Ben Stewart - Angry Birds

2009-12-18T23:18:00.002+10:00

thought I'd share a few of the musical moments from the 'wheel of frank confession' tour. hope you enjoy (and I now know a bit about using Sony Vegas, ah how a musician must multi-skill) xox

An amazing review for the Wheel Tour from Melbourne

2009-11-11T23:30:00.001+10:00

An amazing review for our 'Wheel of Frank Confession' tour from a show we played at the Butterfly Club in Melbourne. I have to admit I'm a bit emotional that its so positive. Thank you Shelly Blake x

http://www.artshub.com.au/au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/the-wheel-of-frank-confession-179717

The Wheel of Frank Confession

By Shelley Blake ArtsHub | Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Wheel of Frank

A brutally honest and raw performance of music and theatre, The Wheel of Frank Confession is an original and entirely entertaining evening. Spanning from Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, four talented singer songwriters have teamed up to create an evening of confessions, poetry, secrets and stunning music.

The combination and contrast of the four musicians (Ben Stewart- Brisbane, Emily Davis- Adelaide, Emma Dean- Brisbane, Brendan MacLean- Sydney) make The Wheel of Frank Confession an eclectic mix of tale and song. Stemming from a folk, pop, musical theatre and acoustic rock arena, ‘The Wheel’ is a spontaneous treat.

An outstandingly original idea, the construction of the piece takes place around each performer spinning the wheel of frank confession. Fear, love, death, hate and pride are all up for the heckling of tales and confession.

South Melbourne’s Butterfly Club covers tonights intimate crowd in deep red lighting, a perfect accompaniment to the secrets and confessions about to be revealed.

Presumably used to performing in a larger space, the performers ease comfortably into the night. No one knows where the wheel will land, leaving each of the shows completely original. The Butterfly Club, though perhaps a little too intimate for the crowd numbers, still shines in all its kitsch-like wonder. The intimate audience seems a little nervous when first asked to share a confession but, as the show continues into the deeper, darker world of the performers, a sense of trust is created and confessions start filtering onto the stage.

‘The Wheel’ team derives a warm atmosphere throughout, as they delve into stories of love, friendship, loss, fear and pride.
Ben Stewart, an acoustic singer songwriter from Brisbane, binds the show together with his hauntingly poetic voice. His brave cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, highlights this mans ability as a singer and storyteller. Adelaide’s Emily Davis, clad in a stunning black corset, is the core of the show. Her rawness and complete honesty in deliverance quickly abolishes any sort of hierarchy between performer and audience. The crowd seems immediately comfortable in her presence. Emma Dean, a well-known musician from Brisbane, steps naturally into a more theatre type performance while still managing to deliver her words and music with truth and a sense of honesty. When performing her single, Real Life Computer Game, this songstress demonstrates her passion and musical talent. Sydney’s Brendan MacLean is the charming finish to this wonderful group of performers. His wit, his voice and his sense of humbleness are the perfect compliment.

Part cabaret, part musical and part intimate theatre- The Wheel of Frank Confession is a little difficult to define. But attempted definitions aside, The Wheel… is an original and enchanting idea and these four talented musicians, have pulled it out without a flaw.

• The Wheel of Frank Confession featuring Ben Stewart, Emily Davis, Emma Dean & Brendan MacLean
• The Butterfly Club, South Melbourne
• November 5th- 8th 2009

The Wheel of Frank Confession - Confessed and Returned

2009-11-10T21:20:00.002+10:00

The tour has ended but was fantastic. All the shows had great audiences. Great feedback about the show and the songwriters and the concept behind the show. And touring around with 3 other songwriters made it one of the most full-filling tours in that we got to share so much with each other and see how each other approached the performance. There's really such a fantastic amount to be learnt from watching other writers and performers

And part of the positive responce is that we've been asked to dust the wheel off in Febuary 2010 for a week of performances at Adelaide Fringe Festival. A great opportunity for us all

Now I'm back home I'm feeling very inspired and now that I have some time am really going to get into some writing and recording
x

The Wheel of Frank Confession

2009-11-03T10:24:00.002+10:00

The Wheel tour is underway with our 2 shows in Brisbane out of the way. And its fantastic to know that the idea works and we enjoy performing it and that people seem to enjoy watching it. I, along with Emma Dean, Brendan Maclean and Emily Davis, are on our way to Sydney this afternoon and then to Melbourne on Thursday for the remaining shows.
And I don't think even I expected the show to be quite so revealing or touching as it has been for us all
The Raval Sydney, Nov 4, 7.30pm
The Butterfly Club Melbourne, Nov 5 - 8, 7pm except Sunday at 6pm
x

Shiny rockstar clothes

2009-10-19T13:41:00.002+10:00

As I am about to cut out shiny stars to stick on my new rock star clothes, I started thinking about art and celebrity. 2 wild separate beasts that need their own attention and yet one can not survive without the other. Indeed all my favourite artists who I often compare myself against to make sure I'm not "selling out" are massive celebrities. David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, etc etc. All amazing artists and huge celebrities. People like Shakespeare, da Vinci, Mozart, Beethoven and such were hugely famous in their day, mostly rich and are even more celebrated today. So why this squeemishness I have about sticking a shiny star on my jacket? Why the fear of standing out, even though I'm putting myself in front of people to play them a song, why am I afraid a glitter thing is going to far? Is art even art without celebrity, but with celebrity does it just become a product we sell to the most appreciative niche?
I'm just a tin of baked beans sitting on the other shelf with all the other brands of baked beans. And now I have a shiny star

I am doing this regularly dammit

2009-10-14T08:13:00.002+10:00

I've been a very bad blogger. I find its hard to regularly do all the things you're supposed to regularly do when you're a musician. On top of the basic stuff, like trying to write amazing songs, improve as a performer, singing and guitar practice to stay on top of the skill part and practice existing songs; there's all the other stuff like blogging, staying in touch with fans, updating web sites, planning recordings, organising musicians, planning and booking shows, graphic design, are my photos getting old and do I need to organise a new shoot? are my recordings getting old do I need to get something out right now? do I need to sell merchandise, what do people like, why would people buy something with my face on it anyway? how do I get in touch with people, how do I get in front of record labels, publishing labels, real fans? how do I sell my stuff without being there to hand each copy out personally? why am I spending so much time on internet marketing when its only 10% of music sales? what is effective marketing, publicity and advertising, what do I know about that crap I'm a freaking musician? why am I spending so much time and money doing all these things when I don't know how many people are seeing/reading/taking notice/caring about any of it? How do I afford my rent next week?
So yes, I've been letting the blogging slide a little bit. But dammit, I'm determined. I'm going to get up in the morning, eat my toast, take a shower (most days anyway) then sit down and write a blog...

GIGS GIGS GIGS

2008-07-16T19:50:00.002+10:00

I'm touring across the country over the next couple of months. Find me in the following places;

July 20 - Rics Bar (Brisbane), 4.30pm with band and special guest Eleanor Angel
July 23 - Manchester Lane (Melbourne), 7.30pm solo, supporting Emma Dean
July 27 - Bar Open (Melbourne), 5pm solo, with David Gillespie band
Aug 7 - The Crow and Anchor, 7pm solo, supporting Emma Dean
Aug 11 - The Rails (Byron Bay), 6pm duo
Sep 4 - The Sandringham Hotel (Sydney), 8pm solo, with Sam Buckingham
Sep 14 - The Powerhouse Turbine Hall (Brisbane), 3pm with band
Sep 19 - The Sound Lounge (Gold Coast), 8pm duo, supporting Emma Dean
Sep 20 - The Upfront Club (Maleny), 8pm solo, with Emma Dean

Lyrics - Tiny Furry Happy Animals

2008-07-16T19:45:00.002+10:00

We're all just tiny furry happy animals
Hiding from the hungry cannibals
The wolves are scratching at my door
Please chase them away
But an urge that pulls like sore stitches
Who'll save me from these horny bitches
And the creatures flying around me
That have sent me screaming

Out to where the traffic is speeding and
As fast as I'm running the headlights are still coming
And the driver eyes her prospect with an itchy hand
And a grin across his jaw he's got his foot down to the floor

She's just a tiny furry happy animal
Dressed up like an individual
Her eyes are bright and shiny
With an innocent gaze
And just in case her pallid destitute
Flesh dissolves in acid solitude
Her fingers close around my arm
With the strangest feeling

2008-05-19T18:11:00.000+10:00

What music would you write without any thought of radioplay or being commercial or fitting into a scene or making a crowd jump up and down?
What sort of music would make you happy if you didn't care about anyone hearing it?
If you didn't care about selling records or being recognised what sort of music would you write?
If you didn't care what your mum or dad thought, or what your friends thought or what other musicians and bands thought, or your girlfriend or flat mates or the girl or boy down the street that you wanna impress then what sort of music would you write?
If I locked you in a room and said "there's no chance of you getting out ever ever again, you will never do anything except sit here with this guitar and write music that no one will ever hear", what sort of music would you write then?