Ben Kasica
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| Ben Kasica | |
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 Kasica in concert |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Judah Kasica |
| Born | April 15, 1984 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Genres | Hard rock, Christian rock, Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Post-grunge |
| Occupations | Guitarist, Producer, Graphic Designer, Audio Engineer, Businessman, Designer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Associated acts | Skillet |
Benjamin Judah Kasica (born April 15, 1984) is the former lead guitarist for the Christian rock band Skillet. He joined the band in 2001 at the age of sixteen, and recorded the albums Collide, Comatose (which went Gold on November 18, 2009[1]) and Awake (which went gold as well) with them. While he didn't join the band until five years into its existence, he was only twelve when the band was first formed.
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[edit] Career
He began playing guitar at age eleven, beginning with a more classical style, but he switched to playing electric guitar about two years later. However, his classical influence can be heard in his solos.
Kasica played GMP Guitars exclusively when he first joined the band. However, he and his fellow Skillet guitarist Korey Cooper later switched to PRS Guitars, most notably the PRS SC 250, and the Mira. For "Awake" Ben recorded with Gibson Guitars, mostly Gibson Les Pauls. Kasica is known for his many tricks while playing the guitar live on stage. These range from his solos to playing his guitar behind the back of his head.
During shows, Ben often wanders around his side of the stage, and former drummer Lori Peters had said that he would do things such as make faces at her or rock out on the drum riser. Ben has started including a guitar solo in the set list for the 'Awake and Alive' tour.[2]
John Cooper said in the You Tube interview that he enjoyed having Ben in the band "for his integrity; [Ben's] someone who wants to be honest about things."
On February 14, 2011, Ben announced he was leaving Skillet to pursue other interests.[3] He was asked to return on a temporary basis on April 11, when Jonathan Salas left.[citation needed] On April 14, he played his next final show, as Seth Morrison played the show the following day.[citation needed]
[edit] Other work
Ben is one of the owners of the clothing brand "LifeLoveMusic," a Christian organization that encourages Christians to "be the light of the world" by "loving the unlovable and sacrificing our lives for others."[4]
Ben is also the co-owner of Skies Fall Media Group, which offers artists many services; from their website: "Along with the record company, artist development/management and recording studio, Skies Fall Media Group also contains a full service graphic design and professional photography division, model and actor management, and live music production division with more to come."[5][not in citation given]
Ben produced Tooth & Nail artist Hyland's EP Quotients.[citation needed]
Ben is currently recording and producing Skyhawk Drive's first full length album.[citation needed]
Ben was the director/producer of Cellofourte: A String Tribute to Skillet which is an album by Tate Olsen, the cellist for Skillet, doing four-part cello covers of popular Skillet songs.[citation needed]
Ben is also currently involved in the band Above Only.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ "Skillet’s “Comatose” Goes Gold, “Awake” Passes 200K In Sales". Ardent Records. 2009-11-18. http://ardentrecords.com/skillets-comatose-goes-gold-awake-passes-200k-in-sales/. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ^ "The JfH Concert Reviews and Dates: Awake and Alive Tour Tour 2009, Skillet, Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down, The Letter Black". Jesusfreakhideout.com. http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/concerts/AwakeandAliveTour2009.asp. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ^ Publicada por Nuno Ribeiro (2011-02-14). "Skillet - "Ben Kasica" leaves the band". HeavyHardMetalmania. http://www.heavyhardmetalmania.net/2011/02/skillet-ben-kasica-leaves-band.html. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ^ "LLM Clothing: Buy a shirt. Change the world". Lifelovemusic.com. http://www.lifelovemusic.com/about.html. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ^ "Skies Fall Media Group". Skiesfall.com. http://www.skiesfall.com/. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
[edit] External links
- Video interview with Ben Kasica on YouTube
- Ben Kasica discussing PRS Mira guitars
- Podcast where Ben jokes about "The Rumor Mill"
- Part one of the Skillet webcast
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