BEN SCHNEIDER
By Paul Moeller

Ben Schneider. Never before had I met someone so utterly fascinated and passionate about his world and the people in it than him. I’ve heard, and been involved in, so many stories surrounding Ben Schneider it’s hard to know where to start. I could tell you all about all the different trips we’ve taken, and the many different ways we’ve written songs together. I could tell you that he can be the loudest member of Digby, but he’s also the most shy. But these are things you can see on the surface, and do not appropriately tell his story. I could tell you his deepest darkest secrets.

But I won’t. I’ll leave that up to him.

In addition to being the creative partner he is, which is itself almost like a marriage, he’s been a close friend from the beginning. I’ve seen his highest and lowest moments, and he’s seen likewise from me. We’ve shared a few and written songs about them. But the complexities of the man will forever fascinate me. It’s impossible to get bored.

Since I suck at encapsulating a person in a few paragraphs, I’ll just tell you about Ben the best way I can in one. He’s the biggest, yo-yo wielding, funky hat wearing, self-conscious about his hairline receding, cliché dueling, drinking champion/ping-pong zen thinking, Bullshit detecting, German speaking, clean freaking, cat loving, ferocious lick playing, maritime disaster cataloging, bigfoot theorizing, addicted to bass cabinet trading, joke telling, straight talking, hardest working, wanderlust seeking, selfless giving, friend to anyone who meets him. And it’s not often that you come by people like that, is it.

-- Paul Moeller