Take a Wild Ride With Band of Horses

Have you ever inserted a CD into your stereo and moments later found yourself crumpled on the floor with tears streaming down your face? Yeah, neither had we—until we listened to Band of Horses. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Ben Bridwell's voice is so delicate and haunting that he manages to tease emotions out of submission.

Ben gained notoriety playing drums in Seattle's acclaimed indie-rock cult favorite Carissa's Wierd while running Brown Records. Shortly after releasing Songs About Leaving in 2002—a masterpiece that was recorded and mixed with Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla—the orchestral pop darlings called it quits, and Seattle went into mourning. After the group parted ways, Ben formed Band of Horses and signed to Sub Pop Records, which led to a tour opening for the revered indie-folk band Iron and Wine. Band of Horses is now recording their first CD, with producer Phil Ek (Modest Mouse, Built to Spill). If the CD is anything like the band's limited edition tour EP—made up of the aforementioned batch of wistful down-tempo tunes that knocked us on the floor in one fell swoop—we'll be the first in line at our local record store.

We could go on, but we must get to the point—Ben has been a vegetarian for several years, hence we interviewed him. Now, it's your turn to find out even more about Ben, including about his fondness for Seattle's many veggie restaurants, his habit of obsessively frequenting KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, and personal tips on what you should do if you witness cruelty to animals.

Still wondering what you can do to get in on the action? We have just the solution—join peta2's Street Team to help animals while earning free goods like CDs, DVDs, T-shirts, and more!