Band Members
Erotic, majestic and twisted, Ben Levin Group is redefining conventional music—one soul-crushing concert at a time.
“I want my music to reach out of your speakers, punch you in the face, and make you see colors you never could have imagined,” Levin says. “Or, at the very least, I want my music to be honest.“
Founded on the notion that there is still some unique noise to be made, Ben Levin Group has been packing small venues of dedicated audiences since 2007. Guitarist/bandleader Ben Levin is constantly composing new sets of music for the group, and the band rarely ever plays the same music at two shows in a row. Fans never know what to expect at a Ben Levin Group show, but they arrive knowing something amazing is going to happen.
Ben Levin Group consists of
Ben Levin, Josh Friedman, Chris Baum, Jed Lingat, Courtney Swain, Tyler LeVander, Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth, Vince Welch, and Greg Bowen.
Ben Levin
Guitar and Composition
As both composer and guitarist, Ben Levin pours every drop of his energy into the band’s gritty and provocative performances.
Though Levin began banging on piano keys at age seven, one of his earliest passions was for graphic novels and comic books. One day, he hoped to share his own unique fiction with the world.
At age thirteen, however, Levin found a new vehicle for stories: the guitar. By the time he left high school, Levin had already composed and released four albums of original music as lead of two bands—We all Miss Gracie and Tritone.
After a tumultuous four years of theory, composition and highly classified musical experiments, Ben Levin graduated from Berklee College of Music as a Guitar Performance major. Here, he earned both a degree and a band.
In addition to Ben Levin Group, Ben composes and performs in the band Bent Knee (currently recording their debut album.) He also plays in thrash metal band Black Trip and accompanies jazz flute wizard Geni Skendo. He endorses D’Addario strings.
Ben has been teaching guitar privately since 2005 (including clinics at the National Guitar Workshop) and is currently taking on a limited number of students via Skype. For more information, email Ben@BenLevinGroup.com
Influences include Nine Inch Nails, Dmitri Shostakovich, Steve Vai, The Dear Hunter, Frank Zappa, Pat Metheny, Laco Tayfa, David Tronzo, Portishead, Sufjan Stevens and Regina Spektor.
Josh Friedman
Keyboard
A gifted composer and instrumentalist, Josh Friedman plays piano with the flourish of a conductor leading an orchestra.
Josh started playing piano at age seven, studying selections from the classical canon. While this early work laid the foundation for his extraordinary play, Josh quickly established a passion for the rhythmic styles found in artists like Ben Folds and Matthew Bellamy.
In his first year of high school, Josh connected with Ben Levin in alt-rock band We All Miss Gracie (shortly followed by instrumental quintet Tritone). While a senior, Josh also received a commission to compose music for high school choirs and performed regularly with his cover band Music America.
In 2008, Josh moved to Boston to study psychology at Boston University, joining Ben Levin Group in the process. In addition, he is currently a member of The Fates and leads his own project, Case Report Kid.
Influences: Ben Folds, Jon Hopkins, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, AFI, The Fray, Radiohead, One Republic, Jordan Rudess, John Adams Leonard Bernstein, Claude Debussy, Keith Jarrett, Mae, MIKA, Natan Kuchar, Ne-Yo, Passion Pit, Paper Route, The Postal Service, Sigur Ros, Tool and Weezer.
Chris Baum
Violin
Blending seasoned classical chops with a wild exploration of electronic effects, Chris Baum works to reinvent contemporary violin on a daily basis.
Baum picked up his first violin at age four. By middle school, he held key roles as a performer in a variety of professional orchestras. Propelled by a desire to explore options outside of classical music, however, he enrolled at Berklee College of Music to pursue a degree in Film Scoring.
Today, Chris’s innovative use of sound design technology and thorough knowledge of orchestration has earned him key roles within such bands as Ben Levin Group, Dropkick Murphys, Qwill and Kalimba Sound System (to name a few).
Influences include Bartok, Stravinsky and Sigur Ros.
Jed Lingat
Bass Guitar
Jed Lingat teases deep melodies from his bass with the precision of a surgeon. A musical prodigy, he’s been known to memorize complete sets in under a week.
Jed launched his bass career at the age of thirteen. Before long, he’d found his way into studio sessions for artists all over Washington DC and Northern Virginia. Hard work was rewarded with a unique sound and the ability to memorize music with uncanny speed and accuracy.
In 2010, Jed moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music, pursuing a degree in Contemporary Writing and Production. Here, Jed proudly studies with legendary bass player Whit Browne (best known for work with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Oscar Peterson).
In addition to playing bass for Ben Levin Group, Jed is a member of experimental rock band Inertiac and folk rock explosion Ugly Thrash Demon.
Influences include: Charles Mingus, Elliott Smith, The Arcade Fire, Voxtrot, Stevie Wonder, Sufjan Stevens, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Jill Scott, Esperanza Spalding and Weezer.
Courtney Swain
Voice
Courtney Swain’s voice lures listeners into a deeply personal world where reason fails and art flourishes.
Ever since her early teens, Courtney’s identity has been deeply rooted in her powerful ability to create and perform music. Though her earliest performances included features across Japan, her studies soon brought her to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Here, Courtney is currently dual majoring in Composition and Contemporary Writing and Production.
In her first year at Berklee, Courtney began co-writing and performing music with Ben Levin in the band Bent Knee. After a year of successful collaboration with Ben, Courtney joined Ben Levin Group, bringing rich and otherworldly vocal textures to the previously instrumental lineup.
In addition to Ben Levin Group and Bent Knee, Courtney has performed with VGO and as an active studio musician.
Influences include Shiina Ringo, Led Zepplin, Steve Reich and The Beatles.
Tyler LeVander
Drums
Tyler LeVander started playing drums around the same time he learned to walk. As both a percussionist and a composer, he has a God-given gift of injecting “groove” into even the most complex rhythms.
Having held roles in various bands since elementary school, Tyler LeVander used 2001 as a springboard for his personal project, Shadow Act. While tearing up concerts throughout New York and Connecticut, LeVander enrolled in Berklee College of Music and met Ben Levin. After working just a few short sessions together, both were convinced the relationship was one worth pursuing.
In addition to his performances with Ben Levin Group, Tyler is widely regarded for his incredible work as a session drummer and is a member of the bands Vyb (a rhythm section for hire) and The Fates.
Influences include Dream Theater, Necrophagist, The Dillinger Esape Plan, John Zorn, Yann Tiersen, Porcupine Tree, Behold the Arctopus, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Victor Wooten and many more…
Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth
Percussion
Percussionist Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth beats his way to the core of each piece’s meaning, illuminating its depth for audiences.
The revolutionary mind behind Berklee’s “One Day Album” movement, Gavin has been honing his drumming chops from an early age. Fans will recognize Gavin from time spent with AIAF (Anti Inflamitory Action Force), with which he has released several progressive and genre-bending albums (most of which were written and recorded in a single day).
Gavin joined Ben Levin Group in 2011 and is currently designing an experimental percussion set for its upcoming albums.In addition to AIAF and Ben Levin Group, Gavin is the drummer in Bent Knee.
Influences include Peter Gabriel, Cardiacs, Talking Heads, David Byrne, King Crimson, Rush, Bill Bruford, Frank Black, and Pixies.
Vince Welch
Mixing
Harvesting his knack for creating transcendent and emotional mixes, Vince Welch is nothing short of a sonic genius.
Vince’s father, a classical organist, exposed him to a wide variety of classical music when he was a child. While still in high school, Vince’s development as a guitarist led to the culmination of his first album Multiverse (self-written, recorded, and mixed).
Vince and Ben met in 2005 while attending Berklee’s “Five Week Performance” program and immediately became close friends. Vince moved to Boston in 2007 to attend Berklee College of Music as a Music Production and Engineering major. Here, he quickly became the go-to recording and mixing guru for a plethora of bands, including Case Report Kid, Bent Knee, The Bloodline, Vulgar Display of Power, Randy James Dio, and—of course—Ben Levin Group.
Vince’s classical influences, combined with his love for bands like Nine Inch Nails and Porcupine Tree, have led him to develop a profoundly visual, dynamic, and textural mixing style that literally overwhelms its listeners.
Influences include Nine Inch Nails, Igor Stravinsky, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, David Tronzo, Charles Ives and Led Zepplin.
Greg Bowen
Visual Art
Greg Bowen’s art balances the subtle chaos of overwhelming beauty and horror which are constantly at odds within all of us.
Greg is the mastermind behind the album art for Ben Levin Group’s Departure and Pulse of a Nation. Today, he’s taken on work for Ben Levin Group’s graphic novel, Pulse of a Nation: A Treatise.
A pioneer of multimedia, Greg’s work transcends the boundaries between canvas, photography, music and film. Greg is currently studying at the Maryland Institute College of Art.