Singer/songwriter brings his Witness tour to Saturn on October 26
By Brent Thompson
Photo Credit: Thomas Baltes
An impromptu trip to Mexico proved more fruitful than Benjamin Booker could have ever imagined. The singer/songwriter emerged from the trip with the foundation for Witness, the follow-up album to his highly-acclaimed self-titled debut. Featuring guest vocalist Mavis Staples on the title track, Witness mines the same gritty territory as Booker’s debut release with – as he readily admits – more introspective material. On Thursday, October 26, Booker will return to Birmingham to perform at Saturn. She Keeps Bees will open the 9 .m. show. Recently, Booker spoke to us by phone from his Los Angeles home as he prepared for his current tour.
Birmingham Stages: Benjamin, thanks for your time. If you will, talk about your upcoming tour in support of Witness.
Benjamin Booker: It’s going to be a long one – two months. I believe Birmingham is going to be the last show, so it’ll probably be the best show.
Birmingham Stages: How did the material come together for Witness?
BB: It was pretty quick. I went to Mexico for a month – I didn’t know if I was going to be writing or not. On the plane ride, the outline for the album came along and when I got to Mexico City I ended up writing most of the album when I was there. It doesn’t always work like that, but I’m realizing that there’s not one way that it works. You have to figure it out every time.
Birmingham Stages: Are you currently writing and laying down ideas?
BB: I’m definitely [writing]. If you do this thing and you’re passionate, it’s hard to escape it. It can be a problem sometimes – constantly thinking about it – but I love it. It can annoy the people around you [laughs].
Birmingham Stages: How did you come to work with Mavis Staples on the new album?
BB: I wrote a song with her for her last album, so I had met her and talked to her on the phone. It came time to find a singer with a strong voice and we said, “We’re not going to get a stronger voice than Mavis – let’s ask her.” We did and she said “Yes.” She’s really cool and always down to work with younger bands and new people. She’s been busy this year working with a lot of people, so we were lucky to get her. She’s a legend but one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
Birmingham Stages: Is there a nutshell way to sum up the whirlwind your life has become?
BB: One of the things that I learned from Mavis was to take the time to enjoy it. She’s older and she told me that she was fixed on spending time with family and friends and enjoying the days. It’s something that I’ve been working on and I’m trying to get better at it.
Birmingham Stages: In this day and age, how do you reconcile instant accessibility and the instant purchasing ability of consumers with the flood of content created by artists on the Internet and social media?
BB: I don’t get asked that question very often. At the time I started, there wasn’t anybody doing what I was doing in New Orleans – it was a small scene. If I had started in New York, Chicago or L.A., I don’t know if I would be doing it. The location was really helpful. It is difficult to separate yourself – I think that you just have to not worry about other people. When you do that, you lose a little bit of your personality. It is a good time to be a musician for a lot of reasons. You have a lot more freedom as an artist now to do the things you want to do.
Birmingham Stages: Regardless of technology, the live show is still the live show and you seem to embrace that part of it.
BB: That’s the most important part for me – that’s when I fell in love with the bands that are my favorites. We always try to make it special and connect with the people.
Benjamin Booker will perform at Saturn on Thursday, October 26. She Keeps Bees will open the 18+ show. Showtime is 9 p.m. Advance tickets are $18 and can be purchased at www.saturnbirmingham.com.