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00:00Hey, it's Meltdown here, RiffFest 2025 with Ben from Breaking Benjamin.
00:05Good to see you again, man.
00:06Good to see you too, man.
00:07Yeah, all in black just like last time.
00:08You haven't changed since last time I saw you.
00:10These are literally the same clothes.
00:12I think that was about 2018, pre-pandemic.
00:15I don't even like talking about that.
00:18I don't remember much of that.
00:19No, I got you.
00:21So everywhere I go backstage here for some reason, it's like Yacht Rock Central.
00:25What's up with that?
00:27Well, you know, we're screaming and playing heavy guitars all day.
00:31It's kind of like if you work at a pizza place and you come home, your wife's like, I made you pizza.
00:36Like, thanks.
00:38I guess that makes sense.
00:39What's your favorite Yacht Rock band?
00:43Is this a time to plug Yachtly Crew?
00:45No, I didn't know.
00:46Not at all.
00:47You could plug whatever you want.
00:48I've never even heard of them.
00:50But I have now.
00:51They're great, yeah.
00:52I don't know.
00:53I'd say Hall & Oates is good.
00:56What's that other one called?
00:58The REO Speedwagon?
00:59Does that count?
01:00You think they're Yacht Rock, huh?
01:01Does that count?
01:02Yeah, I suppose.
01:03It's kind of borderline because they are good.
01:06Does Hall & Oates count?
01:07Yeah, I think Hall & Oates, yeah.
01:08Fantastic with Hall & Oates.
01:08Yeah, we were talking about that the other day with Yachtly Crew, and I think Hall & Oates
01:11does fit the bill.
01:13By the way, Yachtly Crew just put out a record yesterday.
01:16What do you guys have going on?
01:19Well, we're here.
01:19We're going to put out 10 Yacht Rock classics and one original song right now?
01:22Yeah, I like that.
01:22Yeah.
01:23I mean, it's a safe bet.
01:25That's a Carl Pleaser every time.
01:27So what's happening with you guys?
01:29Well, now I've got to check out Yachtly Crew.
01:31Right.
01:31That's the first thing I'm going to do.
01:32Yeah.
01:33And then I guess we're going to play a show.
01:35Might be some inspiration for you.
01:36Yeah.
01:36I've got to know now.
01:38Yeah.
01:38Yeah.
01:38So anything you're laying down in the studio?
01:41Yeah, we're working.
01:42Yeah.
01:42We're working on it.
01:43Yeah.
01:43I'm building a studio in Ocean City, New Jersey, where I live.
01:46And so we're trying to get in there, trying to get that going so we can do it there.
01:50So you're actually building a studio and then you're going to record in it?
01:53Mm-hmm.
01:54Yeah.
01:55Why is that?
01:56Well, I've always wanted to have a studio just to do stuff like on the other side of things.
02:00Uh-huh.
02:01You're seeing it.
02:02Yeah, then you can just walk downstairs in your bathrobe or something and lay down tracks.
02:05Yeah, how's it going, guys?
02:06All right, I'll come back later.
02:07That's what producers do.
02:09They just check.
02:09You know what happens with guys like that, I notice, is that they lay down tracks or whatever.
02:13Then they give it a few days and they go back down in the studio and they're like,
02:15I don't know if I like this that much.
02:16Yeah.
02:17So with my place, it's like, yeah, just camp out here.
02:19And when you figure it out, get up and do it.
02:22Yeah.
02:22Yeah.
02:23No rules.
02:23So do you have anything?
02:24I mean, there's nothing recorded right now?
02:26Oh, yeah.
02:27We have a lot recorded.
02:28No, we do.
02:29We have a lot recorded.
02:30But it's just like, it's not done until it's done kind of thing.
02:34Right.
02:34Yeah.
02:35No timeline.
02:36Almost done.
02:37Like, all recording-wise, right?
02:39I don't know.
02:39He knows better than me.
02:41Jason's sitting just off the camera.
02:43Yeah, show him with his.
02:45There you go.
02:45Perfect.
02:46There he is.
02:46Excellent.
02:46Look how beautiful.
02:47Yeah.
02:48Yeah, awesome.
02:49Hey, I'm glad you guys pushed everything off to the side here so we could talk.
02:53No, this is great.
02:53Yeah.
02:54Yeah.
02:55We just had our meet and greet in here.
02:57Yeah, how'd that go?
02:57I see tons of people doing the meet and greet.
03:00I mean, I don't know, when you were a kid, did you do any meet and greets with any bands?
03:03They didn't really have stuff like that.
03:04Right.
03:06So, no.
03:07I would have done Nirvana.
03:08I would have done Pearl Jam.
03:12Who else?
03:13Tool.
03:13They definitely wouldn't do one.
03:14Right, right, right.
03:16But if they did.
03:17Yeah, Maynard would be facing the other way or something.
03:19When I was a kid, I went to Lollapalooza in Philadelphia in the 90s, Lollapalooza, you know, like that type.
03:29So, it was all those.
03:31And Primus and Alice in Chains were the headliners.
03:34It was with Lane.
03:35Yeah.
03:36And Rage Against the Machine was there.
03:38And you can Google it, too.
03:40They just stood there with their wangs hanging out, their whole set.
03:43You can Google that.
03:44I don't want to Google that.
03:46And I was there.
03:47So, that's the closest to a meet and greet that I got back in those days.
03:51That's a sad state of affairs, a meet and greet.
03:53And then we just played this thing.
03:55I didn't get the opportunity, but we just played, I don't remember where it was, but Tom Moriello was there playing with his thing.
04:00Yeah.
04:00And I wanted so badly to be like, dude, I saw your freaking wang, bro.
04:05But I didn't get the chance.
04:07That would have been epic.
04:08Yeah.
04:08I would have been like, we have an icebreaker.
04:10Right.
04:11Yeah, because I've never met him.
04:12So, I'm like, hey, you know, we have something in common.
04:14We've both seen his wang.
04:16Right.
04:16Yeah.
04:17But it never happened.
04:18Bringing it back just a little bit.
04:19No, I've actually interviewed him before.
04:21On stage, actually, for an hour and a half one time.
04:23He's really great to talk with.
04:26I wonder if he remembers that show.
04:28Yeah.
04:28I should have asked him about that.
04:29It was in the 90s, man.
04:30It was a long time ago.
04:32Yeah.
04:32What was your gateway drug to picking up an instrument?
04:36Definitely Nirvana.
04:37Okay.
04:37100%.
04:38Yeah.
04:38That was the band that made me want to do this.
04:42And then they were like, like you said, the gateway to other things.
04:46Yeah.
04:46I remember the first time I played Nirvana on the radio.
04:48People hated it.
04:50And all of a sudden, it's like because the hair bands were still there.
04:52And all of a sudden, it's like, at the time, they took over the world.
04:55Yeah.
04:56It just took people a minute to get it, I guess.
04:58Yeah.
04:58So, you were in Mid-State, Pennsylvania?
05:01Hmm?
05:01You were in Mid-State, Pennsylvania?
05:03Yeah.
05:03Like, Central.
05:04Okay.
05:05So, where would you go to concerts?
05:06Over in, like, Hershey or Philadelphia?
05:07Philadelphia.
05:07Philadelphia.
05:07Hershey.
05:08Yeah.
05:09Yeah.
05:09You know the greatest band to ever come out of Philadelphia?
05:11Tell me.
05:12Cinderella.
05:12Oh, okay.
05:13I mean...
05:14Because we had a band called Manowar.
05:19Oh, Manowar.
05:19Yeah.
05:20What do you mean, we?
05:20Where are they from?
05:21I don't know where they're from.
05:21Pennsylvania.
05:22Okay.
05:23Just, I mean, Pennsylvania's a big state.
05:24Yeah.
05:25I'm just saying Pennsylvania in general because the band, Breaking Benjamins, I'm originally
05:29from Jersey, but Breaking Benjamins hails from Pennsylvania.
05:33Gotcha.
05:33So, when I say we, I mean, you know, Pennsylvanians.
05:36And we had another band.
05:40I think they were called Dirty Looks.
05:42They had one song.
05:42Dirty Looks, right.
05:43Do you remember that?
05:43Remember the Hooters?
05:45The Hooters?
05:45No.
05:46Do you remember the Badleys?
05:47You ever hear of the Badleys?
05:48No.
05:49They were a Pennsylvania band.
05:50Hailstorm, you ever heard of them?
05:51Yeah, they're a Pennsylvania band.
05:52Yeah.
05:53Yeah.
05:53Live?
05:54You know, there used to be this Pennsylvania newspaper thing for musicians.
05:58I forget exactly what it's called.
06:00I think it was just called Pennsylvania Musician.
06:03And it was like a newspaper.
06:04And Hailstorm was on the cover a couple of times.
06:06And they're like little kids.
06:08So, I remember like being there, seeing it.
06:11So, it's cool to see them out there.
06:12Yeah.
06:12I was going to say, do you have a bond with other bands from the area?
06:15I don't really know them too personally because they're from a different part.
06:18Yeah.
06:18But we were still in the same area doing the same thing.
06:21So, it's cool to see that they did their thing and they're doing it.
06:24Yeah.
06:24One of my favorite things hails from Pennsylvania, York, Pennsylvania, my Harley
06:28Davison.
06:29Yeah.
06:30Yeah, there's a factory there or something.
06:33Yeah.
06:33I have a Harley too.
06:34Oh, you do?
06:35Just a little one, an iron.
06:37Okay.
06:37I was going to say you're too big for a sports or you can't do that.
06:40An iron, I think, is smaller than that, isn't it?
06:42Really?
06:43I don't know.
06:43I'm not sure.
06:44I haven't seen them side by side.
06:47Yeah.
06:47Do you have the Harley Davison bug like I do?
06:49No.
06:50My riding days, I think.
06:51My friends told me 35 years ago, it would get in my blood.
06:54And I'm like, you're right.
06:56And here we are.
06:57Yeah, no.
06:57I haven't ridden a motorcycle in a long time, but I still have it.
07:02So when you get the studio done, are you going to have other people record there too?
07:05Yeah.
07:05Yeah.
07:06It's like that.
07:06The studio is not only to do my stuff, but it's for me to be on the other side, not a
07:11performer, but the producing and putting bands together and seeing what I can make.
07:16Start your own company?
07:18I don't know.
07:19Yeah.
07:20Just kind of laying it out right now.
07:21Yeah.
07:21It's also a video game development studio, which I also do.
07:25And so I'll be doing stuff like that in there too.
07:27And who do you talk to when it goes to building your own studio?
07:30There's no template for it, is there?
07:32It's been a journey.
07:34I'll tell you that because I did not talk to the right people at first, but we got it there.
07:38Yeah.
07:39Yeah.
07:39One of my friends has a pretty nice studio down in Nashville and someone will give them
07:43500 bucks.
07:43I'll come in for the afternoon and rip out some tracks.
07:47See, that's exactly the thing is that you have a lot of studios in Nashville, you have
07:51a lot in New York.
07:52There isn't a single one anywhere near where I built mine.
07:55So it's a different thing too.
07:56Yeah.
07:56That was another cool thing about doing it.
07:59And with the records you've made so far, has there been studios that felt more comfortable
08:02and more apt to write and stuff like that just at ease?
08:06There's been studios that I really love.
08:09We did, I think it's our third record, Phobia, it's called.
08:15Is that our third?
08:16I don't know.
08:17But we did that at a studio in New Jersey somewhere and I loved that studio.
08:22And then we went back and did another song there.
08:24I can't remember what it was.
08:26But yeah, I don't know if that, it's probably still around.
08:29I don't remember what it's called or anything, but I love the vibe of it.
08:31So there's that one.
08:32And then there was one that we did, We Are Not Alone, which is our second record, right
08:40in near Times Square.
08:44It was called Mirror Image, but that's not there anymore.
08:46I loved that studio.
08:48There's a lot of stuff going on in Times Square.
08:50Did that play into that record?
08:52I mean, as far as like...
08:53A little bit, yeah.
08:55So Cold was the song off that.
08:56I was doing it in the winter and I was staying in my hotel and I wrote the lyrics for that
09:02song in there.
09:03The standing memory of that studio was there was a Studio A and a Studio B.
09:09Studio B was like a lot of rap arts and stuff in studio because it was a smaller one.
09:13And Studio A was like for bands.
09:15And I was sitting in the...
09:18There wasn't a lot of space, you know.
09:20I was in like New York.
09:21I was sitting in the lounge area and Red Man came up to me and he goes, hey man, if anybody
09:29calls, I'm not here.
09:31I'm like, bro, I don't work here.
09:32I'm just like doing some songs over there.
09:35And he's like, oh, it's all good, man.
09:36But I did let him know that if anyone...
09:40I did, you know, when people call, it's like, he's not here.
09:42Yeah, it's like Moe's Tavern.
09:44Yeah.
09:45Yeah.
09:45Yeah, it's the Simpsons.
09:47If I find you, I'm going to cut your heart out.
09:50When was the last time you were like starstruck by a celebrity?
09:55The last time...
09:56I mean, I have been quite a bit.
09:58We did a tour with Bush and Allison Chains and that was pretty starstrike-y like every
10:03day.
10:04Yeah, I saw that tour.
10:04That played here.
10:06Yeah.
10:06Yeah, I was always nervous on that tour because both of those bands are like bands from before
10:11all of this.
10:12Yeah.
10:13Like a lot of other bands that I meet, I respect and admire, but kind of am doing the same thing
10:19around the same time, where bands like Allison Chains and Bush are like bands from when I'm
10:23a kid.
10:23Right.
10:24So it hits a little bit different and it's weird to think that we're doing all the same
10:28thing with them, even though we kind of are.
10:30But that was a little nerve wracking.
10:32Yeah, that was a great show.
10:35Yeah, we had a lot of fun on that tour.
10:36Yeah, I saw Allison Chains on the Clash of the Titans tour.
10:40You probably don't remember that, do you?
10:42No.
10:421991, Megadeth Slayer Anthrax.
10:44That's a nice line-up.
10:45Oh, yeah.
10:45I love that.
10:46Like I said, I got to see them with Lane and that Lollapalooza show.
10:49Yeah.
10:50That was a great show.
10:51And I told them about it.
10:52Yeah.
10:52So you're super influenced by all that 90s stuff.
10:55Yeah.
10:55That's my time.
10:56Right.
10:56Yeah.
10:57That's when you're growing up and shaping all your musical.
11:02Yeah.
11:02When my brain's like putty still.
11:04Yeah.
11:04Yeah.
11:05Well, we didn't get too much about a new music or new record.
11:08You're not going to give away too much more, are you?
11:10That's all I got.
11:11I gave you all I got.
11:15All right.
11:16We're working on it and we're pretty far along.
11:18We're just finishing touches and things here and there.
11:21Those things take time.
11:22Yeah.
11:23If it's a little detail or a big detail, it has to be just as perfect.
11:27No deadline, though?
11:28No, we don't have a deadline or anything like that.
11:31Just whenever you get your studio built and you finish it.
11:33Yeah.
11:34Yeah, we've just been doing it here and there.
11:36So it would be cool to have it all consolidated in one place.
11:39Awesome.
11:39Yeah.
11:39Well, thanks so much for taking the time with the Riff here.
11:42Riff Fest 2025 with Benjamin from Breaking Benjamin here backstage at Pine Knob.
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