Being both a musician and a video enthusiast for years, I’ve always had an appreciation for the many ways that singer songwriters and full bands alike can use music videos as a way to supplement their art. A music video can perfectly complement a song, or completely change the way you’ve always perceived it. With the rise of social media and blogs, many musicians are taking advantage of video as a tool for connecting with their fans on a new level.

I’ve admired Ben Kweller for over ten years now (whoa!) and first met him around the time “Sha Sha” came out. I’ve crossed paths with him a bunch over the years at various shows, and he took time out of a ridiculously busy schedule (he’s releasing his new album “Go Fly a Kite” in just a few weeks!), to chat with me about how he has used video over the years. He’s done professionally produced music videos, do-it-yourself music videos with his buddies, contest announcements, and an entertaining web series series called “One Minute Pop Song” (see below) which awards his fans a look behind the scenes of recording, touring, and his home life. Because Ben uses video in such a variety of ways, I thought he’d be a great candidate to shed some light on why its important for musicians to use this medium.

You can pre-order “Go Fly a Kite” on CD, vinyl LP, or in digital format through Ben’s website, www.benkweller.com. We also talked pretty extensively about the “golden laminate” which will be awarded to one of the fans who pre-orders the album, and will get them into any BK show for life. (He promised me he’d be doing a video to announce the winner!)

Check it out:
> BenKweller.com