Interview with young songwriting champ Ben Kessler
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Normal high school student by day, soulful pop/folk singer-songwriter by night.
Ben Kessler is kind of like a musical superhero: normal high school student with dreams of college by day, soulful pop/folk songwriter making the rounds at progressively larger Philly venues by night. After being chosen as a winner of the Philadelphia Songwriters Project’s annual songwriting competition in May, the 15-year-old Kessler has been floating from show to show making friends, learning how to use his powers for good.
Kessler was a student at the School of Rock in Fort Washington, where his teacher introduced him to songwriting and recording. “When I was 10 or 11 I found an old mixer in my uncle’s basement and I built myself a studio space,” he says. Learning music production, he says, is all about trial-and-error and watching tons of Youtube videos.
“I recorded my first album at home in my studio, and once the album was finished I asked my guitar teacher, “I recorded this album — now what?” and he said, ‘now you have to perform it.’”
So he started playing open mics in the area. At one place he’d make a connection that would lead to another gig, and another, and before he knew it, he was headlining at The Bitter End in New York City.
Though Kessler had all that talent ready to be adored, it was the songwriting contest that helped him to find his audience here in Philly.
“This is the first year I’ve submitted,” he says. “I was actually sitting in Biology class, researching ways to get my songs out in Philly when I probably should have been studying. I found the Songwriting Project, emailed [Philly Songwriters Project founder] Dena Marchiony and submitted my songs.” Two of his dreamy pop songs, “We Think We Know” and “I’m Here” landed him a spot on the Songwriters Project summer tour, which includes a spot at Philadelphia Folk Festival in August.
Kessler is currently working on recording his first professionally recorded release, a four-song EP. at Turtle Studios in South Philly. Besides that he doesn’t know what the future will bring. With college applications and homework to worry about, who’s got time to worry about the future?
