And the Hello and welcome to another edition of So Diaker on Song Great Writing, I'm Brian here with Simon and joining us

for episode 239 is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as founder

member and frontman have revered Grammy-nominated US indie rockers Death Cab for

Cutty. The band recently graced us with their marvelous 10th studio album,

the John Congleton produced Asphalt Meadows and we recently spoke to their principal songwriter all about the new record and how he goes about his work.

We are very happy to welcome the excellent Ben Gibbard to the show.

Ben was born in Bremerton, Washington, not too far from Seattle in

1976. His dad was in the Navy, so the family moved around a lot during his

childhood, but there was always an acoustic guitar lying around the house which

his dad would occasionally pick up but to which Ben found

himself irresistibly drawn. He took piano lessons from the age of nine until he was around 14,

which his parents insisted he did before he could have what he really wanted, electric guitar lessons.

In the meantime he taught himself rudimentary chords from a Beatles songbook and then having fulfilled

his side of the bargain began lessons with the neighborhood guitar tutor. He started writing songs around 12 or 13 and around the same period began playing in bands,

initially using a borrowed left-handed guitar he had to turn upside down.

I believe his first band was called Oddfellows Local, inspired by an

R.E.M. song. That's right. O'Fallows Local 151, I think it is.

Yep. Upon graduating from high school in 1994, Ben moved to Bellingham to attend Western Washington University,

where he studied environmental chemistry and played in a band called Pinwheel.

He was also doing some recording under the alias all-time quarterback.

With its moniker taken from the Bonto Dog Band song of the same name,

Death Cab for Cutie originally started life in 1997 as a solo project.

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