Meet Ben Pearson | Session Guitarist, Vocalist, Composer, Guitar Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben Pearson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
From an early age, I didn’t really have a good idea of what I wanted to do, I’d hop from imagined dream job to dream job for whatever reason until I found a part that was boring, then quickly lose interest. Music was a constant presence in my household however. Neither my parents or grandparents were musicians, but all of them had a deep appreciation for the art form. When my mom had control of the car CD player, she would offer up artists like The Beach Boys and John Denver, while my dad would make sure I knew that Elvis Presley was indeed The King, and that no one grooved as hard as James Brown or Stevie Wonder. Music was fun. Music was joyful. Music was exciting.

What I believe served as the final push towards choosing my career was seeing a band play at my 7th grade talent show. Watching those five guys play, hit me in a way I still struggle to describe, but the feeling boiled down to “Yeah. That. That right there.” It’s what got me into playing guitar, and want to have a deeper understanding of the ins and outs of music, how it worked, how to create it, etc. Then, when I found out that being a musician didn’t mean being front-and-center, and that there were “studio musicians” who were the real force behind the stuff I had been listening to for so long, I at last had the aim for what I wanted to be.

For me, a career in the creative space of music, means that you are always out hunting and searching, be that for new knowledge, inspiration, or just wandering in case something catches your eye/ear. There are always new things to experiment with, and no one day is exactly like the last. The constant variability of the work, and the lack of sameness is what still keeps me enjoying it now, because it is the only thing I’ve done that can achieve that same sense of excitement I had when I was little.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I had a bit of a kaleidoscope of interests when I was growing up before I fully made the choice to pursue music. Both of my parents were of the opinion that I should explore a lot of different options, and with being a little brother to a strong-willed older sister, I played tag-a-long with her and activities she would do. Multiple sports, choir, and musical theater were the main things that took up my time then, and my experiences in them, I believe, inform my approach to my career in music. I can’t stand doing one thing forever. That’s not to say that I don’t get single-minded when it comes to practicing or honing a skill, but if I see, in a proverbial sense, my peers outside playing a new game, I want to see if I can play too.

My first real introduction to a career in music was the Southern California Children’s Chorus (SCCC), a semi-professional choir based out of Costa Mesa, CA. The five years I spent with them, taught me a majority of my musical fundamentals, not just in performance, but in preparation and professionalism. With them, I performed on, what is still, the largest stage I have ever been on during the In Memoriam segment of the 2012 Academy Award Telecast. To someone at the tender age of 11, it is hard to grasp the magnitude of that experience, but to look back at it now, it was the first taste of what it was like to be a professional in the creative business.

Choir life sustained me for a decent portion of my musical life, all the way through high school, all the while being interspersed with my other interests. namely baseball, football. basketball, and cross country. However, an under-the-table education in rock by a friend through middle and high school, quickly turned my focus towards a more band-centric approach. Ultimately, that led to me putting together my own band during my junior and senior years of high school, along with playing in some of the jazz bands on campus.

Getting out of high school and community college, I went off to CSU Northridge for a degree in Music (Music Industry Studies). For the first time, I found myself around like-minded people; people who were as obsessed with the art form as I was, and while the lessons I learned in my Music Industry classes were exceptional fundamental knowledge of how to navigate the business end of the, well…business, some of the most important information I was taught was by my interaction with staff and students in the Media & Composition departments. Through them I was able to not only hone my skills as a player, but to discover a new passion of composing and arranging, and led to an internship with two incredible producers who showed me more of the ropes of the industry and what is expected at the highest level of music production, preparation, direction, and business navigation.

My last year of college (2021-2022) was a real domino chain of events, none of which I could have possibly planned out. I had my first opportunity to arrange for a live ensemble (along with playing in it), which led to securing recording session for said ensemble (paid for by myself and the other student arrangers), which then led to the school funding the project for future semesters, and helped me to get an internship at that same studio. All I can say is that asking yourself, “well, why not?” can reveal a host of doors and opportunities you might not have considered or even known were there.

Since then though I have been keeping busy with mainly independent work. I am mainly working now as a guitarist and an arranger in both LA and Orange County. I am collaborating with a local high school orchestra as one of their arrangers in OC, and am playing with artists such as Shiah Luna and Jenny McNabb, while keeping busy with other freelance recording work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Even though I split my time between Orange County and the LA area, the places I would like take someone are in OC. My week would have to involve going down to the beach at Corona Del Mar. It’s situated just a bit of a walk down from a residential street in Newport Beach, and has some of the best surf you can experience in the area. Later on, driving a little further South puts you right into the heart of Laguna Beach, which has an incredibly vibrant art scene. Many of the studios are free to walk in and explore, This is in addition to the Pageant of the Masters festival situated in the heart of Laguna Canyon.

Being more of an outdoorsy type, another place I would take someone has to be Santiago Canyon Park. There are a number of great and challenging trails to take on either on a bike or on foot. One more place to check out would be Blackstar Canyon. That one is a bit more out of the way, and far more difficult, but has some of my favorite natural scenery in the entire county.

Nightlife here is most situated in the downtown areas like Anaheim and Santa Ana. Much of downtown Anaheim revolves around Disneyland, which is always fun if you can make it there, but one place that is a must to check out is Joe’s Italian Ice, an ice cream shop down the street from the theme park. The line is long, but well worth its wait (especially for Joe’s Lattis and Milkshakes), and the staff are some of the most accommodating I’ve met anywhere. Downtown Santa Ana is another lively cultural landmark, which has its share of live music, entertainment, and places to check out. My personal pick has to be the Fourth Street Market, a food court which hosts its own weekly open mic night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My life has been blessed with a whole host of incredible family members, teachers, mentors, and friends, all of whom I have the deepest gratitude for, and made me the person I am today.

Both of my parents, Darren and Lydia Pearson, and my sister Claire Pearson; my music instructors: Roland Jenster, Adrian Callas, Audrey Mink, Cody Nadeau, and Joe Daigle; all of the choir directors of the Southern California Children’s Chorus (SCCC) founded by Lori Loftus; all of the faculty and teaching staff of the music department at California State University, Northridge, with a special thanks to Professors John Buonamassa, Benoit Grey, Jeffery Izzo, Andrew Surmani, Timothy Howard, and Elizabeth Sellers; Simon Jay, Luke Shrestha, and Justin Tinucci of Chapters; Bijan Medizadeh, the guy who got me to start playing guitar; Mary Esther Blakely, former Villa Park High School choir director; Stacy Oh, Villa Park High School choir director

Instagram: hiimbenpearson

Image Credits
Monika Ivonne, Jenny McNabb