Interview with Ben Lerman
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
Yesterday, I had a chance to have tacos with neighbor and ukulele player Ben Lerman. Here is the result. Not pictured: taco carnage.
What brought you to this area? How long have you lived here? If you stay in NYC, do you plan to stay here?
I have cousins in Ditmas Park, and I stayed with them when I first came to NYC 12 years ago. I’ve lived in NYC for 12 years, and I prefer living here and having roommates. I have really bad habits when I live alone, so when I have a roommate who’s also sloppy, it’s like I have tacit approval for the garbage.
The area is really far, though, and the train ride is starting to get to me. If I stayed here, I’d get a car, which you can have in this area.
What do you like best about Kensington?
I live in a house, which is comforting. It’s like living in a smaller city. I really like Sycamore.
What would you say we need more of? Less of? Will the area get better or fatter?
We need more places like Sycamore. We have lots of fruit stands, but no decent coffee places. The Post Office is also horrible, and there are no mailboxes.
Both – they’re not mutually exclusive. My impression is that people see it as a place to settle with kids, which is good.
How did filming the “Amish Fashion Show” video at Brooklyn College go? Why Brooklyn College?
I attended Brooklyn College, and I knew they have a great studio – it’s well set up, the have a state of the art lighting board, and a big, open studio. The filming was sponsored by the TV club, and it was smooth, professional, and pleasant.
What other local performers do you recommend and enjoy?
My roommate, Claudia Kogen, was on last comic standing. Eliot Glazer lives in Ditmas park. He’s a blogger for urlist? URL… Something. And he produces fun shows. He did a screening of riding the bus with my sister at union hall recently. Hilarious. I also recommend Nick Turner, Mike Larence, and Liz Miele.
Do your neighbors complain about ukulele practice?
Not at all – I don’t play past 11 pm. My landlord and upstairs neighbor are both musicians.
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