took over at what was called the Brill Building in New York City . Pop hit creating changed to the young folks . The song authors probably were all Tin Pan Alley writers that you grew up listening to .
[ Benjamin ] I ’ ll need to go through that and look at it . Then beyond that , I ’ ve always had a great affinity to Irish music . I think anyone growing up in Ireland does . Everyone ’ s very quick to support the local thing . As a teenager , my first ever show was Snow Patrol and it was right on the press . I think Chasing Cars had been out for a week . They ’ d done their first album and then this big festival night in Belfast was like 30,000 people .
It would ’ ve been the most people they ’ d ever played to . Gary Lightbody just crying the whole time . It was awesome . That was my first show . I ’ ve always loved them . I loved Damien Rice . U2 obviously is a classic . Then beyond that , I don ’ t know , there ’ s so many . I bounce around . Anyway . Lots and lots of people .
[ WM ] In conclusion , tell me of your biggest hope for this project ?
[ Benjamin ] That ’ s a great question . I think my biggest hope has to be that it reaches the people that it ’ s meant to reach and hopefully helps those people . I guess people like me that are maybe feeling things that they wouldn ’ t choose to be feeling but are in the middle of it all . People that are on , I guess the fringes of faith or church , they ’ re the people that I really am actively , I guess , trying to reach . Because that was where I was at .
When your world view collapses and you ’ re forced to deconstruct or whatever , it ’ s very easy to get cynical because you lose your purpose and your drive . If you let yourself , Kierkegaard calls it the night of resignation , you give up on life . You lose that sense of whatever it was that was driving you .
We see a lot of that . People that are just cynical and angry and bitter . Fighting with each other from their keyboards in order to flesh that out and feel better about themselves . I think you see a lot of that actually in Christianity and beyond . There ’ s a lot of people that leave , I think we saw a lot of that in COVID . A lot of people leave probably under similar circumstances in that this thing that they thought it was , they realize , oh , it wasn ’ t that .
I guess I ’ m trying to help people see that light at the end of the tunnel like I was fighting for . As opposed to just accepting the darkness or the bitterness . There ’ s a line in , “ Feels Like a Blessing ” that ’ s about that . It says , “ with love and pain have their place in the heart , so don ’ t curse at the light while you learn from the dark ”. That to me was , that ’ s what I was trying to do . They ’ re the people I ’ m trying to reach . The people cursing at the light .
[ WM ] Well the light that you talk about , that is a noble calling that you ’ re going after . Because as you said , and I believe , there ’ s so many that have left the church . I don ’ t know if they ’ ve left the faith , but they left the church . Some of them have left the faith . But it ’ s just not talked about a lot . Or those people are shunned or whatever . Good stuff . Really good stuff .
Benjamin , it ’ s been such a pleasure meeting with you today . God be with you , your family , and the release of your debut solo project .
[ Benjamin ] Thank you . I really appreciate your time . Thank you . It was great to chat with you . God Bless .
16 November 2022
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