Meet Ben Bledsoe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Bledsoe.

Ben, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up, I wasn’t much of a fan of music. It was always too loud for me… not anymore. My feelings for music quickly changed when I was nine years old. The home school co-op I attended had a small band class that my mom lead and I really wanted to play electric guitar. But they already had two other guys playing electric guitar, so my mom needed a bass player to fill out the band. So in a sense, I was “forced” to learn the bass guitar. In fact, the lady at the music store could tell I was disappointed and said “if you get good, you will always have a gig as a bass player.” Sure enough, she was right, and I ended up loving it! A year later, I joined my church’s worship team at Gateway Church playing in the 5th and 6th-grade room. Every now and then, we would walk across to a restaurant in between services to get food. I would always have to use one of the adult’s phones to call my parents to ask permission. As I was in 6th grade myself at the time, and the team leader didn’t want to get in trouble.

During this time, I met Allen Joanis of Ketos Creative where I was challenged in a way that launched my career at a young age. When I was 13, I had the opportunity to travel and play out of state with another band/ministry called “The New Sound is Family”. Ketos creative changed my perspective on the bass. I realized that what I thought was a boring and simple instrument could actually be so much more! I began to explore all the different sounds I could make with a bass, Opening up that creative window lead me to dive into other aspects of music creation and production. Being home schooled allowed me to pursue all of my passions especially the ones my mom volunteered me for. In 2017 she told the founder of a ministry (Unlocked Ministries) that I was a videographer because I posted cover videos on Instagram and owned a camera… her camera. After my first video, I found a passion for it, and now recently filmed my first wedding.

Last year one of the bands I play with regularly got booked for a tour with a company called CIY (Christ in Youth). We spent half the year traveling every weekend to play for youth conferences around the country. During that time, a bandmate (John Michael Howell) and I grew our friendship and began posting videos under the name “SOCIAL CORNER”. After the tour, I graduated High School and decided to dive more into writing and releasing my own music, which features the bass as the main focus. In November of 2019, I released my first single called “ECLIPSE”. My latest single “1880” came out on January 27th. I plan to release more music and expand my business as a musician, producer, and videographer. I am thankful and blessed for the opportunities that God has given me to be able to pursue my passions as a career.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t say its been a smooth road, but there has definitely been some sort of road. Kind of like an old country road, nice, but has some potholes every now and then. With any job/business there are going to be struggles, some bigger than others. I would say one of my obstacles has been my age. Sometimes people wouldn’t or couldn’t book me for a gig because of my age. True story, I played at the Dallas Beer fest and had someone buy me beer when I was 16, thankfully my mom had driven me and was able to take it away for me. But, I personally have been extremely blessed to have people around me that believe in me and have given me help throughout the way.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am mainly a Bass player/musician. That’s my full time. But I am always expanding my craft in the music industry with music production/audio engineering. I am also a videographer and have started filming weddings. I have filmed testimonial videos for ministry projects and for many of those I have also written and produced original music for their project. I am excited to offer this to any of my clients. They have the option of having an original piece of music scored specifically to their video. One thing I have noticed in this industry is that sometimes my music friends/clients need videos or pictures to post on social media or for auditions. I think what sets me apart from other bass players or other videographers is that I am able to help them with the whole package. I can play bass on their song while writing other parts such as guitar, drums or keyboards while making a video of the whole day and then producing the song and video that they can post to their websites. I feel super blessed to be able to offer several services to people that go hand and hand and save them the time of trying to hire multiple people to take care of it.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Absolutely! No matter what someone’s story is, there are always people around them that have helped them along the way. In fact my friend, John Michael Howell wrote a song called “US” that talks about having mentors/ friends around you and one of the lines is “it took more than one man for one man to reach the moon”, and that’s so true. Some of my mentors have been and still are, Allen Joanis from Ketos Creative. He has been a big part of my career path. Another mentor is Michael Howell from “The New Sound is Family” and “Legendary Sound Studios”.

My current bass mentor, Jacob Smith, has really inspired me and pushed me to always reach for the next level of my bass playing. You should never think you are done learning, there is so much more you can do! My sister also is an awesome songwriter and singer and inspired me to start writing music. Also, both of my parents have music degrees and I am so thankful for their constant support and guidance. There are many more people that have given me advice, helped me along the way, or taken a chance on me. These are just a few of the most influential mentors/supporters in my life.

Contact Info:

• Email: benjaminbledsoe@verizon.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benbledsoebass/

Image Credit:
Emily Krohn, Walker Dial, Joseph Ratsch, Josiah Warneking

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