Hey all. My name is Ben Travis, and I have submitted a song called "Hey Jude, Fight for Your Right to Party!" I think it's pretty self-explanatory which two songs I made this out of.

I'm from Nashville, TN, and I have a web site where I have various kinds of songs that I've written, in case anyone is interested. Here it is:

www.ampcast.com/bentravis

(the Beatlie Boys song isn't there, as I'm not allowed to host copyrighted material there... it will be up on Todd's site as soon as the others are)

The reason I chose these two songs in particular is that I believe, hidden inside the message of the song "Hey Jude," is an admonition that one must truly fight for one's right to party. I put these two songs together to express that message, and also to win a guitar.

By the way, if you decide to vote for my song, Bill Gates has promised me that he will send you the tidy sum of $13,000, but I hope you won't let that influence your decision in any way.

Thanks,
Ben Travis

Hey Ben... I checked out some of your songs. Though they are not in a style that is my cup of tea, they do indicate that you know how to play your instruments, which would give your entry an advantage over mine.

And thus the battle between trained musicians and people hitting cardboard boxes with sticks begins...

cardboard boxes with sticks? i say hit anything that sounds good! (as long as it's not living).

Yours sounds good too. In fact, they all do. I think this contest was a great idea. I always enjoy seeing what other musicians will come up with. I'll look forward to seeing how the voting goes, but regardless, it feels good just to be a part of it.

Ben

ampcast.com/bentravis

This one was my favorrite! I added it to my real player shuffle!

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed making it.

I'm actually a pianist/vocalist at heart, but I did also do all the instrumentation and background vocals myself in my studio at home.

I just thought I'd provide a little more information after reading some of the other posts. :)

Again, I think this contest is a neat way for musicians to come together on the internet, and hopefully Todd's site will get a lot of newcomers through this contest too as we all invite people we know to come and listen.

Ben Travis

ampcast.com/bentravis

I thought this mix was very well recorded. I was talking to a friend of mine, and we mutually felt carried back into the sixties in the beginning of the song, and then somewhat rudely blasted forward in the Beastie Boys section. The vocals were great. And you left us with the Beatles, so our nerves were calmed again. Thanks for your input!

Wow, I appreciate the compliment. That was actually was I was going for... I was hoping people would start to just enjoy the song, and then suddenly be bolted into a completely different style by the Beastie Boys section.

It's funny, because if I listen to it in the background with other people around, it's great to watch their reactions when the Beastie Boys part comes in unexpectedly. It's almost like some part of them is deeply offended by it. Heh heh. But it's fun.

Thanks again for your comments. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Ben

I like to consider it the BenTravisContestamundo.

Hey "Mr. Anonymous": *you* sure post a lot here so don't complain about Ben. Try logging in or are you afraid we'll see who you are?

Who was complaining?

I'm voting for Ben in the next round!

Hey Ben,
Gotta say, in my opinion, you have the best singing voice of anybody here. Like a post above said, '60's flashback time.
CRash and I have the same shortcoming- we can't sing. (I assume, because you really can't tell WHAT his voice sounds like). He chose to do some kinda techno-sounding effect, I chose to attempt to rap. He obviously made the more popular choice. Cool!

Thanks. That means a lot, especially coming from someone else in the contest. It looks to me like yours was quite popular as well. Nice work. :)

Ben

His was hacked, though.

Really?

As a self-confessed computer illiterate, I'm way too Amish* to know how to do these things. Any votes I got were gotten the old-fashioned way- some talent, and some networking. Just like Ben, and everybody else here.

Oh, I forgot- you're "anonymous". Your opinion expressed here really doesn't count for much- does it? Being faceless words on the internet and all. It's all Nazi propoganda from space, maybe. It could even be one (or more!) of my other multiple personalities- who knows? And that's the point.

Next time, have the courage to identify yourself. Nobody's gonna come to your house and throw eggs, or whatever you're afraid of.

*By the way, no offense meant to the Amish. I greatly admire the Amish for adhering to their beliefs and their way of doing things. I just wouldn't ask them to design my web page, post my file on line, etc.

Anti-Amishite!

You'd be surprised. Go check out http://www.amish.com and do the 3D virtual fly-over of the Reuben Stoltzfus family farm. (Unfortunately it requires some beta version of Macromedia Flash so I couldn't see it.)