Acclaimed Aussie singer Ben Lee has shared uplifting letters from the beginning of his career, proving that even the biggest artists start out small.
Before going solo, Lee started out in the alternative rock band Noise Addict. Before they caught the attention of the likes of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Beastie Boys’ Mike D, however, they were just another hopeful young band sending their music out to as many industry people as possible.
This included sending demo cassettes to punk rock band Hard-Ons and indie rock outfit The Welcome Mat, two of Lee’s favourites at the time. Three decades later, Lee took to social media today to share the genuinely nice letters that the two bands sent back to Noise Addict.
“Both bands wrote back with sweet, supportive letters that gave me a huge buzz and made me feel like the whole thing was worthwhile,” Lee captioned the post. “When people ask why I am so active with supporting up and coming new artists, this is another tangible reason: I know how good it feels to be on the receiving end of that kind of gesture.”
He added: “So big love to The Hard-Ons and The Welcome Mat and everyone else who showed their support back at the start… You still give me a buzz.”
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The Welcome Mat were extremely kind with their response, asking “can we join?”. The scrawled handwritten letter sent by Hard-Ons is harder to decipher but does include this part in the middle: “the recording is very crappy but I can hear the potential in the songs.”
So for any hopeful musicians reading this article, the letters sent to Lee are proof that no successful career is magically conjured out of nothing; don’t be afraid to put yourself and your music out into the world.
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Check out ’16’ by Noise Addict:
