Ben McKee

Benjamin Arthur McKee (born April 7, 1985, also known as Soft Hands McKee) is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the bassist for the rock band Imagine Dragons.\n', ' McKee was raised in Forestville, California, and graduated from El Molino High School. He grew up playing acoustic guitar and violin, before picking up acoustic bass in fifth grade. In high school, he continued learning bass guitar as a member of a jazz trio, which influenced his decision to attend Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, McKee played in a guitar performance ensemble with future Imagine Dragons bandmates Wayne Sermon and Daniel Platzman.\n', ' In 2008, McKee was invited by Wayne Sermon to join Imagine Dragons, based out of Las Vegas. McKee dropped out of his final semester at Berklee to join the band, inviting Daniel Platzman to play drums, completing the lineup. The band relocated to Las Vegas performing and honing their craft nearly nightly as a lounge act. The band proceeded to earn a number of local accolades including "Best CD of 2011" (Vegas SEVEN), "Best Local Indie Band 2010" (Las Vegas Weekly), "Las Vegas\' Newest Must See Live Act" (Las Vegas CityLife), and more sent the band on a positive trajectory. In November 2011 they signed with Interscope Records and began working with producer Alex da Kid.\n', '