BJSR

Although he has performed for thousands of people on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, it wasn’t until he hit land that Ben Rivet’s music really started making some waves. As the front man for the new performing and recording project, BJSR, Rivet is developing a loyal following in the American Midwest. With the help of his contract at sea and YouTube popularity, he is gaining some international notice as well. BJSR’s music revolves around an acoustic pop style with electronic and folk rock elements. Typically performing solo, Rivet infuses his performances with dynamic vocals, deep guitar, and upbeat looping. Guest artists frequently accompany BJSR and provide some explanation for the group’s unconventional name: “I wanted to avoid the standard ‘singer-songwriter’ label,” says Rivet. “I am a collaborator, so it seemed natural to identify with a kind of group-sounding name. This way, I can perform with any combination of musicians and producers and still call it the same thing. It also inspires me to create music from a wide variety of styles and can grow with me as my skills and tastes change as a musician.” Since disembarking from his cruise ship gig, Ben has been utilizing the web to share his music and increase the BJSR following. The release of his new music video, “Play” hit the YouTube community with a great response and is picking up speed each day. The song was recorded at Dal Segno Media in Dayton and mixed by Connor Smith at Under the Piano Productions in Cleveland. The video was shot entirely on the new iPhone 3Gs by Kenny Mosher (Showdown Productions, LLC) in various locations around Dayton, OH. Mosher utilized state of the art photography equipment and custom-built brackets to achieve an extremely professional and cinematic feel. The production and image quality continue to amaze both the film and tech communities with many finding it hard to believe that such polished looking video was shot on a camera phone. This is what Rivet and Mosher hoped would happen when they started the collaboration: “We felt that shooting a music video with an iPhone had some serious “whiz-bang” potential. We also hoped that the timeliness of the project would spark the interest of ‘macophiles’ and video-heads alike. But we are actually a little overwhelmed with the response we are getting both to the song and story line of the video.” BJSR is currently in the studio completing an EP entitled, Axe & Vox, which is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2009. Rivet continues to book shows in the Dayton area and is always adding video from his live performances to his web pages. Check out BJSR’s music and videos at the links below, as well as some of the work from Kenny Mosher of Showdown Productions.