Ben Semmens

The Atlanta Falcons and Me :)

Ok the other night was crazy I played for a big family who rented out the whole hotel on the island for a couple of days. It turns out they own the Atlanta Falcons, and they were amazing people!  I met so many of them, and I was one confused welsh lad. It was a great night, and I enjoyed playing, and all went down cracking. The show in the back garden was an awesome experience, and I want to thank them for being such a gracious audience.

No more partying for me though… The tracks are great I’m excited to sing final vocal just doing some touch ups then I’m ready for the grand finally.

Going back to the drawing board for one song, so going to take the baby Taylor for a stroll… should be interesting and i have all the loving I need here! It really is crazy what I have been going through here, my world has been turned upside down. From going to Pontypridd to Cumberland studios is unbelievable, and management have done a great job allowing me to meet all these amazing influential people, and this is just the start.

After Christmas I will be looking at a tour, and I am thinking instead of waiting for a record label, I might just fund the tour through Kickstarter… What do you guys think? 

The baby Taylor and the love are now off for a stroll.

Lilly has been coming for a walk every morning with me but I might leave her here and trek out far today. The Internet is so tricky out here, that it’s hard to post all the time and upload photos, but I am taking some and will get them up as soon as I can. Take care guys shall speak to u soon x

Meeting Mikhail Baryshnikov…

The last couple of days have been, well busy to say the least, I haven’t had time to do much, so I am afraid this will have to be short. The album Is going great and I can’t wait for those who pledged for me to get here to listen to the results of there hard work! Just in case you didn’t know we have left pledge open for anyone who wants to have the album asap. We will not be releasing it worldwide until management and the industry devils have their way with it, so sadly if you don’t preorder it via pledge you will have to bare with us.
Guests arrived and it was Mikhail Baryshnikov the famous ballet dancer, his crazy talented pianist Pedja and buddy Edgar (who was really cool)They are great guys… all a little crazy… they go oyster fishing with Bloody Marys, come back a bit worse for wear, but still partying hard. An awesome set of guys, and it was great to see them experience the Cumberland Island! I have never seen anyone eat as many oysters as Mikhail! Legend!


We go to the Greyfield Inn hotel for drinks, and a little love. This place is stunning! Anyone ever looking for a break to paradise should stay there! http://www.greyfieldinn.comThe library is just beautiful … They have old books that if you touch them they might fall apart. This is such a peaceful place to chill. It is just a pity that I haven’t got time to really appreciate it. 
We end up at the back porch, having a great dinner including banana bread that rocked ! I grabbed the guitar and played some tunes for them and was just blown away by the response. Baryshnikov said that he loved it! I was blown away. It was a great night, and at the end I was so tired I crashed on front porch and woke up all bitten and itchy. I then spotted a cow killer which is a ant the size of a bee, well nasty, bright red, and scary. So very busy tomorrow, all guide tracks nearly done, should be on main vocals start of next week. If I do well tomorrow, Benny T said we can go party up Serendipity, where all the island workers stay should be fun….
Speak soon 
Ben

It’s a Family Life …

Every morning I go onto the porch, have a cigarette and watch the horses run wild in the front garden. It is a truly amazing sight, watching these wonderful animals in their element not being raced and used for our enjoyment. Beautiful place with beautiful wildlife… what a life these horses have. Today Go Go, Dave and Hannah came home and brought their dog Lilly and 2 cats Firefly and Daminga. I had a cwtch with Daminga she is a beautiful cat, black and white, and very funny… she made me think of halo. I miss that little monkey. GoGo is truly an amazing women and a inspiration to us all. She owns a jewelry store… If you guys have the time like her facebook page www.facebook.com/gogojewelry and lets make them part of our family :)

That night we went over to the hotel for drinks, where we invited some people back over for a party and a little gig. It was a great night, and everyone here is really friendly and nice. A beautiful place, with beautiful people. Had a good nights sleep because the next day I was going to do a big food shop and not by car or boat but by plane!

 Dave who is one of the most talented people I have ever met, was taking us shopping in his plane. This man can do it all… he can fix anything and even built the house I’m staying in from scratch, with materials from the island… truly amazing. I will mention a cool thing also about this island… it has no law, there are no police, no authority, it’s really is like a desert island. Anyway, we get to the plane and again my mind was blown. It was crazy flying just above the sea, people waving to us on the beach below it was potty! The beach is beautiful I have been there on my own with no one else there peaceful is not the word it’s heavenly.

We fly to the mainland go shopping, then fly back to the island. It’s like a dream, and on top of all these amazing things I’m recording an album, it really can’t get any better. We get back and go oyster fishing for tea. First time I have tried them, and honestly they were not for me, felt like I was eating a slug… but fishing for them was awesome. Next it’s shark fishing and that will just be crazy, let’s hope jaws isn’t about or he will be my dinner.

I have been busy since and seen nothing but the studio. The songs are sounding amazing and I start final vocals tomorrow. I am on orders to chill from the producer while he touches some tracks up. I am now staying another week, talk of some gigs over here sounds great, so just have to wait and see. The Internet in not the best here but I’m doing my best to keep you all informed. Tomorrow I start back up so today I just chill and watch nature. I’m truly blessed to be here and have you guys behind me. This album is for you, and the album is going to be magic. Will keep you all informed on what’s happening, so take care and in the mean time check out this awesome site ran by Gogo and Hannah (the producers wife) www.gogojewelry.com  very special bling that I hope I take some back with me. Now to think of album name……………. 

Shopping in the U.S

The next day we went on tour again, the rain had stopped, and the sun was smashing down. We went to see some of the old mansions here that are scattered around the island. It’s a wonderful and crazy sight coming out of a semi tropical forest to see a massive beautiful mansion just sitting there. These houses aren’t lived in anymore, but wow they were stunning. You really should look up on the Cumberland islands, it’s a spectacular place that only existed in my dreams before.

We got back and had pizza, then jammed the night away… Another mind blowing day and the next day I had to do shopping.

Ok so it’s the first time I have taken a boat to go shopping. The sun was crazy hot and the boat trip was stunning. We docked, got in the car, and dashed to the shopping mall. I had to be quick cause we had to catch the next boat, so it was supermarket sweep time. I had no clue what to buy so grabbed everything I have never tried before. Beef jerky, Twinkies, Twizzlers, Hershey bars, wieners, pop ems donuts, lucky charms and loads of other lovely things like a packet of peanut m&m bigger than my head! It was a mad rush but we made the next boat and was full to the brim with munchies. When I got back to the house I put on my first wiener, and another, and another… very addicting and I don’t want to start on the Twinkies! After food I watched Benny T making love to the recording desk, and read some of the gunslinger then went to bed.

Easy day but I was going to be very busy the next day so had an early night. I woke up at 1pm the next day, must have needed the kip. Had dinner, then went straight up to studio to slam some guide tracks down. It was a busy day and we played and recorded for hours until it was time for pizza. Over dinner we went through lyrics and stayed up until early hours touching them up and jamming through them. Great night, great work done, and great food… time for bed and a early start for the next day.

Living the dream!

So… I arrived at Atlanta took a picture, and had a row for taking it by an employee at the airport. I then had to catch a second flight to Jacksonville. When we arrived we were met by the driver Godfrey to take us to the boat we had to catch to get to the island. It was raining heavily with big storms, so it felt like a home coming from Wales. Godfrey was amazing, and told us lots of cool story’s about the island, and got me so excited to see it. We got to the boat, lighting still cracking, rain pouring down, and Midi and the Captain took us over to the island. It was breath taking! I never seen such a beautiful place. Looking on the island from the boat, wild horses ran free in the fields, and alligators swam in the near by swamps, honestly breath taking.

I got to the dock were Benny T is waiting in his truck with shorts and straw hat on. He looked so cool I thought Huckleberry Finn had arrived to pick me up. I get handed some love and a beer, had a big welcome hug, and started to drive to the studio. This was a journey I will never forget 2 planes, 2 cars, a train, and a boat, and now I was finally there 23 hours later. We drove up to the studio, my mind blank as horses and turkeys grazed on the lovely green fields as we passed. Then BOOM through this wild tropical like forest we came to the studio, and it’s then I know all the hard work was worth it.

This is going to be magical and the album will be full of it (magic that is ). After a little tour of the beautiful home called “Godahalube” we settled down with drinks while Benny T cooked me my first buffalo burger, and it was stunning. I got to bed late that night running on pure adrenaline, and slept like a baby until morning. I awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs, and the sight of Benny T in shorts and straw hat. After the gorgeous breakfast we went out on a tour of the islands, and drove miles around to see some amazing sights. Deer, bob cats, racoons, cats, dogs, lizards, spiders, armadillos, dragon flies the size of my head, eagles, turkeys, alligators, seagulls, horses… I have never seen so much wild life, and to be living with all this around must be amazing, to stay here seems a privilege.

To know that places like this still exist untouched by mans money machine is a wonderful thing, a true paradise of wonderful sights and sounds. No light pollution, no traffic, no noise, it truly is a spectacular place. The beach was the next stop time for me to take a dip in the Atlantic Ocean.

I have not been in the sea for years, and it felt great to throw myself in. After I came out Benny T told me about the sharks and was not lying! I’m going shark fishing if you can believe that. After a dip and a little tour we went back had some dinner then jammed out the album. That night we wrote a song that is going on the album, it was magic pure inspiration taking from this wonderful island. A truly special place that I advise for anyone to come visit , as I feel as though I’m living the dream and the dream is good.

Welcome to the Cumberland Islands

Hey people, the weather is crashing down here on the Cumberland islands and I had the morning off from recording. I sit here on the porch with a little love and a iPad watching the wind crash against the trees and the rain is coming down sideways. It’s been an amazing experience so far, from leaving my home in Pontypridd to catching 2 planes to get here to the beautiful Cumberland islands. Me and management decided to come here to record the album because of the talented Ben Thomas, my producer. We met in Cardiff after my manager In Hong Kong passed my music to him.

He loved western lights but knew that he could produce a better album with my vocal being the main priority. ‘Western lights’, he said was too busy and your vocals need room to breath’ he went on about his experiences in the music industry, and was so honest, and on the same page as me that there we exchanged email and took it from there.

Stupidly talented this dude Benny T can play every instrument there is, and plays them with skill and love, a real talent. He is so talented that I had to travel half way across the world to work with him. The trip was worth it though, the album is going to be amazing, raw and real… It’s going to leave the all style no substance music of the world outside and be what it’s meant to be. It’s a journey, and that to me is what an album is. To record an album is to record part of your life. I had the choice to make a Ep or a couple of singles but that to me is just the music industry, and I’m not the industry I am me, and I live and breath music. To me making this album is putting down the journey we have all been through since western lights. The ups and downs, the highs and lows, all that has happened will come out in this album, and that to me is what music is about, not a telephone hat or some rehashed band with nothing but the style going for them. Rant over, this album, plain and simple is for me, and the fans who I now call friends, who have followed and listened and got me here in the first place, and for that I thank you, and I hope the album makes it all worth it.