Band frontman influenced by art and happy people
When The Statesman got wind of the upcoming Independent Music Club show, we decided to go straight to the source and interview Ben Hibshman, president of the club and frontman of The Shuttles, a band who will be playing at the show.
Utah Statesman: So, you’re the frontman of The Shuttles. What exactly do you do?Ben Hibsham: I play the guitar and sing. I also write the songs.US: Did you form the band?BH: Yeah. It originally started out as a solo thing, for about two years. And for the past two years it’s been a band.US: Did you just recruit friends?BH: Yeah, the first Shuttles were just friends, but then one guy went on a mission. Now I play with Clint and Riley Holgate. I’ve known them for a while, but we got involved when I started recording my last album. They asked if they could be The Shuttles, and I said yes.US: How many band members are there?BH: There are three, and we’re playing with the idea of adding a fourth – another guitarist/keyboard/auxiliary instrument player. Right now it’s guitar, bass and drums.US: What are your influences?BH: Art, happy people and optimism. But if we’re going to say music influences, I’ve really been influenced by Elliot Smith.US: Where do you guys like to play?BH: It’s a lot of fun to play at house shows, because a lot of people come and it seems like people get more into it. At our shows we really like to get people involved – we like to create a party atmosphere. But it’s a lot of fun to play big shows, too.US: Are there any bands that you guys like to play with?BH: We like to play shows with Team Mom. Team Mom is like our sister band.US: Do you have an album?BH: Yeah, I have a full-length and an EP that are a few years old, and they were kind of start-up albums. Then I released what I like to call my debut album, “Speaking in Letters,” about a year ago. And there’s another one in the works right now.US: Really? Tell us about it.BH: It’s going to be called “We Are Your Friends.” We’re having a lot of fun making it. It’s got a very pop sound to it, like ’60s and ’70s pop with a modern touch. We’re making it sound very unique, and we’re really excited about it.US: How do people find out more about The Shuttles?BH: You can go to MySpace.com/theshuttles or come to our shows.US: And you guys are playing in an upcoming show, right?BH: Yeah, the Independent Music Club is putting it on. We’re playing with Love You Long Time, Seve vs. Evan and MC Danger Mouth. We’re really excited about it. I think it’ll be a really fun show for us.US: And you’re president of the Independent Music Club?BH: Yeah.US: How long has the club existed?BH: It’s been a club for four years. It started off with really independent music, with people playing in houses. But over the past four years we’ve really established a name for it – people know about it, and we’ve established our brand identity. It’s a lot of fun putting on shows.US: How many shows does the club put on per month?BH: We usually try to do one per month also with an open mic night. We’re going to try to have an open mic on April 2. And we like people to know that there will be one IMC show a month, so they can plan on seeing at least one good show.US: How can people get involved in the IMC?BH: Just come to the shows. You can see fliers all around campus for them. We don’t really have a club member list because we don’t want people to have to pay an entrance fee and then pay to come to the shows. Basically, you’re a member if you come to the shows. We also have a MySpace and a Facebook group.US: If you could sum up this upcoming show in one word, what would it be?BH: Sick-ill-mega-tight. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. It’s going to have a great sound system and solid bands. It’s going to be like a real concert atmosphere.
Instead of staying home and watching infomercials for ’70s and ’80s rock ballad CD collections, come to the IMC show. It’s Friday, March 21, at 7 p.m. in the Taggart Student Center Walnut Room, and it costs $4 for students.
-Kelly.green@aggiemail.usu.edu