piano that's deliberately in need of tuning. Johnson's keys are well-tempered — but he is not — on the next two tracks, "Higher Than The Rock" and "Let It All Come Down On Me," whose dark urgency summons ol' Nick Cave to mind. "Not Enough" is the catchiest number here, but its pop roots are torn up by weird, suffocated guitars. Idiosyncratic production also distinguishes "There Is No Pain," with its the tar-covered bass line recalling PJ Harvey's Dry period. Ben bows out on a down note with "The World Without You In It," a mournful, intimate song that Thom Yorke might have penned in an especially glum moment. Keep an eye out for this young man. - Demo Universe
Ben Johnson wears ruby red lipstick on the cover of his debut EP, his CD's title seemingly carved into his cheek with a knife. So you know right off, the guy's into drama. And drama is delivered in spades on Johnson's adventurous and arresting curtain-raiser. Ben channels Nina Simone on the opener, "Most Of All," accompanying himself on a piano that's deliberately in need of tuning. Johnson's keys are well-tempered — but he is not — on the next two tracks, "Higher Than The Rock" and "Let It All Come Down On Me," whose dark urgency summons ol' Nick Cave to mind. "Not Enough" is the catchiest number here, but its pop roots are torn up by weird, suffocated guitars. Idiosyncratic production also distinguishes "There Is No Pain," with its the tar-covered bass line recalling PJ Harvey's Dry period. Ben bows out on a down note with "The World Without You In It," a mournful, intimate song that Thom Yorke might have penned in an especially glum moment. Keep an eye out for this young man. - Demo Universe
Ben Johnson shares Iron and Wine's affinity for heartache melody and emotional honesty, but his presentation bears little resemblance to this latest crop of new Dylans. The most noticeable distinction is that all of the tracks on Wait are piano-based, and there's little here with anything close to predictable structure. These are ambitious, theatrical, labyrinthine songs, straining the confines of the pop format into which they've been forced. - Jesse Flatte
Ben Johnson shares Iron and Wine's affinity for heartache melody and emotional honesty, but his presentation bears little resemblance to this latest crop of new Dylans. The most noticeable distinction is that all of the tracks on Wait are piano-based, and there's little here with anything close to predictable structure. These are ambitious, theatrical, labyrinthine songs, straining the confines of the pop format into which they've been forced. - Jesse Flatte
Discography
WAIT, EP.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Some of the best human stories are the hardest to tell – those stories that are acted out inside a person, instead of obviously out in the world.
But the facts of Ben Johnson’s life more than hint at the presence of just such a story. For without some kind of internal movement, how does a self-described “nerd” kid move from wanting to be liked for something other than his musical talent to pursuing a career as a performing singer and songwriter? How does he get from the shelter of his southwestern Missouri farm family to facing down life as a working musician in the Windy City?
The answers to these questions and some you wouldn’t dare to ask can be found in his work, which is at once searching, intimate and subtly powerful. He is already well on his way to meeting his own standard of being “lyrically direct and musically adventurous.” In a review of a performance at the Burning Question Coffeehouse, Tribune journalist George Rawlinson described Ben’s performance as “lightning in a bottle”.
Of the newcomers to the scene, there are always some good writers who may become good performers, some good performers whose material might mature. Once in a great while, along comes a “beginner” who is already nothing short of excellent on every front, and Ben Johnson is that musician. He is classically trained, and holds a music degree from Belmont University. He also has substantial experience in theatrical music direction; he is currently the vocal coach for the touring production of The Lion King. Forever Plaid at the Royal George and God and Country at Victory Gardens are just a few of his many Chicago-area theater credits.
Perhaps if Chopin and Tori Amos had a child, and allowed Elton John to raise him, he would play the piano like Ben Johnson. But that wouldn’t explain his voice, which somehow manages to be both flawlessly controlled and emotionally raw at the same time.
"Sometimes I feel like nobody's listening to me until I sing a song. Inside the song I can
freely speak my mind, work out the puzzle, ask for help or give it, break down or stand up. “
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