| Ben Weasel | |
|---|---|
Chicago 2/26/2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | 1968 |
| Genres | Punk rock, pop punk |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Associated acts | Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, The Vindictives |
Ben Weasel (born Benjamin Foster) is a punk rock musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of bands Screeching Weasel and The Riverdales. He is also co-host of Weasel Radio, a weekly radio show formerly on ESPN 1070, which was relaunched as a podcast.[1][2]
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Foster was raised in Prospect Heights, Illinois and expelled from three different high schools for unruly behavior. He was eventually sent to the Elan School in Poland, Maine to finish high school.[3] Today Ben lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife and twin daughters. He is a practicing Roman Catholic.[4]
For a number of years, Ben suffered from panic attacks and bouts of agoraphobia. On November 30, 2010, he appeared on "Last Call with Carson Daly" to talk about these issues.[5]
When Foster returned to Illinois he got a job at a local movie theater, and formed the band Screeching Weasel with co-worker John Pierson.
After an initial break-up in 1989, Screeching Weasel broke up for a second time in 1994. Following the second breakup, Foster formed a new band, The Riverdales, with Dan Vapid, and Dan Panic.
In the early 1990s Foster founded The Gore Gore Girls with John Pierson, Glynis Johnson (also of Red Red Meat) and Russ Forester (founder of Underdog Records). The Gore Gore Girls lasted only 3 shows and made an appearance on a compilation. He also played 2nd guitar in The Vindictives, to be replaced by Billy Blastoff. Foster appeared on the first 4 EPs released by the band.
Foster reunited with Screeching Weasel again in 1996. The band lasted until 2001 before breaking up again. On March 27, 2009, Foster announced he was reforming Screeching Weasel. He and Danny Vapid are the only returning members.
Foster has also done work as a solo artist. In 2002, he released his first solo album, Fidatevi. His second album, These Ones Are Bitter, was released in June 2007.
Foster also ran his own Chicago-based record label, Panic Button Records, which he also started in 1997 with Pierson. The label was purchased by Lookout! Records.[6]
On Friday, March 18, 2011 at Austin, TX's SXSW Festival, Foster was involved in an altercation with two women during a Screeching Weasel performance. The first woman had thrown an ice cube at Foster, and following Foster joking about her performing a sex act on him, spat beer at him. Foster responded by punching her in the face. The club's owner, also female, then came on stage and grabbed him from behind. Foster turned to face her, then punched her twice in the neck and abdomen before being pulled to the other side of the stage by a bouncer, where he clapped his hands together over his head and gave the thumbs up; in reaction some of the crowd did applaud.[7]
On March 20, Foster posted an apology [8] on his website BenWeasel.com [9] stating
"I want to apologize to both the club owner and audience member involved for my actions during our show at SXSW on Friday night. While their actions were outside of my control, my regretful reaction is wholly my responsibility. Whatever my feelings are about fans crossing the line like that, I wish I could have that moment back and deal with it in the same spirit as I did the preceding 60 minutes. Since I can’t, an apology is all I’ve got and I sincerely hope those people will accept it. Up front, I wish to say that I am sorry to the fan and any others who were involved. As a husband, father, and a musician on the public stage, I understand that it is my duty to always take responsibility for my actions in a socially acceptable way, and most especially in the face of confrontation."
— Ben Foster.
Following the incident, several bands who were slated to appear at WeaselFest in Chicago dropped out, including Chinese Telephones, Chixdiggit, The Soviettes, Teenage Bottlerocket and Kepi Ghoulie.[10] On March 23, 2011 the other four members of Screeching Weasel all resigned from the band citing the SXSW incident as the reason.[11] On March 31 it was announced that the entire Weaselfest had been cancelled.[12] In August, Weasel issued a full article on Screeching Weasel's website describing his whole point of view on the situation.[13]
In the early 1990s, Foster published the fanzine Panic Button. He published two chapbooks through Oyster Publications, Brady Bunch Behemoth (1991) and Stab! Stab! Stab! (1992). Weasel also wrote for other various zines, including Razorcake, Non-Stop Banter, Jersey Beat, Hit List and 10 Things Jesus Wants You To Know. He also had a long-running column in MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL, one of the most prominent punk rock fanzines. He wrote a novel in 2001 called Like Hell and put out a collection of his columns and articles in 2002 entitled Punk is a Four Letter Word. Both books were published by Hope and Nonthings, a small publishing house based in Chicago run by former bandmate John Jughead.