Ben Bochner on Following the Soul
Image by Ramona McCoy
By Karen Loew May 21, 2013
Ben Bochner, 56
Austin, Texas
Image by Ramona McCoy
Job: Singer-songwriter
Previously: Video production and songwriting on the side
This fall, Bochner left steady work as a videographer in his longtime home of Eugene, Ore., to pursue music in Austin.
Why Change?: “I fell in love with Texas nights. I felt I understood why cowboys wrote songs. There’s a community of songwriting, a legacy and a history. I wanted to be a part of it.”
Financial effects: “My costs are very low. I pay my rent and I have time to write and time to play, and I figure I can always get some kind of job. I can go videotape a wedding if I have to. The story of my life is I’ve always managed to get by, not putting money or job as my first priority.”
Maturity’s rewards: “I think it’s just looking at my body of work and feeling a responsibility toward it. People have told me that my songs mean a lot to them. If I can make people feel something through my music, that makes me feel really good.”
Spirituality: “I’m using my faculties and my talents to do what my soul wants, what I think I’m best at and what I have to offer to the world. It makes me able to see the world in a way that’s not colored by thoughts of security, a pension, Social Security or any of those things. It makes me feel more faith in the universe. I can feel the presence of God more.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
