Your name:
Ben Gibbs.
Where are you from?
Marion, North Carolina, USA.
Name of band:
Goddess.
Who else is in your band?
I am the sole singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. I'm currently putting a band together for live performances as until this point I have just been a studio project.
How would you describe yourselves?
Goddess has a sound that blurs the line between beauty and sadness. Most of my songs come from a pretty lonely place. Lyrically, they're pretty intelligent and usually have some sort of mystical undertones to them. It's a perfect mix of jazz, pop, and folk.
Who are your main influences musically?
As a kid, I was obsessed with Elvis. Jumpsuit era Elvis. My influences are pretty varied. I listened to Elton John only for awhile as an early teenager, then as a late teen I only listened to The Who. Then I really got into everyone from Stan Getz to Todd Rundgren to Sun Ra to Chic. I can listen to my music sometimes and say to myself "Ahh, I know where you got that from", even though Goddess doesn't really sound like anyone who influenced me.
What do you hope to achieve in music?
All I really hope to achieve is to write and record songs as they are presented to me. I just think that good songs are already out there in the ether's, and they will make themselves known to people and its their job to accurately represent them. I want to keep making albums and doing some live shows and making people smile for a short time. I would really like to do a few tours in Europe.
What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
I've never really had commercial success or anything like that, but living in New York was probably the highlight of my career. I played drums in band up there, and we played all over the city, and were a part of some really amazing things. Especially to a kid from a small, hick town. New York also completely broke my heart and sent me into a totally new dimension in my life and began writing my own songs when I got back to North Carolina. But I really walked around in a complete state of heartbreak for several years afterward and I think people can hear that in my music. I know I can.
And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Never really wanted to forget anything, but once I was playing a show and a fight broke out and my friend got punched and got his skull fractured, went into a coma and was in ICU for 5 days. Eventually he made a full recovery but I have always resented the fact it happened. It made me hate alcohol, really.
If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
That's a tough one. I would probably say a song from the first record called "A Life Ain't A Life". It says 'a life ain't a life without another life in your life, we all need someone to wait by the window'. It sounds like a very depressed song about being lonely, and it is, but it's actually about how suicide rates go up around Christmas time because the way big corporations market products and the whole 'holiday' mood. And it's totally phony. People are told how they need this or that or to have people around but they actually don't. It's okay to be alone. The subtle line in the song says "I need a lover to hold, because that's what I was told", that's the line that signifies a manipulation.
Where can we listen to it?
Where can we find out more about your music?
You can go to my official page at www.beholdgoddess.com. Also, you can follow me on twitter: @Goddess_music
Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?
If you like my music, share it!
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