Ben Deignan profile picture

Ben Deignan

"Ben was mother truckin awesome!" -John Popper

About Me


Heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye, Georgia native Ben Deignan grew up as a soul junky. It wasn't until seeing U2 in concert at the age of 15 that he began to dive into the world of rock, picking up the family’s six-string, forming various garage bands in junior high and blossoming into a 21-year-old funkster with a sound that’s turning heads in clubs around Atlanta and beyond. Since then, the singer/songwriter has spent the last 6 years crafting a southern, soulful pop/rock sound that is all his own. “A female friend of mine described my music as ‘orgasmic’ and I thought it was clever,” Deignan says. “I never really took it seriously, but for some reason it has stuck.” It was only a few years ago, while playing his dad’s company party at the Tin Roof Cantina in Atlanta, that Deignan was plucked from his own obscurity by an A&R rep for a major record label. That exposure led him to renowned Atlanta-based musician, arranger and multi-platinum certified vocal producer Jan Smith (Usher, Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Collective Soul, Edwin McCain, TLC, Sevendust, India Arie, Diana DeGarmo, Los Lonely Boys), who signed Deignan to a development and production deal and is helping the fresh-faced Deignan prep his pipes. In January 2008, Deignan signed with Bowe O'Brien and Atlanta-based Bowe Inc for agent representation, and is setting out on an extensive regional and national touring schedule. Busy playing gigs and writing songs, Deignan has a blue-eyed soulful, skatty and softly cranky mood - he cites Bono, Stevie Wonder and The Police among his influences - that sounds like something you’d hear on the radio, only more interesting. He has recorded a four-song EP, available on iTunes, is finishing a twelve-song album, and generating a significant amount of major label interest. He’s gotten more than 1.4 Million views of his live music on YouTube, and over 70,000 plays on his MySpace player. Dealing with the inevitable comparisons, Deignan remains philosophical. “Guys like John Mayer were compared to other artists for a long time, too,” he says. “It’s a comfort thing. I find it interesting because a lot of people compare me to the sounds of Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz, but I don’t hear anyone compare either one of those artists to each other. Maybe I’m the link between them.”

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/30/2005
Band Website: bendeignan.com
Band Members: Ben Deignan: vocals, guitar
Josh Graff: lead guitar
Chris Price: bass
Jared Hamilton: keys
Ryan Whitehead: sax
Daniel Shewbridge: drums

Influences: U2, Stevie Wonder, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, The Police, Temptations, New Edition (believe it or not), Jason Mraz, Johnny Lang, Everclear, Third Eye Blind, Butch Walker, Amos Lee, Bob Segar, Van Morrison, Flickerstick, Johnny Cash, Sunburn, Tony Rich Project, Babyface, Little Richard and many guilty pleasures.

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Record Label: Unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Ben on Close-Ups

Ben and producer Jan Smith will be featured on Monica Kaufman's "Close-Ups" on Atlanta's WSB, Wednesday June 11th at 8:00. Quincy Jones will also be featured during this segment.
Posted by Ben Deignan on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:41:00 PST

First record in Post-Production!

Wanted to update everyone on the status of the new record. It's officially complete and in the mastering stage as of right now. I can't begin to express how proud and excited I am. I truly feel that t...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Sun, 11 May 2008 02:33:00 PST

Upcoming Vinyl Show!

Hosted By: Ben Deignan (on iTunes!!) When: Tuesday Dec 04, 2007 at 7:00 PMWhere: Vinyl1374 West Peachtree St.Atlanta, GA 30309United StatesDescription:Ben Deignan (on iTunes!!) Click Here To View Eve...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:51:00 PST

Street Team Anyone???

Hey guys,I appreciate all the support I've been getting and I'm ready to start venturing to some of your towns. If your interested in getting a street team going in your area, please message me and I'...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:33:00 PST

99X

Atlanta's 99X has released "Palm of You Hand" to their new music short stack! This is huge, but I'd love for you to help get it in normal rotation. If you want to hear "palm.." on 99X, call in at the ...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:32:00 PST

The Evolution of Ben

Hey guys!The time has come for new material, so there you have it! Three new tracks have been posted. I hope that you give them a listen and enjoy. Can't wait to hear what you think!Bless you guys,Ben...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:13:00 PST

Power of Youtube.

Hey everyone,Wanted to put the information out there that I have started a YouTube page in the last month or so. Its actually going pretty well. Most of the posts are just covers with my spin on them,...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Sat, 02 Jun 2007 08:48:00 PST

CD IS HERE!!!!!

It's MY pleasure to finally be able to say that the Ben Deignan EP is for sale and you can get it here!!! Simply goto this link: http://jansmith.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=92b6f6 e37a1d888c2...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:52:00 PST

UPDATE!!!

Okay so here's the deal. I promise I've been in the studio and I have some proof on my pictures page. I know the same two tracks have been on my page for several months and I have yet to follow up, ho...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 06:00:00 PST

New Material

I hope everyone is enjoying the new studio material. I plan to have some more fresh cuts up there toward the end of the summer, so please swing by when you get a chance! Hope all is well..peace. ~Ben...
Posted by Ben Deignan on Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:51:00 PST