Ben Johnson

Name:

I come from a very musical and artistic family. However, to grasp some individuality I focused my attention on sports and athletics for most of my childhood. Even though this took most of my attention and time I could not escape the call of sound and poetry. I started by writing some lyrics for songs but had no way of true implementation from word to music. Sometimes I wrote for other bands, but a lot of my songs were personal experience and called for me to have a more intimate roll in the delivery of the music.

At the time my younger brother was not only an accomplished songwriter but also an excellent musician. His most common instrument of choice was guitar, because of its adaptability. So the next semester of college I enrolled in a basic guitar class. Without my knowledge two friends of mine at the college were enrolled in similar classes with the same guitar teacher. We started getting together to practice and learn to play, and at some point in time we started writing music as well. We practiced and played so much, that it must have seemed like we were a band, because we were soon after asked to be one of the bands to play in the school’s fall festival. It was at this point that Randy, Lester, Larry and myself decided to become an official band, as well as make the choice to not only play our own original music, but also Christian music. We wrote, played, performed and grew as friends, Christians, and musicians. About a year after we all graduated and went our separate ways, three of us decided to reunite and start a new band and grow from where we left off. Jakob's Night turned out to be so much more than an extension of our past bands. Our previous experiences were preparation for this new direction God was taking our musical pursuits, through Jakob’s Night.

Gear:
Ovation Standard Elite (Acoustic guitar)
Alvarez Artist series (acoustic guitar)
Strawberry Blond SWR (acoustic amp)

Influential Artists:
Switchfoot, Nick Drake, The Police, Chris Rice, Dave Matthews Band, Plankeye, Jars of Clay, Delirious?