Band Information and Festival Program
Play Pause Stop, the latest disc by the Benevento/Russo Duo, is as much of an anomaly as the band that created it. Yes, it is a rock album — but there is no guitarist, no bassist, and you can sing along even though there are no words.
The Benevento/Russo Duo formed in 2002 when Russo was offered a Thursday night residency at New York City’s Knitting Factory. The gig paid $100. Simple economics led Russo to conclude that a duo would be twice as nice as a quartet. He enlisted childhood chum Marco Benevento and the two performed as an organ and drum combo for $50 each. With hardly any written material at first, the band made a virtue out of necessity by converting loose sketches into 20-minute improvisations. From the very beginning, the group proved that they could also handle instrumental revisions of Led Zeppelin or Radiohead songs with equal skill and audacity. They were an indie-rock band that jammed. They were a jazz-combo that rocked.
Once more and more fans began showing up regularly and more rabidly, the pair slowly realized they had stumbled onto something much bigger — and much more rewarding — than a weekly engagement and a $50 paycheck. “And it all happened by accident,” says Benevento. “We didn’t say, ‘Let’s start an organ and drum duo.’ Our fans kind of turned us into a band.”
After self-releasing a pair of albums, the Duo signed a one-year contract with Ropeadope Records in 2005 and dropped Best Reason To Buy The Sun. Generating rave reviews (Paste Magazine rightfully called it “one of the most exciting break-out discs” of the year), the album introduced the group to a rapidly growing national audience. A heavy year of touring followed, during which the Duo played everywhere from sweaty dives and smoky bars to Bonnaroo and SXSW.
Russo began to program some of Benevento’s parts into his drum pads, and Benevento learned how to play foot bass. Time on the road, both on and off stage, has led to a group intuition and collective consciousness. Now that they know how to seamlessly complement each other and custom compose for the Duo, Russo remarks that their unique format has been far more liberating than limiting. “That’s my favorite thing about this,” he says. “I don’t feel like there’s a melodic or a rhythmic leader — Marco can bang out these rhythms, and we can go back and forth melodically.”
Play Pause Stop is the culmination of all these newly mastered techniques. Whereas the band once relied on improvisation as it worked through the mechanics of being two musicians emulating more, the band is now focused on its songwriting craft and composing concise rock instrumentals.
“The new album is grittier than the previous one,” says Benevento. “I went to Berklee College of Music and I was way into jazz, so I wanted to get my chops together,” he says of the band’s jazz odyssey beginnings. “But my roots are in rock and it’s really challenging to write a rock song in a duo setting. That’s what we’re into right now.”
On the album, Benevento employs a wide array of instruments (including Mellotrons, a Wurlitzer, and circuit-benders) while Russo occasionally trades his drums for a guitar. Contextually, too, the album feels like a rock album, with meaningful songs despite the fact that there are no lyrics.
“When I write songs,” says Russo, “it’s usually through love or heartbreak, just like everybody else.” Two songs on the disc (“Memphis” and “Powder”) are about breaking up with his girlfriend, while two others (“Soba” and “Something For Rockets”) were inspired by recent tourmates Something For Rockets.
The title track (named because the symbols for “Play, Pause, Stop” resemble the word “DUO”) opens with percussive slaps before Benevento starts laying down the melodic groundwork for what, a minute later, becomes nothing less than a rock anthem. But just when the song reaches an apex, it purposefully disintegrates into a quagmire of knob-turning and electronic goo, before slamming back into it full force.
“Best Reason to Buy the Sun,” titled after the band’s previous album, presents a more concise composition without sacrificing any of the classic Benevento/Russo characteristics — boom-boom drums, organic riffs, transcendent hooks.
Play Pause Stop was co-produced by drum notable Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Shakira) and Grammy-winning engineer Tom Biller (Kanye West, Fiona Apple). The disc will drop July 11 on the band’s own Butter Problems label, distributed by Sony/BMG.
The Duo will follow premium festival slots (including Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits) and summer amphitheater appearances with a lengthy cross-country trek that will close out 2006.
“Emotionally, it feels really good right now,” says Russo. “If the Duo were to ever end, I’d be crushed to not have this sound happen. Other bands are great, but I can’t imagine not going out and doing this. I can’t do it with anybody else.”
“And it all happened by accident,” laughs Benevento.
Outformation
Outformation on MySpace
With the national release of the Tennessee Before Daylight album under their belt and years of consistent national touring and collective song writing, Outformation entered the recording studio in early 2007 to record their second album, Traveler's Rest.
For Outformation, recording Traveler's Rest was a collective song writing process among band members and other musical influences. The title track, "Traveler's Rest" was a large collaboration between Widespread Panic and Outformation. In addition, Mickey Raphael, from Willie Nelson's Family Band, plays harmonica on the track "Winds". "We're really excited to have him on the album, his tone is unbelievable" said Sam Holt.The album is composed of an array of songs old and new. For instance, the song "Anymore" had never been played live at the time of the album recording, "Carnac" had only been played once, and "Toy's Song" had been around since the start of the band.
Outformation has appeared at Bonnaroo, SXSW, Hi Sierra Music Festival, Magnoliafest, and Wakarusa. In , 2007 following the release of Traveler's Rest, Outformation opened for Widespread Panic, Shooter Jennings, and Umphrey's McGee. These days Outformation finds themselves more mature and focused on their music. With a growing national fan base and consistent touring schedule, Outformation is ready to explore a new and exciting musical territory, which they find in Traveler's Rest.
Hackensaw Boys
Hackensaw Boys on MySpace
Whether you call them new-grass, jam-grass, bluegrass, folk, country, punk, rough and ready roots music, or raucous neo-old-timey spit and vinegar the six piece band known as the Hackensaw Boys are continuing to blow audiences away with their amazing high energy shows. Since it's inception in 1999, the band has toured the US extensively, and performed several successful tours in Europe. Audiences all over have welcomed the band’s Americana influences, crafty musicianship, and spirited songs. With their latest release Look Out (June 19, 2007 Nettwerk Records) hitting the #1 most added spot on Americana radio, the Hackensaw Boys aren’t slowing down. As one reviewer put it “The Hackensaw Boys are in no danger of becoming extinct, or worse, irrelevant.” They’ve survived departures and arrivals, blessings and, most importantly, each other. Add to this, thousands of nights in hundreds of clubs from Nashville to Bangor, from Los Angeles to Rotterdam and you begin to get an idea of the dedication and sheer mule-like tenacity that is the Hackensaw Boy ethic. So, whether you catch these guys on the road or pick them up in a store, be sure to check out The Hackensaw Boys the perfect anodyne for the aches and pains of modern life.
Blueground Undergrass
Blueground Undergrass on MySpace
Formed originally in 1998 by Jeff Mosier, Blueground Undergrass has developed a solid reputation and nationwide following by playing its multi-faceted music mix coast-to-coast. The band has always been known for exciting performances and eclectic arrangements. Its sonic wall of twang pleases the whole spectrum of fans from hippies to cloggers to rockers, taking Blueground Undergrass to the brink of almost mosh-pit energy, yet guiding each show with song-driven clarity.
By successfully parlaying an extensive knowledge of bluegrass music with major elements of jazz and Southern rock, Blueground Undergrass has forged a unique, new listening experience, one rooted in the essentials of great American genres. Their Landslide Records debut, Faces, represents a strong culmination of the bands lengthy musical experience as well as its legendary live shows.
Speaking recently of Blueground's sound Mosier said, "I never want our music to lose the tradition of the porch no matter how much remodeling was done to the house over time. The band will continue in that spirit and tradition by re-creating old Blueground Undergrass originals, rocking out bluegrass standards, and by introducing new songs and sounds to their live shows. "
For sure, Blueground Undergrass will be doing what they have always done best, which is to provide every audience with an energetic and unforgettable live show of great music. And with the superb studio offering that is Faces, the band is poised to take on a whole new set of devoted listeners.
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
BSFN on MySpace
Presiding over his Funky Nation is Big Sam, a big man with an impeccable urban fashion sense, who blows the funk out of his trombone and refuses to let the audience sit still. Between solos and trombone riffs, Big Sam second-lines (a uniquely New Orleans style of street-dance) and gets the crowd going both in movement and in replies to his call-and-response MC-style. A talented group of jazz-trained musicians makes up the Funky Nation, bringing with them the improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that's the hallmark of big band funk. Theirs, and Big Sam's, exuberant dancing and playing, affords them a rare opportunity to let loose. Big Sam's Funky Nation has undeniable personality, as well as masterful chops.
Nathan Moore
Nathan Moore has logged a lot of miles as "a sad man playing in a jam band, looking for the happy melody, in a minor key", and he's created a thousand brutally honest, astonishingly witty and poetically hopeful songs along the way. When he’s not ranting about social injustice, reveling with Mardis Gras abandon or launching a peaceful revolution, Moore is writing about maintaining childlike wonder or finding lasting love. He says he’s giving himself advice in his songs, shining the revealing light of music on issues that trouble and delight him the most. And Nathan’s questions and pain and glee are our own. We love it that he goes places we dare not, and lives to tell the story.
Moore’s songwriting bug started like so many musicians, when he was infected by the rich musical traditions of the 50s and 60s he discovered in his dad’s extensive collection of 45s. And while the tale goes on predictably with Nathan penning songs at nine, getting his first guitar at twelve, playing a small repertoire of classics and originals at a local pub in his hometown in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley at sixteen, then forming bands through out high school and college, none of that explains his uncanny ability to become what music critic Dennis Cook calls “the tunesmith’s Stephen Hawking sussing out a theory of everything”. The source of Moore’s talent is an ineffable creative spring that even he can’t explain. It just, thankfully, flows freely.
While Nathan’s dazzling ability to capture the struggles of everyman with melodies of haunting complexity places him firmly in the company of the literary greats, it is the mischief he weaves throughout his music that sets him apart. Honesty delivered with a flicker of hope is Moore’s ace-in-the-hole as he takes listeners on a sweeping journey of landscapes that are uniquely his own. His latest album “In His Own Worlds” was released in June 2007 by the Santa Fe-based Frogville Records, which Moore co-founded five years ago. The collection showcases Nathan’s finely-honed poetic sensibilities and marks the next phase of a career rich in meaning and depth that promises to always astound, entertain, and cut straight to the heart.
Gary Ruley and Mule Train
Gary Ruley and Mule Train are an acoustic ensemble headed by veteran flat picking guitarist/vocalist Gary Ruley. Mule Train includes a vast network of talented musicians who support and share Gary’s drive to present the powerful acoustic sounds of Bluegrass, New Grass, and Jazz.
Ruley, a Lexington native, has shared the stage with Bluegrass legends Mac Wiseman, Bobby Lester (Hall of Famer), Vassar Clements, Tony Rice, and two-time grammy winner Curtis Burch. Most recently Ruley has performed shows with recording artist and champion flat picker Larry Keel and the Larry Keel Experience.
Ruley having released two CD's, "Pickin' Tradition" and "Mule Train" is gearing up to release a third CD. Musicians of Mule Train include Anne Marie Simpson Calhoun (fiddle/vocals), Mary Simpson (fiddle/vocals), Brennan Gilmore (mandolin/vocals), Will Lee (banjo/vocals), David Knicely (bass), Larry Keel (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Jenny Keel (bass/vocals), Jeremiah Ruley (banjo), Rooster Ruley (banjo), Daniel Knicely (mandolin/vocals).
Farm Vegas
Hailing from Richmond, VA, Farm Vegas plays that rare breed of music that manages to be comfortably familiar and refreshingly original. Think of it as up-beat modern rock rooted in the classic rock tradition.
After spending last year on the college/fraternity circuit in Virginia, Farm Vegas decided to take their exciting show out of the fraternities and into the region's music scene. The transition has been a success, and Farm Vegas has become one of the top draws in Richmond --consistently packing the most prestigious rooms across the city.
In the winter of 2007, Farm Vegas released their debut album On a Wire. CDBaby.com called it "the most promising debut of 2007." RELIX Magazine featured the song "Sweet Lies and Alibis" in their ON THE RISE CD Sampler. The CD includes 12 original rockers that draw heavily on their classic rock/blues influences.
This Fall, Farm Vegas is playing dates up and down the east coast to support the new CD. Find out what most of Richmond already knows-- no matter how you classify their sound, Farm Vegas plays an exciting style of music that packs venues and electrifies audiences.