A Conversation With Ben VanderBeek
by Sander Roscoe Wolff
Ben VanderBeek is the driving force behind Inner Beauty Contest. Their CD, The Better to See Them With (Toy Records), is loaded with well-crafted songs that, in addition to the standard bass/drum/guitar format, adds sax, keyboards, and harmonies. After a break from the band to enjoy some wedded bliss, he’s back with his cohorts. He took a few minutes to chat with LBC.
LBC: What’s the band’s current focus?
Ben: We’re writing a lot of new material, getting ready to start recording a full length late winter or early Spring. Also booking shows of course.
LBC: Tell me about the writing process… Do the band members come in with tunes, or is it a more collaborative process?
Ben: When we first started I would pretty exclusively come in with 2 guitar parts, bass, and vocals, and teach everyone the parts. It’s been a long transition, but we’re finally getting to the point where it’s more a stripped down idea that I come to them with, a guitar part, etc. Jeff also writes a lot, usually comes to us with a guitar part and vocals and we fill in the rest. Collaboration is super hard, but inevitably the end result is better when more minds are involved.
LBC: Does it take a long time for a song to come together that way?
Ben: Yeah, it takes much longer when we write as a group. When we more fully collaborate, it takes months for something to get to the point where we’re satisfied enough to play it live. I remember in my previous band when we were so excited to play something new, and we had such low standards, that we would play something at practice twice and then insist on playing it live. It was definitely a rush, but I think we’re at a point where quality takes precedent over the thrill of the new song. No pun intended on the “Rush” part. 
LBC: Do you find that songs continue to evolve once you start playing them in front of an audience?
Ben: Yeah definitely, even the songs on our EP continue to evolve a little. We’re not exactly a jam-band, totally changing songs and adding new parts when we’ve had them down for awhile, but I always like to play a song and then say “what was the weakest part of that?” so we can discuss how to improve it.
LBC: Being in a band can be challenging. It is a lot of hard work, its expensive, and often a pain… Why do you do it?
Ben: Hahaha. Now that’s the key question! Well, I’ve been playing in bands for about six years now… I got married a few years back, like I mentioned, and that caused a pretty long hiatus for the band. Basically during that time I would get pretty depressed not having an outlet for the creativity of writing songs and performing, and my wife realized “hey you need this.” So once I proved to her that I care more about her than music, she was fine letting me get things going again. It’s not so much what I get out of being in the band, but more what I’m lacking if I’m not. Plus all of us in the band love spending time together, etc. so it’s pretty win-win.
LBC: Have you managed to establish a following? Tell me about your fans.
Ben: Well like most local bands we rely pretty heavily on our actual friends coming out to the shows, telling people, etc. We’ve got a pretty good Internet presence through a little search engine trickery that I devised, and that’s got us people contacting us from all over the country, Europe, and Asia. We do our own mail order off our website, and we’ve sold quite a bit. And of course there’s the dreaded Myspace. As evil as it is, it’s a great way to network, meet bands, get new fans, etc. We’ve played primarily in the LA/Orange county area, so that’s where most of our fans are, but we’ve played some inland too, and we’re planning very soon to branch into the San Diego and Ventura areas.
LBC: Let me ask you about Long Beach… There are lots of bands, and just a few venues. Does it feel competitive, or more like a supportive community of artists?
Ben: I like Long Beach. I rarely get a competitive vibe here, and I have a lot of friends in bands. To me it feels like a supportive community. It really seems like everyone wants everyone else to succeed. Maybe we’d rather see Long Beach artists succeeding than just another LA or OC band. I think Long Beach has an actual identity, which is rare among all the urban sprawl. And that identity lends itself to friendship rather than competition.
LBC: Tell me about your band mates.
Ben: Joe plays drums. I met him through church, and he filled in on drums for my old band Strategies for Hangman on our summer 02 west coast tour. He’s solid, creative, and extremely calculating in what he plays, definitely not a fan of “whatever I feel like hitting when the moment arrives.” Kevin sings lead on half the songs or so, plays synth, and sax on a few songs. He’s super dependable and really helpful on the more logistical side. His songwriting is developing, and he’s recently started writing lyrics, which is great. Jeff plays guitar, sings on at least half the songs, and he’s been the only other “songwriter” who actually comes to the band with a completed song structure with vocals and guitar part. Oh and Jeff is Joe’s little brother. John is the newest member (though technically Jeff left for a few months this past spring, so maybe Jeff’s the newest). He’s got the most raw creativity of anyone in the band. He’ll play some amazing series of riffs when we’re jamming, and then I’ll say “I liked that first thing you were playing” and he’ll say “oh, I don’t remember it.” So we’re working to funnel all his various creative juices into a delicious foamy latte of rock.
LBC: That’s why I obsessively tape all rehearsals.
Ben: We haven’t gotten to the point of taping rehearsals, probably because of our background of me coming with mostly-completed songs. But it’s something we’ll have to start doing. Some people can be totally “on” when working with a group, but other people are super introverted and need to be able to hear something a hundred times on their own. And neither is better or worse, we need both kinds.
LBC: Well, when one lacks talent or skill, one can sometimes substitute both with obsessive wrote memorization.
Ben: And in the end who can tell the difference?
LBC: Right. Certainly not the audience.
Ben: Stupid audience. [haha, just kidding.]
LBC: So, do you feel angst when you make a mistake on stage?
Ben: I’m not familiar with this “mistake on stage” that you speak of. But yeah, it frustrates me a little. Depends on the size of the mistake. I play bass so it has to be a MAJOR mistake in order for anyone in the audience to catch it, even musicians. As long as I’m playing “low notes” and my rhythm isn’t too off from the drums, no one notices. So I wince a little more when there’s a big honking guitar screech or our drummer drops both sticks at once or the keyboard catches on fire. But none of those things ever happen. Actually the biggest danger is probably me tripping over cables.
LBC: When does the next CD come out?
Ben: Our EP came out last January, available at shows and on our site. The full length should be out next fall.
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