I Once Thought I Was Famous

Posted by Ben Stevens on

Today I share with you about my teenage years and how I once was in a rock and roll band called Arc of Faith, and in my head thought I was almost famous.  We were from a conservative christian upbringing and so our band was a christian band.  Our timing couldn't have been better at the height of the grunge movement and everyone listening to bands like Nirvana and Bush.  Also a great time as church youth groups around the city were full of youth and there was no shortage of places to play.  The only trouble was that we were mostly playing music from the late 80's.  So our timing of having a rock band was perfect but our style was slightly outdated.  We did eventually evolve into a more relevant style right before we all went our own way with kids and family.  

One great example of dating our music style was that as a younger kid in the 80's keytars were a big thing.  Instead of a guitar you had a keyboard you wore and held similar to a guitar.  As a kid with not much money though we had to make due and I took my Yamaha keyboard and took the legs off it and screwed a guitar strap on it.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever, when in reality it was awkward, silly looking and not cool at all...very much like actual keytars.  


There were plenty of comical events such as once in the middle of a song in front of hundreds of teenagers I pulled the mic out of the stand but it stuck and when I pulled harder it released and smacked me in the mouth.  I basically punched myself in the mouth with a microphone.  I continued singing away as I could very clearly taste the blood in my mouth.  It sounds way more rock and roll than it probably was.  I remember also playing a concert when I was super sick with mono, which not surprisingly got way worse shortly after.  

My most embarrassing moment though was at a concert in Nova Scotia trying to get the crowd pumped up during a song I was clapping my hands over top of my head like was popular thing at the time and still is today at many concerts.  The only problem was what I was doing with my feet.  With each clap I was putting my feet together and then apart very rhythmically.  If you didn't catch the description I was doing jumping jacks on stage and everyone saw it and made sure to point it afterwards for years to come.  

We have the best parents that let us practice and make all kinds of noise writing and practicing our songs.  They drove us all over the place to get to concerts and eventually loaned us their vehicles.  They helped finance our band through our instruments, albums, and food in massive amount...four teenage boys.  They were our biggest fans hands down and we can never say thank you enough to all of them.  

We all have stayed connected to music in our own unique ways.  Even though looking back part of me wonders what we were thinking, the other part of me realizes I had an incredible experience as a teenager.  Our fans loved us and we quite often had encores, mostly started by our friends chanting "One more song." We recorded two albums for oh so much money when I see how easily albums can be made today if you own a half decent computer.  We even in our final years did a tour of Ontario and Quebec filled with many stories I'll some day share.  The reality is that even though we weren't famous, unknown outside of the Maritimes and even within the Maritimes we had an incredible experience that I wouldn't change for the world.  I also gained three lifelong friends that still are great friends today.  I will undoubtedly share more stories from our band as I continue sharing our life with you through story.  


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