By Daniel Warren Hill
Ben DeHan made his way into the hearts of fans as a member of Baltimore-based rock band American Diary in 2006. With the release of their sophomore album in 2008, The Brightest Colors, came the opportunity to undertake over 44,000 miles of national touring, which also included the band’s debut on the Vans Warped Tour. It should come as no surprise that lots of things have happened in DeHan’s life since 2006. There was even a time when he questioned how much of his life should be encompassed by music and things were quiet for a while.
Then April 2021 brought with it DeHan’s debut single, “The Faded Ones,” as well as others, from his September 2021 EP New Nostalgia. Since then, he and his fiance Lauren White have been working together to put Ben’s music back at the center of his life and discover how the talented couple can maximize their independent and interdependent creative endeavors.
He would describe his music as being “melancholically optimistic” in the spirit of MGK or AVA, while others have drawn comparisons to artists like The 1975 and The Band Camino. It’s not easy to navigate the genres, especially when he readily and enthusiastically acknowledges longtime influences by Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves, and All Time Low, all of whom he has spent time touring with.
That brings us to his latest single, “Woke Up,” written, he says, “At a crossroads between so-called reality and an unrelenting pull to continue the work that I’ve always come back to, music.” DeHan is firmly committed to the idea that continuing to write, record, and release music, and connect with fans through live performances is the only way he wants to proceed through life: “Why would I waste another year in pursuit of things, titles, or status while just trying to survive when I could thrive doing something that makes me happy and in turn, have the best possibility of inspiring someone else to do so?”
Produced and co-written by The Dangerous Summers, Bryan Czap, “Woke Up,” promises to be a perfect segue between New Nostalgia and DeHan’s upcoming EP, both of which were produced by Sam Pura (The Story So Far, State Champs). “Woke Up” leaves you with a positive message told in Ben’s signature style of melancholy, “Hoping for the best, saying fuck the rest!”
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Daniel Warren Hill is an American musician, writer, and motivational speaker. He is best known as the frontman for Washington DC area Alternative Rock band YellowTieGuy, as co-founder of Capitol Groove Collective, and increasing the exposure of artists on a global scale through his work with Alchemical Records.
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