Rhythm with bulls, horses, and music makes the perfect song for this musician.

Beni Paulson grew up on a family ranch in western North Dakota and had a bull rope in his hand from the start. Rodeo, guitar strings, song, and the rolling hills of North Dakota formed the cowboy and musician he has come to be.

The melody of Beni Paulson and his evolution to spearhead his band, Breaking Eight, began well before he could hold a musical instrument. When the cowboy was four, he rode is first sheep in Halliday, N.D., professing that he was hopelessly addicted. Riding bulls through the ranks of North Dakota high school rodeo where he was a state champion to amateur associations, he ventured out to Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Professional Bull Riders (PBR).

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Amidst this, he dabbled in having a band in college and loved it but said he knew at the time, it was either be ‘all in’ on the back of the buckers or ‘all in’ on the stage.

Summoned to the arena and eventually ending up as North Dakota’s first qualifier for the PBR World Finals and after fifteen years riding beasts that want to ‘get you gone’ from Brazil to Canada and across the U.S., Paulson wasn’t finished being in the spotlight.

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As life would have it, the progression from the back of bucking bulls made for the perfect education to enable the western North Dakota rancher to write songs and make music with the tune of travels from packed arenas and bull pens to the peaceful pastures.

The evolution of the band and starting to write songs that made a positive impact on the audience gave the cowboy/musician a purpose, larger than the Dakota sunsets.

“Coming to the realization that playing in the band and party scene we were kind of encouraging bad decisions, I was inspired to write and do music for positive and good things,” explained the cowboy.

And so began the chords, the work, and the songs that are behind his band, Breaking Eight, where Paulson is the lead singer and bass guitar player.

[Photo: submitted]

“The goals are to be original and tell the story of the western culture, ranching, rodeo, and way of life,” said Paulson.

Paulson said he craves the challenge of making new music and getting people attracted to it. “Getting people to hear and like a new song is a whole gig in itself. That’s challenging and rewarding at the same moment,” laughed Paulson.

Currently Paulson is working on an album with original writing and recording music as the musical director for the television series, ‘Wild Rides’ and has a lot more action ahead. Working with RFD TV and the Cowboy Channel has opened some doors to launch a new network in the fall: Wildridestv.com. With executive producer Kevin Holten, of Wildrose, N.D., Paulson will be assisting with this series to captivate and preserve western culture, horses, and rodeo.

“The work ethic of North Dakota is the greatest thing that’s helped me in the music industry and riding bulls,” said Paulson. Perseverance and being around people with a ‘no quit attitude’ are the main attributes this cowboy carries with him. “And there is always the other side, holding onto the North Dakota modest and humble mentality in the rough stock pen and music industry by keeping it authentic is part of who we are.”

Learning how to balance North Dakota ‘niceness’ and still strike with a competitive edge is basically walking a fine line. “It boils down to maintaining respect and being good to people, while being competitive confident. Making the effort is truly important,” said Paulson.

Courage — being scared to do something and saddling up anyways — is something Paulson lives by. “When I was about 13, I was forced to get on this colt. I knew he was going to buck or blow up. We didn’t have round pens or go through the proper groundwork then, but my dad, Dennis, and Alan Pennington got me through it.”

Looking back, Paulson said he came to the realization that if those two men would have let him have his way and not get on and finish training the young bronc, his life may have taken a different path. The musician added, “One ride and one day, taught me to follow through, step out of my comfort zone and to not give up.”

To hear more from this legendary North Dakotan making his way, follow Breaking Eight on their Facebook page, breakingeight.com, and Wildridestv.com.