Ben Blackwell
| Ben Blackwell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Benjamin Jesse Blackwell |
| Born |
June 12, 1982 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan |
| Genres | Garage rock, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | drummer, writer, archivist |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Cass Records, Third Man Records |
| Associated acts | the Dirtbombs, The White Stripes |
Ben Blackwell (Born Benjamin Jesse Blackwell on June 12, 1982) is the creator and director of Cass Records, one of two drummers in the Detroit-based rock band the Dirtbombs, a music writer, and a vinyl record collector. He's an employee at Third Man Records and the official archivist of the White Stripes.
Ben Blackwell was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 12, 1982 to Maureen Gillis and Morris Blackwell. He is Jack White's nephew. He attended Wayne State University for three years, with a concentration in journalism, before withdrawing.
Blackwell debuted live with the Dirtbombs on December 18, 1999 when he was only 17 years old. According to Blackwell, Mick (from the Dirtbombs) called Jack White and let him know they were looking for a drummer; White put his nephew on the phone. Blackwell has since become one of the longest-serving members of the band, having played on four studio albums and having toured extensively all over the world.
Cass is kind of just trying to be a Detroit record label that really just focuses on 7-inch singles. It's my favorite format for recorded music. It kind of has been the premiere medium for upcoming artists since Elvis put out "That's All Right" in 1954.
Beginning in 2003 with money given to him by his mother, Blackwell has put out over 50 releases on his Cass Records imprint. Instead of signing artists, he makes one-time deals to release their songs as singles. His label received some fame with the release of the song "Who's to Say..." from the country-rock band Blanche. Through his label he has also released records from such artists as The Mooney Suzuki, The Waxwings, The Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players, The Sights, The Muldoons, Kelley Stoltz, Dan Sartain, Turbo Fruits, Cheap Time, The Go, the Black Lips and many others.
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