BIOGRAPHY

Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ben Mauro grew up in Syracuse, New York. He first began playing guitar and singing at age 16 blasting Led Zeppelin songs in his parents’ basement and by age 17, he says he was totally obsessed with making music. After high school, Ben briefly studied classical guitar at a local college then moved to New York City where he says his real musical education began. Shorty after his arrival, he got hired to perform in the house band at Greenwhich Village’s legendary Cafe Wha?, which is the club where Jimi Hendrix was discovered. At Cafe Wha?, Ben would perfect his chops playing by performing multiple styles of music until 4am, five nights a week. He eventually moved on and began playing in various groups performing anywhere from the hard rock clubs of New Jersey to the R&B clubs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Word spread quickly and Ben got an offer to join funk and pop icon Lionel Richie's band, which brought him to Los Angeles. Ben then began playing concerts with Lionel all over the world to thousands of screaming fans. In between Lionel gigs, Ben also played on the first American Idol tour featuring Kelly Clarkson, as well as many of her television debut shows. He then went on the play guitar for Britney Spears for the Black Onyx Tour and appeared in multiple television performances with Britney. Ben has worked with many other artists, including Christina Aquilera, Prince, Peter Frampton, Don Felder from the Eagles and more. Most recently, he has been hired to play guitar and sing background vocals with the legendary John Fogerty. Ben's original band, for which he is the lead singer and guitarist, is called 13CURVES. He also co- produced their debut CD "Underground." Broadcaster Arthel Neville commented: "13CURVES—feel good rock that looks good too! ‘Underground’ is the kind of CD that you put on repeat and never get tired of listening to." Two songs from the CD were used for the Bogner Entertainment movie "Soccer Mom" and in the ABC Family show, Make It or Break It. The band has also received great reviews of their dynamic live show. Ben has served as a Musical Director for Britney Christian, Kandace Lyndsey, B.C. Jean and Eric Stuart. Because of his extraordinary musical skills and dynamic stage presence, he has remained one of the core members of Lionel Richie's band for over 10 years, recording two live DVDs and one live CD with Lionel. Chuckii Booker is Lionel Richie's Musical director. Ben is Chuckii’s main guitarist in the studio, and lately they have been working on re-creates of many of Lionel's biggest songs. Ben has made multiple TV performances on such shows as Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The View, Good Morning America and many others. He has just started to focus on a solo career and is currently playing local shows in Hollywood and recording his debut CD.