An Interview with Ben Scott

Levente Huszka

  I first met with Ben Scott in a pub in January while I was drinking with the members of the band Kisavas. And we met a lot of times then, talking, talking, talking about everything, and that’s why I decided to make an interview with him in facebook-chat.

Do you have time for the interview now?

To be honest, mate, I don’t. I'm at work. How about later on tonight? How much time do you need?

Maybe it's longer than five minutes, approximately five questions.

OK. Then let’s do it now :)

Just some boring questions: Where did you come from Ben?

I come from quite a big city called 'Newcastle upon Tyne'. It is the most northerly city in England.

And how did you get here to Hungary and within it, Miskolc?

I came to Hungary first with friends to Budapest on a 'stag' weekend - a stag weekend is when a group of lads go away to celebrate the last few days of a man’s 'free' life before he gets married! While on this stag weekend I met my now wife. So I spent the weekend with her :) I then went back to Newcastle but arranged to come back to Budapest for a two-week holiday with her. That has now lasted five years. It was on the first two weeks holiday that I visited her parents in Miskolc. After three years living in Budapest we moved to Miskolc.

Amazing! : ) Is Newcastle's or Budapest's nightlife better? Because I read that Newcastle upon Tyne's nightlife is Great Britain's no. 1 tourist attraction. And how did you get to know the Kisavas here in Miskolc?

The nightlife is good, yes, but there are lots of places to avoid. The type of places that actually get put in the statistics that make it the so-called great place to go out, these are in fact the places to avoid :) But there are some great pubs, clubs etc. I think, however, Budapest is much better. Much more variation, more underground and less fighting.

And what is your job now?

I work for Hewlett-Packard. Answering calls and fixing peoples IT issues... kind of. Also starting a new job in project management... Which is pretty tough! And way over my head. But it'll be ok I hope.

And how did you get to know the Kisavas here in Miskolc? And how you become a band member?

I found out about the band through Levi, the bass player. He and I work together. So basically I got a job working beside Levi and we got talking about music and one thing led to another... I was invited to go to a rehearsal to meet the rest of the band and play keyboard. It went well and I'm still in the band. Playing keys and guitar. They haven't kicked me out yet :)

: ) Maybe because you're good at it. And did you play in other bands in Newcastle?

Not really in bands...  I dj'd in Newcastle a little bit in my favourite pub, which was good fun. And I tried to run a nightclub there, which was good but not enough people came to it! :) But me and my friend who ran it ALWAYS had a mint night! I played guitar with my friend and wrote about 10 or so songs from the age of 16-22. We just sat around together and played whenever... not really in a band just making music. We recorded some of it to 4 track. I lived in Leeds for a while, and there I played in a different duo. We wrote acoustic stuff (about 6 songs) and played live at some acoustic nights in Leeds. I also made techno and breakbeat with the same guy.

Wow! You are a versatile musician.

Thanks :) I’m sort of ok at a few things.

I get really interested. But I let you work. So more questions will come the next time we meet in a pub. But may I ask you one more: can you tell me some things about your daughter? (I saw her in your photos) What's her name? How old is she? What language does she prefer?

OK. More questions whenever you want mate. No problem. About Lizi (Elizabeth Scott): She is going to be 2 years old in December. She probably knows more Hungarian than English at the moment and can say more Hungarian words. But she understands most things I say I think. She responds anyway when I ask her something or tell her to do something like 'put your dummy into your bed'. She'll go over to the bed put her dummy in and take it out again all in one smooth motion. :)
I am on a 10 min break now Levi so we can speak some more it is not a problem...

And in the nights of Newcastle or Leeds did you met with bands or musician guys who do you really like? From the international pop or underground world?

Well, we didn't really met many bands to be honest... we got a few connections with nightclub promoters etc., so we could get into places without paying :) But I wasn't really into any new music from bands at that time. I liked older stuff, but mainly concentrated on making my own music. I liked and still do like a lot of techno... and there is seldom a band involved here, so you like one tune from one guy and another from another guy... not the same thing as liking a band. It’s more that you like a genre when it comes to house music/techno etc.

And do you work in an own music project now? And how is the work progress divide in the Kisavas? Do you write songs for them?

I would like to have more time to devote to both my own projects and Kisavas... but there are only 24 hours in a day unfortunately... and I am a family man now so my priorities have shifted.
But I have ideas in my head that I would like to get down that wouldn't (because they are techno) be part of Kisavas. I have other ideas that I write that I introduce to the band and if we like them then we work on them. If there is a good idea brought to the band then we try it. This is the same for all the band members really.

How did you get to Leeds?

I moved to Leeds as I went to Unit there to study music technology and production.

Wow. I didn't know that you can study these sorts of things in a university. That sounds good. And what are your first memories about music both in listening to it and playing it?

Hmmm.That’s a tough one... Some interesting memories have come back to me recently as I play the guitar in front of my daughter. She walks over to the guitar and starts plucking away at the stings and muffling the sound while I’m playing... I now remember doing this to my dad. :)Another very important memory was listening to this with my dad on tape... (He sends a link from YouTube: Jimi Hendrix: Message to Love.) And my dad talking me through it, the band members, and how it was performed live... and I was blown away. We listen to it about 25 times. Just this song. Especially when it breaks down into the solo... pure musical heaven. It’s hard to imagine someone actually playing this...How?It must be a robot from the future surely.Playing a guitar from the future.

Yeah. He said he is playing the music of the next century.

Hehe :)

So that's true.

Yeah. The bit on 3:24 when he sings along with his solo. That was also something that got me. Only Hendrix does/did that. And the drums from Buddy Miles... his kick drum demolition and cymbal smash on 3:53. Me and my dad reviewed that many times. So I guess there is a big link with music and family for me.

 

And then we start to just chat, which wasn’t to become a part of this interview.