Meet Ben Buck of Ben Buck Beatbox
I got started in the Texas music scene at a young age, my father was a full time gigging musician and record store owner. I grew up inside my families record store running around the display cases and going through mountains of dusty records, music magazines and old show posters from Austin’s past. My Dad would take me to all of his gigs around town and let me sit on his lap while he played drums. Through the record store and music venues I became accustomed to the local scene and it felt natural when I started frequenting these places as I got older. Since early high school I went out regularly and performed across the local landscape of Austin’s music scene, primarily around Hip Hop showcases and weekly or monthly residencies such as Austin Mic Exchange (AMX), Strength in Numbers and The First of The Month Smokeout. Being a beatboxer and performer helped me get into places I wouldn’t normally have access to as a 14 year old Freshman in High School. By the time I had turned 21 I was already a 7 year veteran in the Hip Hop community and was put into the position of booking my own showcases and residencies across town. Now at 22 I have performed several festivals and have toured across a good portion of the country.
It has not always been a smooth road coming up as an independent artist, but I have been very blessed to have a good support system of people and family around me. When I was younger I had felt limited in being able to access some venues around town to perform. A lot of the time I might’ve been able to get into the building to perform but would be escorted out directly after my set due to age restrictions and TABC policies. One time on tour In 2015 when I was 18, the police came into the New York venue we were playing at and I had to get out before they kicked me out. I ended up getting separated from the group for a couple hours and had to wander until the show was winding down. I’m thankful for experiencing these things at a younger age (even the big black X’s I had on my hands for the next day after a show) and I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything.
My newest venture lately has been launching a local label called “Speaker Bump Productions”. What had originally started as a street team and promotion company quickly has blossomed into a production studio, merchandising and event organization team. I have felt in the Austin landscape that labels historically in town have not played a big part in artists careers or progression. My mission statement for Speaker Bump Productions is to provide all the services that a growing artist needs on their path as a musician under one roof. So far I have used my own music as the prototype for helping other artists in the future. I have launched several different styles of tee shirts screen printed in house and designed by my sister Billie Buck and formatted by label partner David Freid. I have also started creating and duplicating cassette tapes with design help from Julian Guevera, a very talented visual artist locally in town. Our next project will be releasing and printing tapes for the local Austin group “The Point”.
Personally, success to in my eyes is one hundred percent subjective. Whatever makes you happy and allows you to thrive is what I consider to be successful. If you’re happy working a 9-5 job and Monday-Friday and coming home to your 2.5 children and spouse, I believe you should do that. If you wanted to live in a converted camper van and travel the country (Shout out to Feral The Earthworm) I think that is success. I believe everyone has their own path and its up to you to carve out your own slice of happiness out of it.
