Ben Lee Talks 'Birds and Bees' With Mandy Moore

[MickBeth]

Aussie troubadour Ben Lee has just kicked off his latest U.S. jaunt in support of his latest effort, 'Ripe.' For the trek, which sees him spending nearly two months going from Walla Walla, Washington, to San Diego, California, he's bringing along a fine host of support acts. The Cary Brothers, who aren't actually brothers, the Kahn Brothers, who are, and chanteuse Kate Voegele will all join him at various parts on the tour, having passed Lee's discriminating support act test.

"My criteria is people who are sort of low maintenance, nice people and good musicians -- professionals," he tells Spinner.

Such rules were put in place after Lee's many years on the road put him in contact with a few unagreeable fellows. So what sort of bad behavior has he seen?

"Artist throwing tantrums over various thing and ego," he notes. "Ego seems to come up whether they're doing really well or they're not doing as well as they want to. For me, I like rock stars when people are up on stage. There's nothing like seeing a great rock star rocking the crowd but you should be able to be a regular person the other 23 hours of the day. I think that's pretty important for a musician."

One of the ways Lee picks his tour pals is through recommendations. He tells Spinner that he's also partial to bringing in a lady or two, which as he found out while touring with Mandy Moore, can make a tour bus smell rather lovely.

"I'll tell you what, if you've got girls on the bus, it sort of just lifts everyone's game," he laughs. "We just did this tour with Mandy Moore and obviously she's the boss of their bus. The place smelled great, it was tidy. It showed you like, put a woman in charge and things are executed a little more daintily.

"Even if you're not trying to mate," Lee continues, "it's almost biological that bands will be on their best behavior around women, even if they're not interested in the sexually, you know?"

One of the reasons Lee toured with Moore, for those not in the know? The two bonded after Moore stepped in to lend vocals to 'Birds and Bees,' a honey-laden cut on Lee's 'Ripe.'

"'Birds and Bees,' for me, it was always kind of based on 'Grease' and I needed an Olivia Newton John-type singer," he recounts. "I don't mean style, I mean like someone who was believable in the role. They had to be able to pull of completely pure and totally slutty at the right moments. Mandy -- I think someone who is an actor, they bring like a different energy in the studio, like they're more open to trying different things on persona wise."

http://www.spinner.com/2007/11/05/be...h-mandy-moore/