Last year, I spoke with Preacher Stone’s Ben Robinson as they released their last album and made their return to the UK. Fast forward a year and they have another album due for release and another return to the UK so we figured now was the best time to catch up and find out what’s new in the band’s world as well as Ben’s.
Hey, how’s it going?
I’ll tell ya, if I were any better, it would be against the law.
What can you tell us about the upcoming album By the Horns?
Well, where do I start? What started out as “What are we going to do?” turned out to be one of the most fun albums I’ve ever been a part of. We all just wanted to make a great rock and roll album, that’s what we set out to do, and in my opinion, that’s what we did.
Did you envision such a quick turnaround from the previous album, V last year to this one?
No. When V was being recorded, Johnny Webb and Marty Hill were still with us. After losing two brothers, nobody really knew what was going to happen next. Marty told all of us that he wanted us to keep moving forward, even after he was gone. But a conversation that he had with me really hit home, he said, “You gotta keep this going man!” We all took that to heart and we got to work!
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Has the songwriting process changed from the first album to this one?
Yes and no. Yes in the fact that things are a bit more stressful on my end. That’s all in my own head, but I always had Marty to lean on, and now I feel a greater responsibility than I did in the past. The process has adapted but at the end of the day it’s still a group of best friends in a room writing songs.
How has the band adapted to the personnel changes with the passing of Johnny Webb and Marty Hill and Darrell Whitt joining? How did it affect the writing and recording of this album?
I feel that we’ve adapted well. We all knew Darrell from previous tours, he honestly fit right into the mix and his work ethic is absolutely uncanny. Considering what we were up against, I couldn’t imagine a better guy to fill the enormous shoes that had to be filled. As far as the writing process, I honestly felt a void without Johnny, but as the songs came together, we found direction. By The Horns was destined to be, and turned into, a guitar riff focused rock and roll album.
Glenn Tabor produced the album again. What was it like to go back to working with him?
Oh Glenn…what can’t you say about Glenn? The man is an absolute mutant! We send him demos and he immediately knows the vibe we are going for. If I had my way, I’d never work in another studio or with another group of people for the rest of my career! He truly does envelop himself into the project and legitimately gives you 110%. We can’t leave his right hand man Logan out of that mix, even if they both have an unrealistic coffee addiction!
You were touring the UK last year with Tom Killner and Sons of Liberty. How was that? The tour included a slot at Maid of Stone. What were your thoughts on playing on the main stage of a relatively new festival?
Well, let’s start this answer with me saying that I love each and every member of both of those bands. The boys from Sons were absolutely top notch, I message Fred and Moose from time to time and have a laugh or two. The Killner camp was just as awesome, what a great bunch of guys. In a perfect world there would be an epic tour with Preacher Stone, Sons of Liberty, Tom Killner, and Revenant! As for Maid of Stone, that was absolutely amazing! We play festivals in the States all the time but nothing can compare to the energy of what we did so early in the day at the first UK fest we played!
And you’re back in the UK next year on tour for the third time! Does this mean we can expect you to be a regular fixture over here and what are you looking forward to coming back?
I would hope so as we love coming to tour in the UK! It’ll be a super cool tour with our new mates Revenant who are killer so go check them out. We’re playing London for the first time, favorites of ours and new venues so looking forward to meeting new folk. We’ll be at the birthplace of metal, Birmingham, on my birthday so y’all have to be there! We’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Planet Rock festivals so Winter’s End will be a blast, their breakfast anchorman Paul Anthony has become a friend from hanging out at Maid of Stone and he really got behind us. For me personally, I find it amazing the amount of support we receive from the fans, it truly makes all the hard work worth it.
Do many people tell you they first heard you on Sons of Anarchy and became a fan from that?
That’s hit or miss to be honest. The fans that we have gained from the show became greater fans when they saw the band live. It’s one thing to hear a band and become a fan and it’s another to become a fan because you feel like you’re a part of a family and that’s what we strive to do. I’d like to think that I could go and have a pint with any one of our fans in my backyard. To me it’s more than a number, it’s more than a ticket sale, it’s creating a relationship through music.
How did your fanbase become known as The Congregation?
I would guess it would have something to do with the name? You’ll have to talk to Buddy Fulmer for that one on our Facebook group The Preacher Stone Congregation (Official Fan Club) as he set that up, come and join it!
Being from North Carolina, Southern rock is easy to gravitate towards but is there any other genre of music you’d have explored?
I am a huge blues fan and I’ve toured with many different artists that were very far from southern rock. But being born in Jacksonville, Florida, I suppose you could say the southern rock is in my blood.
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What else does the band have planned for the rest of the year and 2026?
We have our album release party at Madlife Stage and Studios in Woodstock, Georgia on October 19th and we’ll be shooting a new video with everyone rocking out there! There’ll be some more shows before we head to the UK and a whole lot more when we return. We’ll keep writing songs and making records that make us feel fulfilled. That plan has seemed to work up until this point and as they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!
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