Band of Horses frontman doesn't recommend skateboarding in cowboy boots at 4 a.m. in Cincy

Since 2004, Band of Horses – the brainchild of singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell – has churned out six albums of critically acclaimed, deceptively simple, lyric-driven grungy Southern rock. Hits like “Funeral” and “No One’s Gonna Love You” showcase Bridwell’s plaintive falsetto soaring over a lush background of reverb-laden electric guitars. The former’s recognizable arpeggios have been synced to several movies, TV shows and commercials.

I recently asked Bridwell about the origins of the project, his unmistakable vocal style and about the band’s ever-rotating cast of supporting musicians. Here's how the conversation went.

Q: Do you have any memories of coming through town that I can share?

A: We've been playing Cincinnati for a long time. We've played Bogart's quite a few times. We usually bring bocce balls or cornhole. I was skateboarding down the middle of a downtown street in cowboy boots, and I ended up spraining my ankle. It's kind of hilarious that I thought I'd get away with skateboarding in cowboy boots at 4 a.m.

Q: It's impressive.

A: It's dumb.

Q: You grew up in Irmo, then moved to Tucson for a few years, and the band formed in Seattle. Was there something about any of those towns that pushed you to write music?

A: I never saw myself as a musician. I grew up with a lot of music in the house but never tried to play ever. When I moved out to Tucson in my high school years, I met these two kids that were great musicians, and they started a band called Carissa's Weird. It was my job to drive them to gigs. When one of their members dropped out, they recruited me.

That's when I started to want to play music, even though I was terrible. When that band broke up, all this gear was sitting around. I figured I could either work in a cafe for the rest of my life or I could do something interesting. It was hard work, a whole lot of luck and perseverance that somehow made it happen. I still don't understand it.

Q: You have a very distinct lyrical cadence. You take a lot of liberties with your syllables. How did you figure out that was the way you wanted to sing?

A: When I was in that old band, they asked me if I could sing harmony on a song. I'd never sung before, and they were kind of dumbfounded, as was I. I spent so much time living out west. I have two beers and the vowels get a little bit slower and the y'alls get a bit more frequent. I tried to hide my accent at times to fit in. Once I started singing, I couldn't fight it. It was really funny to us that I couldn't sing any other way.

Q: You've gone through a lot of band members. Are you just especially particular about the lineup or is it like ...

A: Tyrannical? There're many different circumstances that led to why folks are no longer playing with us. Matt Gentling, who's our bass player, had to leave us for a number of years. He came back a couple of years ago. Some people had personal reasons, like whether they didn't want to be on the road all the time because it's just too much sometimes. Or their family. Or egos. You would have to write a book on why things have gone the way they've gone.

Q: How do you pick people to play with? Is it just like you've got a friend and you call them up and all of a sudden they're in?

A: It's usually just word of mouth or something like that. It's not like I'm going to see if the hottest gun guitar player can come and join our band. We're a bit sloppy in our style, and you don't want somebody that's a virtuoso coming in and hair-metaling you out. It takes a certain personality, I think, more than it takes their acumen or proficiency. Maybe 75% is personality.

Q: How has your songwriting process changed since "Everything All The Time"?

A: I’ve changed, for better or worse, by trying to survive. Honestly, that's the same thing I was doing for that first album – trying to survive and not work a damn job. Then it became trying to provide for my family or for the other band members. There's tenacity involved with songwriting.

Q: "Funeral" has been sampled a few times, notably by Kid Cudi. And you've had a few songs synced to commercials and movies. Do you have a say in choosing whether or not to allow people to use your tunes? How do you make that decision?

A: Yes – it comes through the pipe. The publishing company approaches management, and they come to me. If it's a commercial, I try to vet. Early in our career, Walmart offered me $20,000 to use “Funeral" for an internal training seminar. I had never heard of that kind of money before. I was like, absolutely. They've got to be insane to give me that money.

I faced a lot of backlash from it. It got reported on. It was still that age of the question of selling out – which has gone the way of the dodo since, because if anyone can survive out here, everyone gives you a pat on the back. No one talks about the ones you turn down, like that bank that funds the whaling industry in Norway. I guess I talk about it.

Q: You write, tour, also have a label and four kids. What keeps you sane with everything you have going on?

A: I don't know that I am staying sane. I recently went through a tough time with divorce and then COVID shut down our business, and I really became financially destitute. I finally picked myself up again and I'm able to own a house again. I have my girls a week on, week off – my ass is so kicked at 45 years old with four kids running around. I find myself recuperating for a couple of days, and then I try to climb back into it.

I haven't been able to either get comfortable enough to write in the new setting because it's been so much logistics bulls--t. I'd like to get back to that. Hopefully getting back on tour, and not being on the hamster wheel, maybe it'll break me out of that cycle.

Band of Horses with Carriers

When: 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 5.

Where: Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville.

Tickets: $37.50-$57.50.

Info: bogarts.com.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'I still don't understand it': Ben Bridwell on rise of Band of Horses