Weird that a fanbase could be upset that an artist is bettering themselves, eh?
Benjamin Tod joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk about his faith, whether or not songwriting can be a spiritual experience, staying grounded while country keeps changing, doing his best to no longer be an antagonist, why staying true matters to yourself matters now more than ever, and much more.
If you’ve ever listened to the often sinister and sincere stylings of Benjamin Tod, you know that the subject matter of his songs can vary from hopeful to as dark as it gets. The country music artist has quite the story to get where he is today – battling drug addiction at a young age, busking to try and make ends meet, and hopping freight trains to travel across the country.
But now, the 34-year-old has shaken his drug habits, has focused on bettering himself and his marriage, and even has a kid on the way with his wife, Ashley Mae (who is the other half of the Lost Dog Street Band). He’s happy where he is in his life, and proud that he’s moved on from some of the darker points of his past.
That being said, one of the struggles he does have now is facing fans that long for him to sing about drug use and drug addiction again:
“To be in the position that I’m in or anyone in this industry, you have to have somewhat thick skin. You’re going to get dragged through the dirt all the time. There are plenty of people that don’t appreciate anything that I do other than being a strung-out junkie singing about how I want to die.”
And it’s nothing new… we saw the same kind of comments when Evan Felker got sober, when Tyler Childers announced he was sober, Jason Isbell, Ruston Kelly… the list goes on. Ignorant fans somehow think the art will suffer once the artist is no longer waging war on their own mind, body and soul. It sadly says more about the fan than it does the artist.
But to the credit of his fans, a lot of Benjamin Tod’s early work does have some dark themes that fans identify with. However, he’s no longer in that stage of his life, and Tod’s music is evolving with his life… which is undoubtedly a good thing. The silver lining? For all of the fans that reach out to express their disappointment that he’s no longer using, there’s an equal part of the fanbase that’s grown with him in their own fights against addiction.
Benjamin Tod says he cherishes those connections:
“There’s always that struggle with the music that I used to make. I always make music for the point in life that I’m at. And a lot of that the last six or seven years has been the process of my recovery. Now, I’m more at the process of my recovery where I don’t have those temptations anymore. I’m not working through a daily grind of burden and heaviness from my addictions and the shame I took on in life from terrible decisions and corruption.
A lot of people don’t appreciate it who latched onto ‘Using Again’ and are still in that place and haven’t grown. Then, I have a large part of the fanbase that grew at the same pace and time. They were developing and re-learning how to be a functional human at the same time that I was. Those are the most special conversations and relationships that I have within the fanbase.”
@whiskeyriff Listen to the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast. @Benjamin Tod #whiskeyriffraff #whiskeyriff #sobriety #benjamintod ♬ Using Again – Benjamin Tod
And lately, Benjamin Tod has grown weary of being pigeonholed as a dark force. I’m personally a fan of his “Piss on Bro Country” era, but it sounds like those kind of antics from Tod might not be long lasting.
He’ll always do his best to speak his mind, but he’s recognized that he’d rather lead his life in the field of light rather than in darkness.
As he explained:
“I try in life to be in general servitude. So it’s very hard when I get comments or remarks that are attacking me for who I used to be. In order for me to even begin unpacking that is so much information. So the easy thing to do is just be an a******. I’m really good at darkness. I’m really good at tearing people down. Like a lot of people in this industry, we’re just as powerful in the field of darkness as we are in the field of light. Whichever direction we point our arrows, we’re effective. But I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to be that influence in the world.”
To be clear, don’t hold your breath waiting for Benjamin Tod to go full-blown “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. That’s not going to happen anytime soon. Just know that the country music artist has turned a page in his own life, and his music is more than likely going to follow suit.
To hear more from Benjamin Tod, make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.
We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.
Cheers, y’all.
