I live on a small farm in Lincoln County, Missouri (east-central part of the state, about an hour from St. Louis) with my wife and son. We keep some horses, dogs, cats, a couple of roosters and a bunch of ducks. We operate a boarding kennel for dogs, and my wife commutes to an office job in public relations.
I play guitar and lap steel (sort of), and have been in a few local bands over the past ten years or so. The most recent of these still lingers on when we have spare time, and is called "Hoss Williams." In between periods of band activity, I write and record songs at home on an ancient laptop a relative gave me. I play a Silvertone acoustic archtop most of the time, and sometimes a fairly butchered Gibson Melody Maker and a Roy Bert electric six-string lap steel tuned to Dobro G. On the tape I used (on one song) an old Japanese acoustic 12-string I converted for playing lap style in the same tuning. This ought to give you an idea of the pitch and timing issues I am facing on that instrument.
When I'm not doing farm or kennel chores, or dicking off on the internet, or playing music, I like to tinker with motorcycles and old farm tractors. Anyone wishing to correspond with me about any of the above topics can reach me at benniven@hotmail.com
Releases available:
“GLASSPACK LULLABY” (cassette)
"CHAFF:OUTTAKES FROM A RURALPOLITAN UPBRINGING" (CD or cassette)
Email for ordering details
kawtapes@hotmail.com