Benjamin Booker

Music helped me to get out of a rough period in my life when I really struggled to see any future for myself and was terrified about what was happening to the people around me. ”

Even when I interviewed bands, it was about asking them about writing songs, so it was more for me than anybody else. ”

I don't think I ever wanted to be a journalist - I was more interested in what comes from being a journalist. ”

The time after college and before music was really rough. I couldn't afford food. I was eating bread and butter for five months. Living in New Orleans, I couldn't afford to take care of myself. I had no health insurance. ”

Blind Willie Johnson is a pretty big vocal influence. He can be very harsh, like gargly, gruff vocals, but also just slip into some very delicate, vulnerable soft stuff. I like that combination. ”

I guess I would call my music 'blues punk.' There's a lot of influences. ”

As soon as I started writing the first batch, I had a vision. I saw me on stage playing a certain type of music. I want to take these blues melodies over aggressive guitars. I heard the sound I wanted to make. I knew what I wanted to do. It wasn't ever there before. ”

I was just a music lover who wondered what it would sound like if Otis Redding strapped on a guitar and played in a punk band. That's it. ”

My grandfather learned to swim in the Navy by getting thrown off a boat into the ocean. He had to learn fast. And I think I learn pretty well under pressure. ”

Folk-punk artists like This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb or Paul Baribeau were popular in the Florida punk community. I saw people early on combine roots music with more aggressive music. ”