February 2011
1 post
Atlanta Friends: We need your help!
Friends and fans in Atlanta, your old Uncle Ben needs your help! We’re shooting a music video this week on the 16th and 17th for a song on the new record, Inclusions. We have a really powerful vision for the visuals but we need people to pull it off. If you have any availability or interest please contact Mary Puchalski at the below address. Thanks so much for your consideration and...
January 2011
1 post
Let's use your riding footage in the upcoming...
In preparing for exciting things in the coming year, we’re filming a new music video and, with your help, would love to include your favorite bike ride in the video. We’re calling for footage that shows “where you’ve been” on your most picturesque rides. Here’s how to help: Maybe you have footage from an amazing bicycle excursion ready to go. But if not, strap...
December 2010
7 posts
8 tags
WatchThis all star team of cello sledding athletes including Ben Sollee, Billy Bragg, Daniel Martin Moore and friends have assembled at Arthur’s Round Table, a neolithic monument in Cumbria, to further the development of this emerging new sport.
Give a tree with Oxfam America
In conversation with Oxfam America’s Anna Kramer we discussed the role of a song in social change. Check out the new video featuring Prettiest Tree on the Mountain encouraging people to get involved and give a tree with Oxfam Unwrapped.
Hello Scotland! We miss you...
Yesterday was some kind collage, dream-like, terror. Which is to say, it was very memorable.
On our way out of Penrith following a magical day of music, sites, and a new found love for bowling, Billy took us by a neolithic henge at Mayburgh. It was a massive circular bank of earth and rocks balanced on a single remaining rock it the direct center of the arena-like gathering space. Evidently there...
Versions of Joanna out now! Here my cover of... →
WatchThe story of Ditch the Van continues through the hills of Pennsylvania. Loads of fun riding along all the beautiful land cared for by Amish and Mennonites (who particularly resonated with out industrious bicycles).
WatchWe may not be on our bikes physically but virtually, the Ditch the Van tour lives on. In Chapter 10, we ride to the sustainability festival in Kempton, PA. A beautiful piece of riding and some very special new friends.
September 2010
45 posts
Train through Appalachia
After performing an early morning set for the folks at Appalachia Rising we hopped an Amtrak back to Kentucky. Katie and I are plotting out the script for the Idea Fest with coffee in hand. Jordon and Marty are resting… Marty has been editing videos like a mad scientist. The mountains are so beautiful, some of them with foggy hats. looking forward to being back in Kentucky.
6 tags
Catching Up
Boy, the last four days have been packed with riding and performances. The hills are alive and well in PA and MD and so are we. But it’s been hard to find the time to keep up with the blog. I’ll catch everyone up soon. But today we ride out to Bethesda, MD and we’ll be escorted by none other than the famous Jeff Schaulk.
He’s one of the elite mountain bike racers in the...
6 tags
as fast as we need to be...
Riding through the edge of the mountains in Pennsylvania. With the all these hills we really have to start early each day and kick right up until load in. Yesterday we made a stop in Lyons for the Fiddlers Fest. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen all the old fiddlers gather. One fella was bowing up a storm from his Rascal motorized wheel chair. But we payed for the visit with a...
backstage at the PA Renewable Energy Festival. the...
Business by Bike
Every ride day Katie and I get up early in the morning to route our trip. And every time we struggle with the same dilemma: how do we get there most efficiently while utilizing the safest biking ways? Most often we use Google map’s biking directions which are ever improving. Google has done an incredible job of documenting all the dedicated trails, paths, and lanes but the bikeways...
Someone's Hometown
Made it to Doylestown with time to spare. It’s cool and the sunlight poking through all the hardwoods’ thick leaves. Won’t be long till those start coming down, but for now things are green. The marquee at Puck Live has a big, anonymous “singer-songwriter” posting for tonight. Looks like a nice place, but there are no bike racks.
Everyone is in good spirits. A few...
Musicians on Bicycles
Our Ditch the Van tour showcases an alternative mode of music touring but we are by no means pioneers, we are part of a growing movement. Even in the past 5 years, this country has been criss-crossed by pedal-happy musicians who are concerned about the environment, community, and good music.
The Portland, Oregon-based band Blind Pilot made a big splash in 2008 and 2009 with their west coast...
Far...
We stopped for lunch in Wilmington, DE. The ride till that point had been sort of hairy. There were lots of fight-or-flight moments with motorists trying to jump the line ahead of us in the turn lanes. We chased one guy down who nearly took Marty off his bike and reported him to the cops. Mentally we were exhausted and ready for a change of pace. We found a place called Libby’s on Yelp...
Green, green Maryland
It took two full days by train to get here but we made it. We were welcomed at Union Station by Rachel Myrowitz from the organization One Less Car. To make it up to Baltimore in time for the show that night she was kind enough to swing by with a mini-van. Kind of funny really… One Less Car picking up the Ditch the Van musicians in a Toyota Sienna. But it did the trick.
Our show last night...
“slightly defeated, but mostly impressed. and happy to be defeated because I was...”
– Marty Benson
Real Sustainability
When I’m pedaling I get to thinkin’. Yesterday I was thinking about sustainability, particularly how it relates to musicians. Not necessarily a touring musician or a recording artist. Just a plain old “I-love-to-play-tunes-and-write-songs” musician. And it occurred to me that the most sustainable thing I could be doing is hangin’ around my home, drinking a local...
on our way
sitting next to a freight train full of coal on our way to our next stop on the bike tour, Baltimore.
riding down the tracks...
getting a little closer to Kentucky. but first we head over to Maryland to start the northeast leg of our tour.
train to DC
swinging by the grocery store for some snacks… long train ride to DC. we had an amazing time in Denver hanging with all the folks from Paper Bird and the Dovekins. going.to miss this place…
Denver
We had a serious ride day yesterday from Fort Collins to Denver for our show at the Oriental Theater. It usually takes us about 8 hours to cover 50 miles with stops and fixes and all. But yesterday we had 70 miles to cover with a show at the end. So, we rose before the sun to get everything packed up and got riding…
There’s something about waking yourself up pedaling. My energy seem...
“I think it’ll get better once we get away from the WalMart”
– Katie Benson
Katie "The Brains" Benson
Meet Katie Benson. She’s the brains behind this operation. She routes all our rides, advances the shows, coordinates will local advocacy groups, pedals the merch to and at the show, handles the accounting, and even books some the shows. This woman does it all.
Katie and I met in LA in April of 2009 when I was opening for Vienna Teng. Katie had been working in the music industry for a...
WatchIn this chapter Ben Sollee and friends train in to Salinas, CA and then ride through the fertile crescent near Santa Cruz. Between the inspiring ride and the show at The Crepe Place the gang takes a little time to visit with famed bike builder Craig Calfee. His new startup company, Bamboosero, teaches skilled labor to impoverished communities in Africa, the Philipines, and New Zealand to build...
