Ben Bochner

Ben Bochner was born in Chicago in 1956. His dad owned a cleaners under the el tracks at the south end of the Loop. His mom was a teacher and librarian.

Ben's first heroes were his Dad, Willie Mays, and Maynard G. Krebs, the "beatnik" from the Dobie Gillis Show.

Ben began playing the guitar in the 1970's, influenced by the John Prine and Steve Goodman folk music scene.

He eventually ended up in Oregon, where he became a professional tree-climber.

In 1987 he co-wrote a novel called "Caverns," with Ken Kesey and 11 graduate students at the University of Oregon.

Also around this time, Ben released his first collection of songs, "The Broken Places," and performed at venues all over the Northwest, including The Seattle Bumbershoot Festival, The Oregon Country Fair, and the Willamette Valley Folk Festival, where he was a winner of the New Song Contest.

In 1997, Ben released two more albums, "Last Stands," and "The Sun God's Tongue."

Ken Kesey said of Ben, "He's Mike Royko with a guitar. And hair."

If you don't know who Mike Royko was, google him.

In 2013, he was a finalist in the New Folk Contest in Kerrville, Texas.

In 2014, Ben was a finalist in the Songwriter Serenade Song Contest, The Wildflower! Festival Song Contest, and, for the second consecutive year, in the New Folk Contest in Kerrville.