Ben Rice is an American record producer, sound engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his work with musical artists Valerie June, Norah Jones, The Candles, Jonas Brothers, James Bay, and The Skins, as well as record producers Eddie Kramer, Gus van Go, and Youth. In 2021 Rice received a nomination for Producer of the Year at the Americana Awards for his work on Valerie June's album “The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers”, which was nominated for Album of the Year.
Rice owns Degraw Sound – a recording studio in Brooklyn, New York.
Early years
Fascinated by recording and songwriting, Rice began making 4-track recordings when he was twelve and landed his first studio job at the age of sixteen.
Musical career
2003–2009: Surefire
Rice formed the band Surefire with his childhood friends: Nicolas Panken (guitar), Jacob Sloan (bass), and Justin Aaronson (drums); he served as the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter from 2003 to 2009.
Early success
Fueled by their live shows, Rice's band built a cult-following on Myspace.
This led to notable press in publications, including the New York magazine. Rice leveraged this publicity to secure a series of gigs with the Arctic Monkeys, The Bravery, Brendan Benson, Mando Diao, The Shore, The Sights, and The Subways.
Surefire's sound was often compared to the music of Tom Petty; however, Rice fused contemporary indie rock, 1960's blues rock, and 1970s psychedelic rock to produce his own unique, style of music. One music-critic noted that Rice's compositions were "quite distinctive...a purely personal musical reflection" of the eras,; this musical review was echoed by other media outlets that often compared his musical-style to Petty, Coldplay, and even Cream.
Rice's creative songwriting and compositions helped establish Surefire in the New York City music scene; before they were signed, the band was regularly selling-out shows at concert venues – including the Bowery Ballroom.
Lizard King Records / Warner Music Group
Surefire's early success afforded them an opportunity to record a series of demos with renown, record producers Gus van Go and Werner F.
Impressed by these demos, Surefire's growing fandom, and their ability to sell-out venues, Lizard King Records founder and CEO Martin Heath signed Rice and the band to his label in early 2006, which already represented artists like The Killers, The Pierces, and Santigold.
Shortly thereafter, the band again had the opportunity to record with the Gus Van Go / Werner F. team – creating an untitled EP for Lizard King Records / Warner Music Group. Unfortunately, this EP was shelved by the record label and ultimately never released.
Led by Rice, Surefire later recorded the track "Surrender" for the 2005 War Child compilation album Help!: A Day in the Life. Other artists featured on this album included Coldplay, Gorillaz, Radiohead, Keane, and Damien Rice.
Surefire LP and later years
Citing a difference in musical vision, Surefire left Lizard King Records in 2007 to independently record and release their first, full-length album. Rice co-produced this self-titled album with legendary, record producer Eddie Kramer. With the release of the record: Surefire, the band continued to tour until their disbandment in late 2009.
2009–2011: Blackbells
After Surefire, Rice fronted the indie rock band: Blackbells, whose sound was compared to British artists: The Verve and Oasis. Rice produced two EPs with this group, and witnessed commercial success with musical features on CMJ College Radio, HBO TV, and the USA Network.
Blackbells EP
Rice produced the 2010 self-titled Blackbells EP. This album quickly climbed the charts to reach No. 18 on the CMJ College Radio chart.
During this time, Blackbells toured the United States and Canada and performed with artists Alberta Cross, Band of Skulls, The Crash Kings, The Greenhornes, J Mascis, and Marcy Playground. With the band, Rice made appearances at the 2010/2011 SXSW music festival, showcased at Brooklyn-Vegan's 2010 "CMJ Showcase" (a music festival), and played at the John Varvatos store in New York City.
IxI EP
Later in 2011, Rice also produced Blackbells sophomore release: IxI EP.
Like Blackbells first release, this EP was a commercial success with musical features in USA Network's Necessary Roughness television drama (episode #308) and in the premier season of HBO's 24/7 sports show (episodes #1–2). Blackbells songs "Bad Bones" and "Testify" were featured in theses HBO and USA Network TV shows. Later, Rice and his other Blackbells bandmates appeared at the DeLuna Music Festival.