Benjamin Gibbard (born August 11, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (ke ...

, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a member of the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band The Postal Service. Gibbard released his debut solo album, '' Former Lives'', in 2012, and a collaborative studio album, ''

One Fast Move or I'm Gone ''One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur'' is an album by Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt), released in 2009. The lyrics are based on the prose of Jack Kerouac's novel ''Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and moun ...

'' (2009) with Jay Farrar.

Early life

Gibbard was born to Allen and Margaret (née Flach) Gibbard in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

. His father was in the Navy and his family moved around the country, including spending time in Northern Virginia before returning to Washington. Gibbard spent his early life there during the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of ...

music explosion of the early 1990s. He graduated from Olympic High School in Bremerton in 1994, and studied environmental chemistry at Western Washington University. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and in 2007 referred to himself as an "indoctrinated Catholic even though I haven't been to church of my own volition in 10 or 15 years now."

Career

In 1996, while playing guitar in the band Pinwheel, Gibbard recorded a demo cassette under the moniker

, titled ''

You Can Play These Songs with Chords ''You Can Play These Songs with Chords'' is an early (1996-97) demo from the rock band Death Cab for Cutie, which at the time consisted entirely of founder Ben Gibbard. This demo was originally released on cassette by Elsinor Records. It proved ...

'' (1997). After receiving a positive response to the material, Gibbard expanded the project into a full band, with the addition of guitarist Chris Walla, bassist

Nick Harmer Nicholas Scott Harmer (born January 23, 1975) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist and occasional co-songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Equipment Basses * Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub Signature Black *Lakland Sk ...

and drummer Nathan Good. The following year, the band released its debut album, ''

Something About Airplanes ''Something About Airplanes'' is the debut studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 18, 1998 on Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the ...

'' (1998), on

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawi ...

, and released its follow-up, '' We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes'', in 2000. Gibbard had a minor role in the

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nin ...

film ''

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men ''Brief Interviews with Hideous Men'' is a short story collection by the late American writer David Foster Wallace, first published in 1999 by Little, Brown. According to the papers in the David Foster Wallace Archive at the Harry Ransom Center ...

'' based on the David Foster Wallace short story collection of the same title. He completed a solo tour through the US in the spring of 2007 that featured

David Bazan David Bazan (; born January 22, 1976) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona who now resides in Seattle, Washington. Bazan is the lead singer and creative force behind the band Pedro the Lion and was the lead sing ...

Pedro the Lion Pedro the Lion is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States. David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. In 2006 Pedro the Lion ...

and singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice. In November 2014, Gibbard appeared as a guest on

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) ...

' eighth studio album '' Sonic Highways''. Ben Gibbard and Julien Baker

Gibbard has been open about his political views, expressing his support of the Democratic Party. On October 10, 2016, Death Cab for Cutie released "Million Dollar Loan", the first song in the

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...

project, 30 Days, 50 Songs. The song targets Donald Trump as it satirizes the fact he asked his father for a million dollar loan. Gibbard said of the song: "Lyrically, 'Million Dollar Loan' deals with a particularly tone deaf moment in Donald Trump's ascent to the Republican nomination. While campaigning in New Hampshire last year, he attempted to cast himself as a self-made man by claiming he built his fortune with just a 'small loan of a million dollars' from his father. Not only has this statement been proven to be wildly untrue, he was so flippant about it. It truly disgusted me." During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Gibbard

live streamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, bu ...

daily concerts from his home after canceling shows due to the pandemic. Gibbard played songs by his bands

and The Postal Service and other artists such as the Decemberists,

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...

, New Order,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

while promoting local Washington non-profit organizations.

Personal life

Gibbard became engaged to actress and musician Zooey Deschanel in 2008 and married in September 2009 near

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

. They announced their separation on November 1, 2011, with Deschanel filing for divorce on December 27, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on December 12, 2012. Gibbard later married photographer and tour manager Rachel Demy on October 21, 2016 in Seattle. In a 2003 interview, Gibbard stated that while he had previously been a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

, he recently became a pescetarian. He reportedly gave up alcohol in 2008 and began running marathons. He ran his first trail

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

in 2013 and has since completed several each year. Gibbard is a lapsed Catholic who now identifies as

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...

: "I don't want to falsely believe in something solely so I can jump to the front of the line for whatever this awesome place is we go after we die. ..The vastness of that idea is so beyond my comprehension that I feel like if there was a God, then that God would accept me saying I'm not able to believe because it's so outside of my ability to understand it. I understand that's where faith comes into play." Gibbard is an activist for gay rights and wrote an article in ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' explaining why the issue is important to him. He stated that when his lesbian sister got married, it was "the most beautiful thing" he ever saw. In the article, he voiced his support for Washington Referendum 74 and discussed raising money for the issue. He stated, "I would just feel so much pride for my state if we could pass it by a popular vote and show the rest of the country that this is the direction we are going in." Gibbard has been a fan of the MLB's

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

since the age of five and has thrown the first pitch at two Mariners games. When the Mariners traded

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began hi ...

to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in 2012, Gibbard honored him by writing and releasing the song "Ichiro's Theme". Gibbard's handwritten lyrics for the song are currently in the archive of the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the ...

Musical equipment

As of May 2015, Gibbard tours with four modified 1970s Fender Mustang guitars. Additionally, he uses two custom-built Acme Silvertone amplifier heads. For use on acoustic songs, he relies on two 2008

Gibson J-45 The Gibson J-45 is a dreadnought style acoustic guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is generally regarded as Gibson's most famous and widely used acoustic guitar model. The J-45 is part of Gibson's round-shoulder "jumbo" ...

Acoustic Guitars with B-Band pickup systems. As of 2016, Gibbard has since began using Supro amplifiers. In the past, Gibbard played 1980s Japanese-built Squier Bullets through a Sears Silvertone amp, which he immortalized in the lyrics to the song No Joy In Mudville. He also used

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...

s and G&L ASAT guitars. In January 2021, Fender announced the Ben Gibbard Mustang as part of their Artist Signature series, designed to Ben's specifications and inspired by the 1970s Mustangs he uses on tour. The guitar features several unique features including a chambered ash body, custom "Ben Gibbard" pickups, and simplified electronics.

In popular culture

Gibbard is the subject of the song "Ben's My Friend" by

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has it ...

act

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist ...

. The track appears on the project's sixth studio album, ''

Benji Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise. Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an unc ...

'' (2014). On Sun Kil Moon's follow-up album, ''

Universal Themes ''Universal Themes'' is the seventh studio album by American indie folk act Sun Kil Moon, released on June 2, 2015 on Caldo Verde Records. The album was preceded by the singles, "The Possum", "Garden of Lavender" and "Ali/Spinks 2", and features ...

'' (2015), primary recording artist

Mark Kozelek Mark Edward Kozelek (born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and occasional actor. He is known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and founding member of th ...

again refers to his friendship with Gibbard on its closing track, "This Is My First Day and I'm Indian and I Work at a Gas Station". Gibbard previously made a guest appearance on the band's third studio album, ''

April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with ...

'' (2008). Gibbard is also referenced in "The Cones of Dunshire", an episode from the sixth season of ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

''. In the episode, April (

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom ''Pa ...

) attempts to promote a forest cabin to hipsters by claiming that "Ben Gibbard and

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...

made out here once."

Discography

Death Cab for Cutie

*''

'' (1997) *''

'' (1998) *'' We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes'' (2000) *''

The Photo Album ''The Photo Album'' is the third studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released October 9, 2001 on Barsuk Records. The albums spawned three singles: " A Movie Script Ending", " I Was a Kaleidoscope", and " We Laugh Indoors". All ...

'' (2001) *''

Transatlanticism ''Transatlanticism'' is the fourth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on October 7, 2003, by Barsuk Records. At this point in their career, the group had toured and recorded for nearly a half-decade. With tensions risi ...

'' (2003) *'' Plans'' (2005) *'' Narrow Stairs'' (2008) *''

Codes and Keys ''Codes and Keys'' is the seventh studio album by Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 31, 2011. Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer have both been quoted as saying that the album will be "a much less guitar-centric album than we've ever made before". Th ...

'' (2011) *'' Kintsugi'' (2015) *''

Thank You for Today ''Thank You for Today'' is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. The album was released on August 17, 2018, on Atlantic Records. Production and release The album was produced by Rich Costey, who returns after ...

'' (2018) *''

Asphalt Meadows ''Asphalt Meadows'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It was released on September 16, 2022, through Atlantic Records. Produced by John Congleton, the album was preceded by the singles "Roman Candles", " Here t ...

'' (2022)

Ben Gibbard

*'' Home Volume V'' (split LP with

Andrew Kenny Andrew Kenny is the main singer/songwriter of The Wooden Birds, which released their debut LP ''Magnolia'' in May 2009. Their second album, ''Two Matchsticks'', was released June 2011. He was the frontman for the American Indie (music), indie/lo ...

, 2003) *"Couches In Alleys" (featured on

Styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...

's album ''Nothing's Lost'', 2004'')'' *Kurt Cobain About a Son: Original Score (with

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...

, 2008) *'' Former Lives'' (2012) *''Bandwagonesque'' (cover of

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared l ...

's album ''

Bandwagonesque ''Bandwagonesque'' is the third album by Scottish alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub, released in November 1991 on Creation Records. The album gave the band substantial US success when the single "Star Sign" reached number four on the ''Billboa ...

'', 2017) *"Do You Remember" (featured on

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape ''10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

's album '' The Big Day'', 2019) *"Me & Magdalena" (written by Gibbard for

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

' album '' Good Times!, 2016'') *"Provider" (featured on the Chong the Nomad's EP ''A Long Walk'', 2020) *"Every Beginning Ends" (featured on

Noah Cyrus Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born January 8, 2000) is an American singer and actress. As a child actress she voiced the titular character in the English dub of the film ''Ponyo'' (2008), as well as having minor roles on shows like ''Hannah Montana'' and ' ...

' album ''The Hardest Part'', 2022)

The Postal Service

*'' Give Up'' (2003)

¡All-Time Quarterback!

*''

¡All-Time Quarterback! All-Time Quarterback (stylized ¡All-Time Quarterback!) was a solo side-project of Ben Gibbard, best known as the singer/guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie and as one third of the Postal Service. Gibbard started the project in the spring of 1997 ...

'' (EP, 1999) *''

The Envelope Sessions ''The Envelope Sessions'' is the second release from Ben Gibbard's solo project ¡All-Time Quarterback!. The tape was a limited release on Elsinor Records and is now out of print. Tracks from this tape were later taken and put together with the ...

'' (1999) *''

'' (album, 1999)

Kind of Like Spitting

*''

Bridges Worth Burning ''Bridges Worth Burning'' is an album by the band Kind of Like Spitting. It was released on August 6, 2002 on Barsuk Records. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington ...

'' (drums, vocals, 2002)

American Analog Set

*''New Equation / All I Want For Christmas'' (7", backing vocals, 2001)

With Jay Farrar

*''

'' (2009)

Pinwheel

*''Pinwheel'' (1996)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbard, Ben 20th-century American singers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers 1976 births Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock singers American agnostics American alternative rock musicians American indie rock musicians American male film actors American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Atlantic Records artists Barsuk Records artists Death Cab for Cutie members Guitarists from Washington (state) LGBT rights activists from the United States Living people Pedro the Lion members People from Bremerton, Washington Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) Sub Pop artists The Minus 5 members The Postal Service members Western Washington University alumni