Many fans’ introduction to Billy Strings was the now iconic video of him playing “Dust in a Baggie” while sitting on a couch at a friend’s party. The song helped launch the Michigan-born bluegrass picker to stardom. However, his songwriting and blisteringly fast guitar work weren’t the only things that caught fans’ attention. The shoeless guy in the background smoking an unlit cigarette has been the center of hilarious comments since the video was posted.
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Recently, Strings appeared on comedian Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast. During their conversation, the guitar virtuoso gave some behind-the-scenes information about the iconic video. More specifically, he identified the shoeless partygoer in the background of the clip.
[RELATED: 3 Times Billy Strings Reinvented Traditional Bluegrass]
Billy Strings Goes Behind the Scenes of the “Dust in a Baggie” Video
“That’s a famous video now because of that guy in the background,” Billy Strings said, downplaying his performance in the clip. “Barefoot Ben,” he added, identifying the mystery man. “We were all on mushrooms that night. We were sitting in one of my friends, Gina’s, basement. There was a big party upstairs and everyone was drunk. But we were all tripping so we wanted to go downstairs and be quiet and get away from all the drunks,” he recalled.
Then, Strings gave a little more information about his friend. “Barefoot Ben there, he was barefoot at every party like wearing tie-dye,” he said. “In this video, we’re tripping and I’m playing these songs and he’s smoking an unlit cigarette and he keeps hitting it like it’s lit. I don’t think he even knows it,” he added. “But if you look at the comments on that sh-t, it’s hilarious. It’s like ‘This dude looks like he’s standing there giving out side quests’ and sh-t.”
Some of the Best Comments About Barefoot Ben
There are plenty of great comments under the “Dust in a Baggie” video. Many of them are about Barefoot Ben.
“The dude in the back looks like he solves mysteries with a dog,” one commenter said.
“Green shirt is the most supportive drug dealer I’ve ever seen,” another wrote.
“Guy in the back is so amazed that he smoked an unlit cigarette for over two minutes,” someone noticed.
Maybe the best comment of the bunch is, “Billy needs to bring green shirt guy onstage sometime. People who know this video would absolutely lose their minds!”
Featured Image by Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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