Ben Bedford

"When I write, I have a prevailing sense of longing for simpler moments. I'm not referring to simpler times of the distant past. I am speaking of those moments when emotion is so palpable, the mind takes a snapshot. I see the lights of town on Friday night and the beautiful face of the girl I love, sipping a Sierra Nevada and laughing in the half-glow of the Underground City Tavern. We're surrounded by friends, acquaintances and strangers who pass friendly glances as if to say, "I understand why you are here". I want to transfer that moment onto paper, then into song.

I am also referring to the simplicity of God's natural landscape. The mountains in Colorado and New Mexico, forests in North Carolina, deserts of Arizona, as well as rain, snow, sleet, ice, wind, sunshine and moonlight play their parts in my songs. The constant change in nature is fascinating. At times, the beauty of this unforgiving land seems a blurry backdrop to our modern, hurried existence. In my songs, I try to slow the frames so the mind can interpret and feel the environment.

Of course, everyone knows that neither human emotion nor nature is simple. In fact, few things are more complicated. Neither will ever be completely understood nor harnessed. However, if I can pinpoint the peace of mind one feels on a Friday night with loved ones, after a hard week of work -- or the vast loneliness one feels while driving in solitude across the Great Plains, away from those loved ones, I have accomplished something. That is all I can hope to do." - Ben Bedford