The Ben Parker Project

Benjamin Parker began showing an interest for music from the time he was born. Even before he could talk, he sat in the floor and banged on his mom's pots and pans with a wooden spoon and hummed to the top of his lungs. He soon traded the wooden spoon for a plastic guitar that he slept with at night instead of a teddy bear. From there he started on mandolin, then drums, and then he learned to make a chord on a real guitar. One weekend while his mom and dad were traveling singing gospel music, Benjamin asked to stay home with his Grandma Shelby. They went to visit Benjamin's Great Aunt, Alice Morgan, and that night marked the beginning of his playing. When mom and dad arrived home, Benjamin had learned the chords to two songs. He awkardly strummed "Oh, How I Love Jesus" and "Chew My Chewing Gum." Within days, almost overnight, it seemed, the chords were clear and Benjamin was making transitions much more freely. He played constantly, without ever being told to practice. On the contrary, mom and dad would have to make him leave the guitar alone to eat and even to go to bed. He quickly learned to strum along with other musicians and learned the relationships between chords. During this time, Benjamin began to write song lyrics and put his own melodies to his creations. By the time he was nine, Benjamin began formal lessons with Heath Bain. Heath is a wonderfully talented young man who built on the foundation Benjamin had received from his mom and dad. Benjamin began to learn scales and "hot licks" from Heath and began to use them at every opportunity. One of the live venues that help him learn to play "in the pocket" was S&R Catfish in Moulton. S&R features a weekly "jam session" with players of all ages and skill levels. Benjamin began sitting in with the pickers and learned from local players such as Rice Towery and Roger Sparks. During this time Benjamin started watching live performances on DVD of blues legends such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. He spent hours playing along and learning to imitate the licks and phrasings used by those legends. By age 10, Benjamin had already developed a pretty impressive style and flavor that was a cross between the blues, country and classic rock. Quoting Memphis guitarist Travis Wammack, “It's just a God-given talent Ben has,” Wammack said. “He's an unreal writer for his age. He's so good, it's scary. I'd put him on stage right now with Brad Paisley or Keith Urban. He's that good. He reminds me of myself at that age, but a heck of a lot better.” By 14, he finished work on his first demo project which features his singing and playing on all original tunes. Now at age 16, he's still performing and writing. www.benparkermusic.com