Ben Collins

A piano, a boy, a computer. 88 keys, vocal chords, electricity and a kaleidoscope mind. Enough of that . . . self-promotion makes me queasy. If you're willing to explore it, the key to my subconscious is available. A Skeleton Key. It will unlock all the doors, although you have to struggle with some of the bolts. A slow journey into madness all in a 30 minute album-ette! (so-called because too big for an EP but too small for a proper album). I used to record as Michael Collins. That is what my parents called me. It's already been claimed twenty times over so I decided to take up this one. Songs I wrote as Michael Collins are relics. A collection of some of those songs (called 'Relic'; purely coincidence I assure you) is available. Once upon a time I put out a disc called Fixate. Fixate was OK I guess but some bits of it pissed me off and I had a bad attack of low self-esteem and leprosy (mostly low self-esteem) so I don't talk about Fixate anymore OK?

1983: Born 1987: Taped myself singing songs into my Fischer-Price tape recorder. 1989: Began learning piano; took to it like a duck to water. 1990-1999: My career as a classical pianist, including many Kiwanus Music Festival awards, RCM Certificates up the Grade 9, harmony and theory classes, summer music camps, piano students of my own, and monetary awards for composing instrumental piano solo pieces 1999: First started writing things other than piano instrumentals (ie songs to sing!) 2001: 10 Song Demo 2003: Fixate (35 copies made: all gone!) 2004: Fiddling about with Cakewalk Home Studio, a good omni-directional mic, and Fruityloops.

I give 'living room concerts' sometimes. I really love it when I do though; maybe some day I will venture forth from this place and actually put on a real rockin'show. Probably not though.

Kate Bush, Chopin, Tori Amos, Bjork, Rasputina, Grieg, Portishead, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie