Vital Stats:
Alias: Ben
Sex: Not Female
Age: 20 years (Current Incarnation)
Height/Weight: None of your damn business/None of your damn business.
Eyes/Hair: Two/Yes.
Race: 100-yard dash. (But not since high-school.)
Location: 36°08'57"N 79°30'08"W - Elevation: approx. 924 ft.
Marital Status: Depends on who's asking.

Hi!How’s it going..Well, I figured some people might want to know about the guys who does the work on the site and reads all the emails that get sent. Here goes...


My name is Ben (if the site being named BEN'S Test for Echo didn't give it away), and knowing me is the inescapable battle of good versus evil, right versus wrong and pure hearts versus empty souls. It's the continuing saga of the quest for fervent dreams, the realization of secret innermost wishes and the insatiable hunger for a ham sandwich. I'm a philosophy and english literature double major. My friend Marnie has described me as: "Ben is quirky, neurotic and has quite the morbid sense of humor. He's a socialist, a bit of a terrorist- all in all, he's a little psychopath." Riiiight. Well I have a job...yeah I know. I have been working at the Outback Steakhouse. I have moved up in positions since I have first started working there in September of '97. I started as the ever-popular Dish Guy, then I worked my way up through to work on salads. Now I am the head grill cook and assistant kitchen manager. WOW!!! Doesn't that just sound exciting. I am grossly underpaid and I do more than I should. I can't really complain though, it’s a job and really what other jobs are out there for students still in college?

Let's see, I've been a huge Rush fan for thirteen of my nineteen years. Some people claim to be the biggest Rush fan out there, you'll never hear me say that. In my Rush experiences, I have come across people who blow me out of the water.

My favorite Rush album of all time is Signals. I love the way that the synthesizers combine with and play off of the guitars to create a kick ass sound. To me, Rush is more than just a band. Rush is the result of three incredibly talented musicians and songwriters combining their gifts to make amazingly complex, meaningful, powerful, lifting music. There's a quote from the Test for Echo sessions that goes "Individually we are an ass, but together we are a genius." It's funny and relevant at the same time. Without Geddy and Alex's music, or Neil's lyrics, Geddy's voice, or any of the members' instrumentation, Rush wouldn't be Rush. And to me, that is what makes them unique. Rush has had a constant set of members for 25 years, which is more than can be said for many bands. These days a new band is lucky to hit five years of existence, let alone stay stable for as long as the boys have.

Rush is a premiere live act. They put on one of the most sonically and technically impressive shows around. They play for over three hours at each show, proving that they do indeed care about the fans and the value they get for their money. Rush has put out a wealth of recorded information. Sixteen studio albums, four live albums, and several compilations represent the Rush output. Their sound has evolved and matured over the 25+ years they've been in the music business. From Led Zeppelin metal, to prog suites to radio-friendly rock to electronic/analog compositions to the current amalgam of styles, Rush has always been about progression and never doing the same thing twice. I suppose it's a mixture of all the things I mentioned that endears Rush to me so much. Their music serves as an inspiration and a stress-reliever, and I know for sure when I listen to Rush that I am hearing a truly unique occurance in the history of recorded music.

I love, and live for, music. I listen to heavy metal (Sentenced, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Pantera, etc...). I REALLY hate country, c(rap), and the new wave of bands like N'sync and the Backstreet Gays. As a bass player, my idol is Steve Harris, but Geddy runs a close second. Neil is one of the best lyricists I've ever come across in my expansive musical career. I am also the Metal Director for my college radio station. I do or am part of three of the five metal shows. I do Loud Rock Saturday and the Luciferian Episode, and I cohost Subterranean Might with my friend Tessa. In addition to listening to music, I love to read. I like to read historical fiction and fantasy novels like Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, and of course, The Masked Rider by Neil.


If you want to know any more about me, email meand ask. I like to talk with people, so don't hesitate to contact me.

If you want to know what the guy who runs this site looks like...wait until I get some pics up.

A page about my friends and cool people I know