interview by: dpd

“Hello? Hi, may I speak to Ben please?”

An awkward silence ensues… I think I’m calling his cellphone.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Hi!”

“Hi, Ben?”

“Yeah, I’m Ben how are you doing?”

And so my conversation with Mr. Ben Jelen begins.

Ben Jelen is a singer / songwriter who has paid his dues for some time now, first behind the scenes, and now in the limelight. From what I know, he had somewhat of a rocky start with his debut album “Give It All Away” which resulted in him leaving his label - Maverick Records. Since then he has released an indie EP, has holed up in obscure corners of the Earth, has been rejected by Linda Perry, has been accepted by Linda Perry, has released the album Ex-Sensitive, and has recently toured with Pete Yorn amongst other things.

Here I am now talking to Ben Jelen on the phone… the thing about these phone interviews is that you have a hard time deciphering what mood the other is in. As we start talking about our backgrounds the mood becomes quite clear; Ben is rather mellow today, and in good spirits.

The following phoner was conducted on September 27th, 2007:

For more on Ben Jelen visit the following pages -

Home site: www.benjelen.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/benjelen