Tune in daily all this week at 3:40 pm as Jay & C-P feature “Benjamin Stecker” on the XS Local Spotlight.

“Ben was born in the summer of 1979. He was raised on a farm in Southwestern Ontario. When he was 9 he wrote his first song on the piano, and when he was 12 he got his first guitar. He found in music a place to express his hopes and fears, and a way to communicate with those around him.

Through high school he played a number of shows, and performed some of his original music. After high school he spent some time on Mackinac Island, giving carriage tours with horses and playing his guitar at night in the park for money. This was when he first began to find the joy in performing for people, with no backing band, just him and his guitar. It was also the first time he was approached by someone with connections in the music industry who liked what he was doing.

He went on to college, and wrote many more songs. By now he had written over 100 songs and never published a single one. In college he spent countless hours researching the industry, and learning how the business of music worked. He graduated and got started at a career outside the music industry, got married to the most beautiful girl he had ever met, and continued to write songs about his life and the lives of those around him.

After a few years he was transferred to London area for work, and was living in a chalet in the woods on the Thames River when he realized he wanted to make music for a living. It wasn’t that he had ever forgot, he had just allowed life to carry on it’s natural course.

With a lot of conversations with his wife, and the help of some very close friends, he began a music project. The alternative rock band Stecker was born, around the same time as his first son was born. Stecker played shows around Southwestern Ontario during the years 2002-2005. Ben really enjoyed social networking, and was able to build a fanbase of 8000 people on Myspace, and 25,000 plays of his songs on the internet. He discovered that these new digital tools leveled the playing field, and people wanted to meet musicians and understand their music.

Over time the band members of Stecker began to drift in different directions artistically, and Ben began writing again. He began spending lots of time with his acoustic guitar, and writing songs about the experiences of his life, and the lives of those around him. At a friend’s birthday Ben had the rare opportunity to play in front of members of the Barenaked Ladies in Toronto. It was exciting to see people respond to the music he had written in that type of setting.

Then something tragic happened. Ben’s little sister passed away suddenly, and it was one of the most shocking and difficult things that he had ever been through. She was a teenager just shy of her 19th birthday. In the weeks that followed the event, an idea began to unfold. Ben wanted to honour his sister in some way. His father had given him a little money and asked him to do something to remember his sister. Ben had written a song a few months before and played it for his sister when she was alive. He didn’t know what it was about at the time, but thought it might be for her somehow. After she passed away, the song made a lot more sense.

From that point on, Ben began a journey to try and honour his sister by taking action in his own life. She was no longer able to follow through on her dreams, and it seemed like it would somehow be wasting the time he had if he didn’t try to follow through on his dreams.

In the fall of 2009 Ben began building a team of professionals to help him with his vision. He met Christian Hurst of Granitewish Studios in Toronto. Together they mapped out a plan, and Christian was able to help make a lot of crucial connections and help Ben solidify a full business and marketing plan for his music. Ben also made a connection with Malcolm Hines, a London Music Teacher, and former professor at the University of Western Ontario who believed in Ben and began coaching him in the areas of performance and theory.

Ben released his first album Jan 10, 2010. It was an acoustic collection of songs that he was planning to finish recording as full versions in the future. Ben put this album for sale as an independent artist, and later made it available for free online so people around the world could enjoy his music. One of the highlights from the last year was playing a private show for Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada. At this time Ben has made over 20,000 friends scattered through 10 countries globally. He has met many fascinating people, and continues to meet more each day”.

For more information on  Ben Stecker CLICK HERE!