The Obelisk Questionnaire: Will Benoit of SOM
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Will Benoit of SOM
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Heavy. Atmospheric. Doom Pop. Shoegaze. We’ve all been fans of dark music with heavy guitars for a long time, but as we’ve gotten older the tempo has slowed down and now it feels more distinct to our own voices. We all are arriving at the same place from different paths, and it seems to be a mixture of working really hard to achieve our own sound, and it just happening naturally over time and life experience.
Describe your first musical memory.
There isn’t one “aha” moment I can remember. But while I was growing up my father had an acoustic guitar that I would play around with. I do remember figuring out if I plugged a microphone into a tape deck that I could record my voice as being a big moment in childhood. And then a bandmate leaving his four-track tape machine in my parents’ basement. That along with buying my first Roland MS-1 sampler were all really standout memories that felt important to my development.
Describe your best musical memory to date:
The first thing that jumps into my head is my memory of the first time I went down to SXSW. It was really incredible to see so many hard-working bands converge on one city, and seeing so many friends from all over the world over the course of one week. I helped book a showcase, and we made trays of vegan food that fed a mob of drunk people. To be part of that was really satisfying, and something that continued for many years.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I’ve always strived to allow my beliefs to be tested in order to strengthen them, so it doesn’t answer your question necessarily, but the thing I believe most is — let other people’s ideas in, try to understand their perspective, weigh that against what you think you know, and then either internalize it or reject it.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
To the highest mountains or the deepest caves, depending on whose hands it’s in.
How do you define success?
This is a tough one that I’d like to think even the smartest people still struggle with. It’s certainly not about financial success, or else we’d probably all be putting our time into something more lucrative, though there is of course some element of that baked into every young American’s head.
At this stage it’s more about trying to add value to my life, which is really difficult to define. But it seems like putting the time, energy and work into something that we can all be proud to put out into the world, and then follow that up with memorable and interesting experiences continuing to travel the world, seeing new places and meeting new people through playing music.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Coming 2 America.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
This EP was our first endeavor into narrative music videos. Our guitar player Mike was doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes acting as producer / creative director, and while we‘ve all had various experiences in the visual production world, it’s something that feels new and uniquely challenging that I’m sure we’ll be looking into different ways to pursue moving forward.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
This is another tough one because it’s so relative. In its simplest form, art should provoke further thought or entertain, even if it is just for the person creating it, but even that is entirely subjective. As I’ve spent more and more time in different circles with very different definitions of what art even is, I’ve come to accept that there’s no right way to make art, and I don’t feel like it’s my place to judge what does or doesn’t make someone else feel or not feel something.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Going back out in the world — seeing shows, seeing movies, having a beer with friends.
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