Live At Wills Pub

One-man bands can be gimmicky affairs, with the player attempting to showcase his technical skill on numerous instruments at the expense of any real soul - or any real songs. Or they can be a forum for simply letting yourself wail, and making yourself sound like a full band in the process. Ben Prestage falls into the latter camp; his ability to play multiple stringed instruments and harmonica, combined with his foot-powered drum kit, makes him a veritable wall of sound on par with any number of trios or quartets in contemporary blues. Prestage first came to attention in the mid-2000s when he placed in the top 5 for three years straight at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Since then, the Florida native has released several albums independently and toured the United States, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. His sound is deep, often dark, and reminiscent of all those early Delta bluesmen who had hellhounds on their trails, only much louder. Sure, the thousands of children who've allegedly been conceived as a result of the joint's carnal formula of loud-ass rock 'n' roll and free-flowing beer is a mildly interesting footnote. But what tough customers like you wanna know is the straight dope on Will's Pub. Not much really, unless you think being a cornerstone and incubator for absolutely everything - everything! - independent-minded in Florida's music scene in the past two decades is some sort of whoop-de-doo accomplishment or something. Well, if you are one of those nerds, then it might steam yer specs to know that Will's Pub is basically a neighborhood bar that was colonized by the music community as soon as it opened in 1995. And that now-institutionalized culture and ethos has turned it into one of the Sunshine State's most established live music venues and an anchor of the city's creative district.