Meet Ben Shirley

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ben Shirley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Ben with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

This answer needs a bit of context.
Music has always been my savior. As a child, music made me feel like I belonged. Growing up, I felt separated from everything but when I turned on my little green transistor radio, all the noise went away and I was taken to another world. This world understood me and told me everything would be ok.
As I made my way into playing music, being a bassist in numerous rock bands –and later in a band signed to a major label with songs on the charts and my pictures in magazines– I drifted away from what I loved about music and focused solely on what success I could strip away from it.
My roaring addiction to drugs and alcohol took everything and I wound up in a homeless shelter in Skid Row, Los Angeles. Looking back on it all, I turned my back on the one thing that saved me – music.
After my new life in recovery started to take shape, I went back to school to study music. At that time, my “dream” was to get a single room in Skid Row, an SRO, where maybe I could hold a job, get a little recording set-up and write a few songs. There was no musical goal beyond this. I thought I had lost it all and that was that.
At the six month mark in the homeless shelter, I started school for a music program at Los Angeles City College. I wound up doing well in school and ended up at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
My work ethic came from being gifted this new life in recovery where I vowed to never turn my back on music again. I work as hard as I can for a few reasons.
1. I love music. It means everything to me.
2. I feel as though I owe a living amends to music. I turned my back on music and became a fraud and went for the trappings of the ugly side. All image, bravado, and the phoniness that the music industry has to offer. I fell for it and it and in the end, it rips your soul out. No more.
I treat every opportunity with the respect it deserves and I try my best to be as authentic as I can in the moments when I compose. I am a lucky guy to get another shot on a completely different path in music. When I lay my head down at night, I can say I did my best that day. I honestly did my best in that space and time.
I don’t think it’s a work ethic per se, instead its showing gratitude by working hard. Heck, is it really hard work when you are doing the thing you love?
Instead of thinking, “Oh, I have these deadlines. How will this ever get done?” I reframe it, so that it’s more like Isn’t this awesome? How amazing is this ride?!”

Image description

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

This could turn into a long winded answer so I will give you some snippets.
Around the age of 5, I discovered music as a life-saver. It made me feel whole and of this world.

I started playing in rock bands my freshman year of high school. I ended up quitting sports and devoting every waking hour listening to and learning every song I could get my hands on. I had quite the record collection.
I started playing in Top 40 cover bands and touring around West Texas & New Mexico Holiday Inns.
I went on to play in other bands touring the U.S. & Canada.
I ended up moving to Los Angeles to seek my fame and fortune. After being in a ton of bands, I landed in a group that got signed to Epic Records. I met my music heroes, made records, had songs on the charts, and my pictures in magazines and lived the life with all the bells and whistles of the rock and roll lifestyle.
In the end, alcohol and drugs stripped away everything and I wound up at The Midnight Mission Homeless Shelter in Skid Row, Los Angeles.
I bought into a 12-step recovery program and my life led me to school at Los Angeles City College where I became a Dean’s List student and then got accepted at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
I went from being a hard rock bassist with my leather pants and F*** You attitude to a contemporary classical composer in concert and film music, serving on the orchestration team for a television series and a summer blockbuster movie.
I worked in Skid Row in a music-based non-profit before leaving Los Angeles just after the pandemic started and moved to the rolling hills in Newark, OH.
I am currently on the Board of the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra along with working in the homeless sector with a mental health agency, a board member with another homeless non-profit, a Rotarian, and a Masonic Lodge member. – That’s the short story.

The latest release I am a part of is the ‘American Stories’ record by Anthony McGill & Pacifica Quartet. I am one of four composers who wrote a multi-movement clarinet quintet for the release of ‘American Stories.’ Anthony & Pacifica were nominated for a Grammy for this recording this past year. I am extremely thrilled to be a part of this project.
I am currently a part of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Composing Earth Cohorts – II where a commissioned a piano trio premiere date is being scheduled.

There are other commissions and working with the youth symphony here in Newark and so much more. It’s all rather wonderful.

The golden nugget out of all this is being welcomed in my new community of Newark, OH. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a community member. Listen, I am a city guy to the bone. I lived in Los Angeles and did all that for years but being here these past 3.5 years has been like a dream.
I am in love with all the nature surrounding us. Every morning out of my studio window I see cardinals and blue jays, bright yellow finches, groundhogs (called whistle pigs!), huge brown hawks, rabbits, deer, chipmunks….so lovely!

I have a home where my wife has this garden where she grows onions, potatoes, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, jalapenos, and so many other vegetables I am forgetting about in this moment. With a little work in the next year or so, we could become self-sustaining. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would thrill me so. It’s such a different life.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the three qualities that were/are most impactful in my music journey are:

1. A drive to learn as much as I can soak up. I ask a ton of questions.

2. I almost always say, “Yes!” – ex: A project was coming up where I received a call asking me if I knew a certain notation program. I never used that program but I said, “I sure do.” I was told the project would start in a few weeks and I was hired. I didn’t know that program but I had enough time to obtain a license for the program, buy an online course, and start re-notating some of my older scores. I worked like a madman. I was more than prepared going into the session. I was terrified when we started but hard work does pay-off and I learned something new. Another tool in the toolkit!

3. To the best of my abilities, I try to stay humble. I realize NO ONE does this work on their own. We all need help whether it’s getting a referral to break into this business, someone who looks over your scores and offers constructive feedback, or someone who just cuts you a break and mentors you because they have had their own experience in being helped along. If I am in any position to help someone, I have to remember where I came from and extend a helping hand.

What advice do I have?

1. Make sure the thing you are doing is the thing you love and work your butt off. I think we’ve all taken jobs that just pay the bills but that will suck your soul dry before you know it.
I’ve had past band experiences where I just fell in line because I needed the exposure and or paycheck. It almost killed me. That doing it just for the money thing leads me into being a fraud, phony, liar (you have to lie when taking such work because taking that job will lead people into thinking you are enjoying doing what you are doing.) I will most definitely take a day job rather than working on something I don’t like or feeling like I am the wrong fit because I just want to fit in and be part of the crowd. I currently work in the mental health field as homeless outreach. I feel I can tell my story and hopefully help someone in telling them there is a better life out there waiting while “sharing my experience, strength, & hope.”

2. Get EVERYTHING in writing. I don’t care if your mom just commissioned you. Get the contract. Well, maybe we all need to get burned that one time so we learn that lesson? I was told to get everything in writing and I didn’t listen. “They wouldn’t do anything like that. They’re my friends!” That didn’t turn our very well. Let’s all be professional and treat each other with a wee bit of kindness and respect. Sign the contract.

3. Be yourself and stop trying to fit in. I see in the madness of these times, we keep our opinions to ourselves and stand up for nothing because if we do voice our beliefs, when asked, and they aren’t the popular beliefs, we get canceled and “You’ll never work in this town again!”

Image description

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I lived a life where I was not a good person and the people I surrounded myself with were just like me – a taker.
I have quality people in my life today. I have genuinely kind, loving friends who aren’t shy about giving me the business when I start getting too full of myself. They are my wife, mentors, friends, confidants, and they are my extended family. They are Superior Court Judges, Police Department officers, composers, musicians, 12 step recovery members, my Skid Row family at the Midnight Mission, filmmakers, community advocates, Rotarians, Masonic Lodge members, etc…. As I sit here writing this, I can’t believe I am a part of their tribe as well!

Contact Info:

Image description

Image Credits

Lindsey McCutchan – headshot on couch & orchestra shot

Mark Hayes – color shot in front of the cable car

Ben Shirley – Studio shot

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Productivity
Keeping Your Creativity Alive

One of the most challenging aspects of creative work is keeping your creativity alive. If

Leadership Development
Mastering Communication: Stories & Lessons

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others