Art is consumed in so many different ways. You could say people don’t stop to appreciate art. On the other hand, people can consume art more quickly.
BEN SOLLEEArt is consumed in so many different ways. You could say people don’t stop to appreciate art. On the other hand, people can consume art more quickly.
BEN SOLLEECities like Portland, Seattle, and Long Beach, which have made these investments in their infrastructure, are seeing not only health advantages, but also a lot more exchange in the community, which leads to better policy-making and stronger communities.
BEN SOLLEEFor every show that we do, anyone that rides public transit, bikes, or walk, we offer them a $5 voucher at the merch table. It gets people using the infrastructure in the area.
BEN SOLLEEI’m interested in questions my son asks me, like, “Why do animals fight? Why do you have to leave us to go on the road?” Everything he asks gets me thinking.
BEN SOLLEEI’m definitely musician and storyteller. But I always like to take an active role in things I care about socially and environmentally.
BEN SOLLEEBut that would put me on a path that would make me totally divergent from who I am. I don’t have to go through the heartache many other people go through, of figuring out what makes them “wealthy.” I know what brings me joy.
BEN SOLLEEI have a lot of intention behind what I put out there. The reason all this stuff I do works together, the environmental and social, collaborating with ballet companies to score a show, the bike tour – all of that stuff comes together through community building with music.
BEN SOLLEEWhen you have these van tours, you drive six hours with the doors closed and windows rolled up.
BEN SOLLEEWhat most interests me is human connection, whether it’s on the street, in community, through music, storytelling, and shared experience. People tell me to be a rock cellist, make money, and give up on the activism so I can make more money.
BEN SOLLEEI’m in a position I never imagined I’d be in as a musician. Bob Dylan built an audience through recording and live shows. The opportunities for an artist today are totally different.
BEN SOLLEEThe idea of “making art for art’s sake” makes no sense for me. Each area of my life, all the roles I play, influences the others.
BEN SOLLEEI’m a husband and a dad. Two thirds of my day is spent being that character. It’s a huge part of my identity and why I pursue things I do.
BEN SOLLEEI felt like I was cheating myself of those communities and cheating the audience because I wasn’t able to know them. That’s what the bikes did, without me having to put any arbitrary philosophy on what it was supposed to be. It enabled human connection.
BEN SOLLEEEverything he asks gets me thinking. If I’m going to do this, sacrifice time with family and friends, sacrifice resources, I need to think carefully about what I going to say and how I’m going to say it.
BEN SOLLEEWhen we cut off access to certain parts of our cities to people on bikes or in wheelchairs, we’re not only doing economic damage, we’re also doing culture damage.
BEN SOLLEEThere are not a lot of paths through the woods for someone who sings, plays the cello, and wants to tour on a human scale and create change in the world. I’m on my own path. It’s pretty awesome.
BEN SOLLEE