Ben Lee Preps for Fatherhood as a Noise Addict

Posted on Sep 11th 2009 4:00PM by Linda Laban
Comments

Australian pop singer-songwriter Ben Lee has two very different projects coming this fall. The 31-year-old resurrected his teen outfit Noise Addict, creating a digital album, 'It Was Never About the Audience,' available for free via their official website. More importantly, he and his wife, actress Ione Skye, are about to have a baby.

Both events come on the heels of his recently released solo album, 'The Rebirth of Venus.' This all might sound a bit hectic, but it's not at all, according to Lee. "The thing is," he tells Spinner, "I'm off the road a bit more and I have a home studio where I can record every day. I guess if you want to make an album like Fleetwood Mac that takes a year, then there's a problem. The music I like writing is the kind of stuff I can record in a day. So, making an album is not such a huge commitment."

For Noise Addict's lineup, Lee enlisted Dinosaur Jr./Sebadoh bassist Lou Barlow and Lara Meyerratken (aka El May), who's played on Lee's solo records, because they fit the band's lo-fi DIY aesthetic. "They're both people who get it," Lee says. "There was a time in the early '90s when people were releasing cassettes and sending them around the world. I just wanted to work with people who I wouldn't have to explain it to. This album makes sense to their ears."

Though there no plans for the band to perform live, Lee doesn't rule out the possibility. "If the offer came in and it was fun, sure," he says. "My goal with Noise Addict is to keep it as free of rules as possible. I've got a gig in the delivery room in the next few weeks. That's the only gig I'm focused on."

Ben Lee Live on the Interface