Ben Spivak
Ben Spivak (born January 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and musician. He is best known for being a bassist and vocalist in the pop-reggae group Magic! In addition, Spivak has performed with a variety of musicians including Canadian hip hop group K-Os, Julian Taylor Band, and Alyssa Reid. Spivak currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Early life
[edit]Ben Spivak was born in Toronto, Canada on January 4, 1983. He began playing piano at age four and guitar at age nine. As a junior high student, he picked up the cello and upright bass. He studied at Humber College in Toronto,[1] where he earned a B.A in Jazz Performance with a major in Bass. While at Humber, Ben and his friends Rory Sills and Ben Weigensberg formed the band Cavern,[2] where they wrote original music, recorded a 3-song EP, and toured around Ontario. Additionally at Humber, Spivak began to get hired for gigs, and began to collaborate with other artists. He gigged with Liam Titcomb, Mudmen,[3] and country artist Johnny Reid.
He toured for two years with the Canadian hip hop artist K-Os, which opened for the 2007 Gym Class Heroes tour titled "Daryl Hall for President."[4] The group performed on the David Letterman Show on February 20, 2007.[5] The band was a part of the lineup for Warped Tour in 2007.[6] In 2008, the band was a part of the lineup for the 2008 Good Vibrations music festival in Australia.[7]
Ben & Aubrey
[edit]Ben Spivak was one half of the band Ben and Aubrey, with Aubrey Stork, in 1999, they released a CD called "Lost In Paradise".
Julian Taylor Band
[edit]In 2009, Spivak became a founding member of the Julian Taylor Band.[8] The band recorded live covers in their album titled "Hey Hey Two Two."[9] Before Spivak's move to Los Angeles, he recorded bass for what would become the album titled "Tech Noir," which was released in 2014.[10]
Solo career
[edit]In 2010, Spivak released a self-titled solo album.[11] The album had ten songs, written by Ben Spivak himself. In the album, Spivak plays a majority of the instruments, including the guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, and organs.
Magic!
[edit]Spivak is the bassist and supporting vocalist band for the pop-reggae band Magic! The band formed when frontman Nasri met singer-songwriter Mark "Pelli" Pellizzer, and noticed an immediate musical connection. When Spivak moved to Los Angeles in 2013, he met Mark, and was asked to become their bass player.[12] The group's single, 'Rude', peaked #1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The group toured with Maroon 5, and has opened for artists such as Dirty Heads.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ Laux, Sara (2015-03-17). "We are (JUNO) winners! | Humber College". Humber.ca. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Cavern News, Photos, Tickets, Concert Reviews and Bio on JamBase". Jambase.com. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Mudmen: Biography, Albums, Singles & Playlists". Playlists.net. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Gym Class Heroes Presidential Tour 2007". IGN. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "K-Os on The Late Show with David Letterman 2007". YouTube. 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Warped Tour '07 Lineup + Dates". Sputnikmusic. 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Good Vibrations 2008 Sydney Line-up, Photos & Videos Feb 2008 – Songkick". Songkick.com. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "About Julian Taylor Band". Sonicbids.com. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Big City Small World". Cbc.ca. 2015-01-17. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Ben Spivak". Music.benspivak.net. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ Brian Mansfield (2014-06-08). "On the Verge: Guys of Magic! aren't 'Rude' at all". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Dirty Heads Tickets". StubHub!. Retrieved 2015-08-28.