About Me
Since the age of 6 Ben has been a natural as a musical maestro. The youngest of 4 children - 1 deaf brother, 1 rock star brother (Joey Vera of Armored Saint and later Anthrax) and 1 sister, he was raised almost as an only child since his next sibling was 10 years his senior. Starting out playing tapes on a double cassette deck for his parents and their guests. At age 12 he started learning to play the alto saxophone and from there his love of music grew.
Over the years he dabbled in piano, flute, ballet, and choir which helped to round out his musical preferences and style. In the early 90's when creativity was a must in order to fit in in the high school setting, Ben came into his own as a "houser" or break dancer under the moniker of Par 4. It was his ability to hang with the older crowd on the dance floor that he first learned that through music can come popularity. It was during these years at local house parties that he first encountered Taboo and Eclipse and the other members who years later would become The Black Eyed Peas.
One day while practicing as a back up dancer for 2 local rappers Zone and Rex at the Jackie Robinson Center for an upcoming talent show, a strange thing happened. The 2 rappers only wrote 1 verse each to the instrumental to "Sounds Of The Zeekers" by Leaders of the New School. It was this fluke that caused him and fellow dancer Playa E.T. to write their first raps. The group name changed to Made To Flow and a long slew of fisrt place performances in local talent shows ensued. Amazingly this rap quartet and later trio never once finished lower than 1st place! A large following of the local youth came soon after and also the attention of many local producers. It was less than a year before the group went into the studio for their first time to create their first rap album. The first single "Traffic Jam" made radio airwaves on 92.3 The Beat in Los Angeles and things were looking promising. However, greed set in when management started to pursue a recording contract with Columbia Records and Ben (then called B.O. Flow) left the group to continue what was becoming an exhausting career in the local theatre playing Romeo on the Cal Tech Beckman Auditorium stage.
After a 2 year stint in the theatre and a bad taste in his mouth from the music industry, Ben decided to follow his oldest brother's suggestion of learning the music business. So after taking a 1 year break from school right after high school, he started building his own home studio and making beats and recording local rappers. Finding a new inspiration in music production, he decided to enter UCLA and under the instruction of people like Randy Jackson completed a 2 year course in music business and production.
After recording a song a day for over a year and a half, his record collection and knowledge of music grew immensely! Local groups he developed in the rap game include Destro, B.P. and Math of 3rd Plane / E.T., Juice, and Gr8 Dane of J.A.P.A.N. / Puffessor Mindbender and Ron Smart of K.G.B. / Kiz Charizmatic / Zone / Quaz / Reelz to name a few...
One day while trying to count his record collection he stopped when he got to record 2000 and realized that, even though he wasn't finished counting, it was way too many records to just keep to himself. That day Par 4 decided to start to DJ under the name Benthere. Little did he know that this new hobby would one day become his sole source of income and main avenue to future successes!
As a DJ, Benthere has travelled the globe with mentor DJ Motiv8 of The Black Eyed Peas, been an on-air mixer for 100.3 The Beat (the same station that played his first single 10 years earlier), and performed in front of several thousands of people over the last 10 years. Some of his most notable sets were - Together As One New Years Eve 2001 @ The L.A. Coliseum, Nocturnal Wonderland 2000 @ The Indio Polo Fields, Flavor Flav & Bushwick Bill @ Vibe Afterhours, opening DJ for Bow Wow, Wyclef, 112, Nelly, Kanye West, T.I., Damian Marley, SWV, Fat Joe, Kool Kieth and The Alkoholics, just to name a few! But he is not just another DJ playing whatever is popular - NO!!! His extensive musical knowledge and varied cultural background make him one of todays most versatile Mixmasters in the business.
Every event he does is different in genre, style and demographic. He can be seen playing hours of salsa or rare grooves. Classical music and disco at weddings, underground hip-hop at hole in the wall restaurants, top 40 and R&B on the radio, house and 80's in Hollywood's elite venues and he's incredible in each setting!!! His love for music and helping people celebrate is magnetic and his execution in the mix is flawless and smooth.
His fanfare in the Hollywood scene has landed him in television and movies as well, not always as a DJ but as other characters. Between his skill as an actor and musician, DJ Benthere is sure to be in the entertainment business for a long time to come, welcome to the Myspace of DJ Benthere. He's not only "done that", but he is "still getting it done"!"TURN IT OUT""PLANET HITZ""FIVE FOUR CLOTHING SHOOT""WOW! OUT THERE"
