CRANKIT-UP April Issue JULY ISSUE | Page 12

to West Kelowna with my family in 2006, and every day the country music radio station was on wherever we would go. As I was driving to and from places I heard artists like Brad Paisley and Keith Urban and really fell in love with their guitar playing ability. I fell in love with what they were doing and decided that it was going to be my mission to learn how to play like them. I then started to investigate into some more guitar players in country music like Merle Haggard, John Denver, and Vince Gill. Listening to them, I was inspired and influenced by those people for their musical ability from a guitar perspective, as well as an artist, music and lyric perspective as well.”

Brandy: What is your favorite song to sing and why?

Ben Klick: “You know, we do both originals and cover songs in our sets. What I find is I love playing songs that make people get up and dance. We play “Footloose” in a lot of our shows and we also play some of my original music like “Butterfly Tattoo”, “What’s Going On”, and “Cliché Country Boy”. Anything that will really reach out and touch or inspire people. Whether it’s a slower, waltz-y tune, or if it’s a more upbeat song that make people want to get on their feet. It’s all about making the show about the audience and pulling them in to what we’re doing.”

Brandy: I see on your page as well, that you travel a lot. So what are some of the most recent places you traveled and what one was your favorite?

Ben Klick:“The most recent was Toronto for the radio tour. I went to Nashville about three months ago now. Mainly, I travel around B.C and Alberta. Everywhere I go is always a little bit different. I mean, there’s something really cool about being on the West Coast of Canada and just experiencing the beauty Canada has. Then down in Nashville there’s this ‘bowl of inspiration’ down there. I love going down just because there’s writers, musicians, producers, and I get to immerse myself into this community of music, which is really cool! Ontario is great! I was able to experience what the back roads are like while I was on the tour. Then over on the East Coast in Halifax everybody is so nice and welcoming. I find that anywhere I go there is always something really cool about the city and landscape that’s there. If I had to pick one, I love going down to Nashville. I can’t get enough of it down there. But as well there’s no place like home in West Kelowna, here in B.C., with all the mountains, oceans, lakes, and everything like that. So it’s between Nashville and West Kelowna, for sure.”