Do you know "Breaking Benjamin" ??
So the founder of the band whose name is part of the band's name is Benjamin Burnley and he was born on March 10, 1978.
Let's know some interesting facts about the man:
(Photo: Maro Hagopian)
1. He taught himself to play the guitar by listening to Nirvana's "Nevermind" album, he said it was the most influential album of his life.
2. He formed his band "Breaking Benjamin" in 1999 and he is the only permanent member/founder of the band. The band's first name was "Plan 9".
3. He released four albums with his first band members, "Saturate" in 2002, "We Are Not Alone" in 2004,
"Phobia" in 2006 and "Dear Agony" in 2009.
4. In the band's early years Benjamin was heavily addicted to alcohol until in 2007, he experienced three sleepless days of non-stop drinking. That same year he decided he was quitting alcohol and the album "Dear Agony" which talks about this subject, was the first he wrote when he was sober.
5. Although he is weaned off alcohol his body has developed a syndrome called "Wernicke – Korsakoff" in which the body behaves as after drinking a lot of alcohol only without the "high"... headaches, dizziness, and lack of orientation in the environment. In 2010 he took a break from the band to take care of his health.
6. That same year a big explosion in the band took place. During the time Burnley was in rehab, guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark Klepaski decided to release a compilation album called "Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin" at the record company's offer and get $ 100,000 for the album. The album came out without the knowledge or consent of Benjamin, who as soon as he knew, sued the two members and the record company. After three years of court struggles, the two members were fired from the band and Benjamin was given all the rights to the band.
7. After the end of the legal battle, Benjamin formed a completely new band with which he released three more albums: "Dark Before Dawn" in 2015, "Ember" in 2018, and "Aurora" in 2020.
8. Benjamin suffers from various fears and anxiety attacks, one of his biggest fears is fear of flying. The band held its first tour outside the US only in 2016. In shows that the band has to fly, he travels in a car or sails on a ship.
9. Benjamin is such a die-hard gamer that for the song the band wrote for the famous "Halo 2" game called "Blow Me Away", they did not receive royalties because Benjamin was just happy to have his song in a video game.
10. Finally... two facts together... the band got its name because at one of the shows Benjamin broke the microphone and someone in the audience shouted "Breaking Benjamin". Benjamin is left-handed but plays the right-handed guitar.
Listen to the first album with the new band on: Spotify, Apple Music