Meet the Artist: Ben Plott

Name and Age: Ben Plott, 28

Hometown: Santiago, Chile and Peoria, Ill.

Time in Dunedin: Six years

Key to Awesomeness: Plott is a familiar face around the Dunedin Brewery, where he hosts open mic night. Plott’s also a guitar teacher at Musicology Tampa Bay, as well as a member of the newly-formed Bounce House and former member of popular Dunedin group, The Trio.

When did you start making music?

"I started making music at [age] 4 on the recorder. When we moved to the United States from Chile in 1988, I started messing around with the keyboard and saxophone. But, it was while traveling to soccer tournaments, when my father would listen to Led Zeppelin, that turned me on to the electric guitar."

Where can people find your music?

"I host the Dunedin Brewery open mic night every Wednesday. People can check out Onesunband.com where they can find The Trio CD for sale."

What keeps you making music?

"I love hearing the spontaneous creation that happens with live performance. I have a drive to reach a point in my own playing where I feel total freedom … where the music is just flowing through me and I am just a vessel for beauty to pass through."

Musically, what is your greatest inspiration?

"One of my great inspirations is my guitar teacher Peter Mongaya. He’s the owner of Musicology, the school where I teach guitar lessons. Peter’s shown me so much about music, and continues to pursue music even though he has reached great levels of mastery. Whenever I get a chance to see his group play, it always inspires me to go home and practice hard."

What would you say to someone starting out with music?

"Believe in youself! It’s so important to have confidence in what you do. Love what you do and have fun. I would recommend every musician starts singing as soon as possible. It gives you an amazing internalization of the music that can only be attained through singing. I only started singing at 24, but wish I had the courage to sing my whole life."