You don’t always know where the road will take you. This is certainly true of Ben Sigston. An ex-Canadian National Team cyclist, Ben turned to music after a university athletic scholarship went awry.
Growing up in North Vancouver, Ben spent most of his time training in the fresh mountain air. After a few successes, including a World Cup win, Sigston was awarded an athletic scholarship to a mid-western US university. However, not long after attending, his life blew apart.
Within a few months, a pressure-filled environment, punishing physical training and two near death experiences took their toll, leading Sigston to some serious soul searching and an alteration in course. “It seemed evident to me that I had to change my circumstances,” Ben says “I jumped on a plane and went back to Vancouver. I quit biking, sold all of my gear, and used the money to buy a guitar.”
This abrupt life change wasn’t as random as it might appear, as Sigston had been heavily influenced by music his entire life. He began piano lessons at the age of five, followed by the drums. There was always music in the house - the Beatles, Bob Dylan, as well as his dad’s own band, holding practices in the basement.
In fact, in Ben’s world, music and athleticism have always been inextricably intertwined. When his focus shifted to music, lyrics and sound became his outlet. Instead of training away his frustrations and emotions, Ben began to write about them.
Over the last seven years, Ben has been relentlessly pursuing and refining his writing process. His music is filled with juxtapositions that compare and contrast thoughts, feelings and reflections.
“For me, music is so powerful. It’s a way to see into a situation or an experience that can be related to individually. It’s the artist’s job to internalize an even and then to recreate it…to express it.”
Whether expressing simple ideas, or wide-ranging thoughts, Sigston has an uncanny ability to convey himself through the melody of song. His music successfully cuts through the noise of modern existence, and extracts simple, universal truths: hope, love, redemption and the search for meaning.
Ben’s debut EP Free Now (available on iTunes — check it out!) features 8 amazing songs, and is the product of five years of writing and over 150 songs. ICYDK has three autographed CDs to give away. Simply be one of the first three to email ICYDK and correctly indentify what kind of scholarship Ben had for university.
Listen to Ben perform live on 100.5 The PEAK Thursday, Sept 10 at 3:15pm (Pacific).
If you’re in Vancouver, come on down to The Media Club (695 Cambie St) and see Ben perform Thursday, Sept 10. Doors at 8pm. It’ll be an awesome show!!!
To learn more about Ben visit his MySpace
Posted Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 10:10am
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