It's time to catch up with one of our very favorite Louisville musicians, Ben Sollee, who's been traveling by bicycle on his Ditch The Van Tour. Marty Benson (who is documenting, riding with, editing, and posting along the journey) is churning out some high quality material from out on the road! Ben comes home September 30th to play the Idea Festival at the Kentucky Center for the Arts!
"On our route back out to Highway 13 we weaved through a pretty shuttered-up neighborhood in East Wilmington. The houses that were occupied seemed to spill people out on to the front steps and sidewalks. Everyone waived, asked where we were going, “You going across the country ‘er somethin’?” “Kind of”, I said.
I was riding caboose when a little boy jogged up beside me and asked what we were doing. He couldn’t have been more than 12. “We’re on a music tour, it’s just by bike”, I explained. “Oh”, he said, “well… can I come with you?” Jokingly I replied, “sure, hop on.” Without a second thought he jumped on the back of my Xtracycle. A little stunned and a little impressed I let a few seconds go by. We turned the corner. I asked, “how far do you want to go?” he took a moment and replied, “far…”
The shouts from his house started to get louder as everyone began to realize that he really intended to hitch a ride. He hung for as long as he could. “Man, my Momma’s calling me, I got to go.”
And without another word he hopped off the bike." - Ben Sollee
