Benny Marchant has everything he needs to stride forward into the world of musical success. He already had a foot in the door with his previous project The Kings Royal, but now he’s ready to try and make it as a solo artist. So far, he’s making excellent progress. After hearing his music online, I knew he had some serious chops but I was expecting a mellow, Americana-flavored singer/songwriter performance. Benny can croon with the best of them, but he can do so much more than that. He can stretch out his vocal chords to sound a little like Ben Harper, or soften his throat to almost sigh into the microphone. Even when he’s jamming with his band (and his band can jam) he keeps total control over his occasionally raw-around-the-edges voice. Though his band’s lineup is reasonably new, they already sound comfortable together under the singer’s soulful vocals. What’s exciting about watching this group was the sheer amount of professional-grade talent onstage: you can tell each artist is able to push the boundaries of their sound and craft because they know that everyone else will continue holding their parts flawlessly. They opened the set with ‘Eleven Seven’, a thoughtful ballad that was anythng but placid. When Hubie Wang (pictured left below) took a guitar solo, I suddenly realized I couldn’t remember the last time I heard such a relaxed, old-school heavy sound coming from someone so young. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he showcased his ability to fill the space with everything from blues jams to psychedlic effects to a few shreds here and there.

 

The second song, ‘A Better Way’, featured a poppy drum part by Steven J. Robinson, a young drummer with obvious jazz influences whose absolute autonomy of his limbs gave him the ability to juxtapose all sorts of unique rhythmic patterns together. He even used brushes, whose subtle whispers brought a smile to my face and soothed my ears. With the light, bouncy bass lines that Spencer Wright layed down, the rest of the band had a solid background against which they could easily solo. You can tell a drummer and bassist are good when their sounds meld together so completely it’s hard to pick them out indivdually, and that’s exactly what Steven and Spencer did for the duration of the night. When the band suddenly cut out for a beat on ‘Over and Over’, the crowd clapped prematurely. When Benny and his band came back in in perfect unison, every member grinned at each other and the audience, the crowd laughing in delight at their expertly-timed fake out.

Walker Gibson’s keyboard stylings were impressive, and his artful use of organ and other synth sounds highlighted his ability to change genres at the drop of a hat. Like any great artist, he knew when to scale it back to provide rhythm-section support and when to stand out, as when he played multiple glissandos on the funky ‘Killing Me’. He supplied a gospel organ part for ‘Been Too Long’, even singing airy backup vocal harmonies that fit snugly against Benny’s voice. Guitarist Hubie Wang also provided the occasional harmony, and the three voices worked well together. In fact, I would say that’s reflective of the band as a whole: there’s a place for everyone, and everyone is in their place. Everyone in the group has a keen sense of what their fellow members are doing, and it’s obvious that they love jamming together onstage.

 

 

After the show, I met with Benny backstage. He was sweet and soft-spoken, and while we talked various friends and family members stopped by for congratualtions and well-wishes. He accepted them all graciously, apologizing profusely to me for all of the interruptions. I didn’t mind; he deserved every nice word that was said.

BnB: How did you arrive at your current band’s lineup?

Benny: We auditioned drummers and guitar players. That’s how we met Hubie Wang and our drummer Steven J. Robinson. I kid you not, that kid was a steal. There was no way I was lettin’ him go. No way. Walker Gibson I’ve been working with for the last three years. He was in The Kings Royal with me. We auditioned drummers and guitar players, so that’s how we met Hubie. Spencer Wright the bass player and I had played with before on a side project codename Mike, that we had done right after The Kings Royal split up. So I had already played with him. And Walker. This kid right here…

Walker: What’s up man?

Benny: He’s basically like the musical director. So he organizes the band, hears what I have to say and then makes it better (laughs). So it’s very cool.

Walker: Boss people around, tell people where to be, tell people what to do (laughs).

Benny: But in a really nice way! That’s the beautiful thing about this, everybody’s nice. There’s no drama in the band. As of right now.

Walker: Not yet. Get ready Benny!

What was it like recording your solo EP Conversations Missed versus when you were recording with The Kings Royal? Were you more of a perfectionist in the stuido because it was all of your own work?

I was a perfectionist before I went into the studio. But the great news about that was that I did as best as I could with the acoustic guitar and melodies. Then gave the songs to Joe Chicarelli. At that point in the studio, he made it easy. The only thing I really had to be was a perfectionist in the beginning, before I went into the studio. I was really lucky that he even accepted the project, because he gets sent so many bands all of the time. But it just happened to be the right time, and he just made the songs that much better. He spoiled me: he got amazing musicians to work with it. He did a great job orchestrating the songs. Some of my best memories of working with him was on ‘A Better Way’: not just the staple intrument, the acoustic guitar, but the cello and great synth sounds. It was just great.

Your LP Cold Weather is set to release early next year. Any hints as to the content of the album?

We’ve got some other songs that I’ve definitely held back that are not on the EP that I’m excited for. It’s the same kind of vibe, and Chicarelli just did a really good job of turning it into a record. I had given him 25 songs and he chose the ones to make a record.

You held them back because…?

We didn’t want them out or on the radio yet. Our first single is ‘Conversations Missed’, and we wanted to pick a couple of songs that went well with that.

After Cold Weather, do you have any future album collaborations in mind?

There’s so many. You can start with Tom Petty, or with Lou Reed. I’ve been really loving where Eddie Vedder has been going with his solo career. Stevie Nicks.

You’ve got an acoustic set lined up at CMJ next week. What are your hopes and expectations for the festival?

I’m just super excited to be playing in Manhattan for the first time. Ever. There’s so many bands…I feel very honored to be playing at Googie’s, I’ve only heard great things about that club. Especially for the singer/songwriter atmosphere. It’ll be Walker, Spencer, and myself. We already played a show in that format in San Diego at KPRI which was great.

What have you got planned beyond CMJ?

I know we’re doing some radio stuff out there, we’ve been getting some air play on The Loft, and in Ocean City, and some other stations in the D.C./Batimore area. I’m sctually from the East Coast, from Maryland, so that’s been cool. I’ve got friends calling me in the morning going ‘Dude, I just heard you on the radio!’ It’s been really sweet to hear that. We’re working with an agent right now to try to set up some gigs around the radio tour, but then we’re flying back in a week because we’ve got some other shows around here.

If you’re in New York City, you can see Benny Marchant next Saturday October 23rd at Googie’s Lounge at 8:30pm. Or catch him in Los Angeles November 7^th at The Viper Room or at San Diego’s House of Blues on December 7^th.  For more detailed information about his touring schedule, click here.