Ben Sollee stops in Asheville, rehearses at The LAB

Indie cellist Ben Sollee is no stranger to Asheville. The Lexington, Ky., native has strong ties to the area — his longtime tour manager, Katie Benson, lives in West Asheville, his touring sound engineer was formerly employed at The Orange Peel and yours truly joined the band for a weeklong bicycle tour along the Gulf Coast in November. Last month, Sollee headlined Asheville Music Hall, and with a new record, Half Made Man, due this fall, Sollee is likely to return before year’s end. 

Naturally, then, it’s not all that surprising to spot the songwriter strolling down Haywood Road, as I did Sunday afternoon. Sollee and his drummer, Jordon Ellis, were in town for a few days between shows in Atlanta and Charlottesville, Va. Yesterday, I caught up with the pair again, this time as they rehearsed and experimented with a Moog Little Phatty in The LAB‘s back room.

Check out a few short clips from the session:

Ben Sollee: LAB Rehearsal 6.18.12 from Dane Smith on Vimeo.

 

Ben Sollee: LAB Rehearsal 6.18.12, pt. 2 from Dane Smith on Vimeo.

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