Letting it Slide: A Conversation with Marco Benevento January 15, 2020 02:25

Interview by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

Photos by Jean Frank Photography

Calling all Southeast music enthusiasts. We would like to ask you to stop what you're doing and clear your schedule. It's officially one of our favorite times of the year, when keyboard wizard Marco Benevento brings his wildly entertaining three-piece solo project through the heart of the South. The madness kicks off on Thursday night (1/16) in Austin, TX and continues with stops in Houston (1/17), New Orleans (1/18), Birmingham (1/19), Knoxville (1/20), Asheville (1/21), Carboro, NC (1/22), Charlotte (1/23), Charleston (1/24), and Atlanta (1/25).

The band is fresh of its seventh studio release, Let it Slide, and they have never been more dialed in. After taking a totally different approach in the studio, Marco and company have a deeper catalog than ever before. Bassist Karina Rykman and drummer Dave "DB" Butler round out this prolific trio and bring a level of energy that is matched by none. Over the weekend, we had a chance to catch up with Benevento to learn more about Let it Slide and hear all about the band's plans for 2020. See below for the full conversation and make sure to catch these guys (and gals) in a city near you!

I appreciate you taking the time to chat for a few minutes today, Marco. I know that everyone in Birmingham is excited to have you back in town at Saturn on Sunday night.

Marco: Absolutely. Saturn is such a cool venue man. We've loved playing there the last few stops in Birmingham.

It really is. One of the newer spots in town. That green room is really next level.

Marco: It's so dope man.

I figured we could start off by talking about the new year. We've officially closed the door on 2019. How did you feel about last year as a whole, and what are some of your goals and resolutions for 2020?

Marco: Totally. 2019 was an awesome year for us. We put out a new record and had the chance to work with Leon Michels. If you haven't checked him out, I highly recommend you do. You can find his work on Spotify or Apple Music under "El Michels Affair." Working with him this year and releasing the record felt really good. We did almost 40 shows in three months. Something crazy like that. We went to Japan, which was a really cool experience. I guess, going forward, we're going to try and get to Europe. We just got a European booking agent, so I'm excited to go play overseas and see what that feels like.

Is that something that you expect to happen this year?

Marco: Yeah, I do. Most likely later this year. I'm looking forward to everyone getting familiar with the new record and hearing all of the new jams. They're really coming alive when we play them on tour.

Did you end up having a New Year's show this year?

Marco: No, we all had off this year. I actually when to Leon's (Michels) house for a party. We didn't have a gig, which was great. I've obviously been playing and touring for a long time and having a New Year's Eve off is kind of special, honestly.

I'd imagine that hasn't been very common in recent years.

Marco: Right. Very true. I've had so many New Year's gigs that have just been madness, especially in New York City. It's super fun, and everyone is so ready to go. It's such a fun holiday, but it's also nice to just have a fire outside in your yard.

That's got to be a nice change of pace.

Marco: Yeah man. Totally.

Watch Marco Benevento's music video for "Let it Slide" here:

You mentioned the new album, Let it Slide. I've had it playing all morning. This is your seventh solo album, correct?

Marco: That's right.

I know that they all tell their own story. The writing process and the studio experience are unique in their own right. When you look at this album, how was this different that those of the past?

Marco: Totally. Working with Leon was a whole new thing. I didn't know him personally when we got together. I met him through our friend Richard Swift, who we put out a record with about five years ago. That record was actually called Swift. Richard is friends with Dan Auerbach and was in that band, The Archs, that Dan started a few years back. Leon was the keyboard player in that band. He and his wife were having a child and had to miss the last week of tour. Richard recommended that I sub in for Leon.

I had a chance to get on a tour bus with Dan Auerbach and company and play all of those tunes. I don't know if you've had a chance to check it out, but you should. It's so good. I've been a fan of Dan's for years. I love his voice. So, Richard recommended that I sub for Leon, and I met him as we were overlapping on tour. When I called him about doing the record, I had only met him that one time. We got together, and I played him all of the demos that I made. All of the tunes were kind of demoed out before we met, so we would scroll through them and work on two or three each day.

I think we did five total days in the studio. I did a lot of overdubbing here at my own place. We worked on the record pretty casually for about two years, which was a whole new experience for me. I normally get deep into a record and want to finish it, maybe even quicker than it should be done. With this one, we let it simmer for a while. We both made decisions. There was never a single decision made by one individual. Leon and I made this record together. That was a really cool experience for me. I had never really worked with a producer on a record that I made. That was awesome.

He had a lot of input and suggested a lot of things to do. Musically, he would come up with some extra chords or propose ideas for some melodies. We also realized that we had a mutual love for tennis. We got super deep into tennis, probably two or three times a week. Our kids are also the same age. The kids would go to school, then we would meet up, play tennis, and work on the record. As soon as the kids were heading home, we would leave to go see our families.

So, we would play a bunch of tennis, work on the record, and feel really good. Tennis is such a fun, focused game. That's why the cover of the record has that photo on it. Leon actually took that photo of a court we would play on up in Woodstock.

Watch Marco Benevento's official music video for "Say It's All The Same" here:

That sounds perfect. Bonding over the tennis court, creating in the studio, and having a similar family dynamic seems like a winning combination.

Marco: Totally. It was really a shared album.

Did Karina (Rykman) end up playing on this album at all?

Marco: Karina is not playing any bass on this record. It was actually Nick Movshon, who is essentially Leon's right hand man. You've got to check out these dudes. They will blow you away. They've made so many records together, and a lot of people have sampled their records. He's in a whole other world of music. He's made records with Amy Winehouse, Lee Fields, Charles Bradley, Dr. John, Adele, Lady Gaga, and so many others.

They're super humble, chill, Brooklyn guys. They're total bad asses. Super good taste in music and recording music, in my opinion. I should also mention that Leon has a record label called Big Crown. He shares it with a couple other people. Any record on Big Crown has been heard through Leon's ears. That's another thing to check out.

Nick, Leon, and myself are basically the three musicians on that record. Karina and everyone else had to learn all of the parts. Karina does sing on the record though. She sings backup vocals on a few tunes. She didn't play any bass though. That's just how Leon works. However he wanted to make the record was fine with me. I just rolled with his suggestions.

Are you still working with Andy Borger on drums?

Marco: Andy lives in Portland now. He hasn't been on the road with us for the past year, so we now have D.B. (Dave Butler) playing drums. D.B. has all the moves and knows all the tunes, so it was a pretty seamless transition. Andy moved to Portland, had a kid, and now plays with a band called Pink Martini. He's been super busy doing all of that, so it was tough for him to stay on the road with us. Luckily, D.B. was able to step right in. D.B. also plays with Guster. Luckily, he's also been available to tour with us, which has been super dope.

Had the previous albums all been recorded with Andy on drums and Dave (Dreiwitz) on bass, prior to Karina joining the band?

Marco: Yes, exactly.

It goes without saying that the transition from Dave to Karina was pretty amazing as well. Those were mighty big shoes to fill, but my God, Karina is such an entertaining performer. She has quickly become one of the best in the game.

Marco: Oh completely. Personally, she's so much fun to be with on the road. It's just never ending laughter. We're having so much fun out there. She brings so much to the table with ripping fuzz bass solos to her singing lead on a few tunes. We have several covers that she sings lead on. It's a nice focus change to have someone else singing as well. I've always liked to have bands that have everybody singing and everyone playing. Sometimes they might even switch instruments. We haven't done that yet, but maybe we will. I've always liked the girl/boy voice combo too.

Watch Marco Benevento cover Butthole Surfers' "Pepper" at Armore Music Hall here:

It works so well for you two. The overall vibe that this band creates sparks a nostalgic feeling and has such an appeasing, uplifting sound from start to finish.

Marco: Hell yeah. Right on. Thanks Jordan.

Karina was one of Dave's students, and he recommended her when Ween was getting back together, right?

Marco: Totally. It was another seamless transition from Dave to Karina. He knew that the Ween schedule was coming up, and he wasn't going to be able to do all of the dates with me. He basically taught Karina all of my tunes. They would get together, and she learned all of them. He really crushed it in that regard. Not many people leave the band and find their own replacement for you. He was like, "Marco...I can't do these gigs, but I'm going to teach Karina the tunes. She's going to kill it and add so much to the band."

Initially, I was like, "No! Dave! Where are you going?!" So, we do our first gig with Karina in Boston, maybe three years ago, and it worked instantly. She was amazing from day one. Dave knew that he wasn't going to be able to juggle all of that, so he totally hooked it up with the amazing Karina Rykman in my band. Now she has her own music, which is really, really good.

What a transition it was. I'm sure she knew they were big shoes to fill. It's been a pleasure watching her come into her own as a member of this band. She has a great stage presence, and she couldn't seem to be having any more fun on stage. That's great to see as a fan.

Marco: Absolutely.

As you know, my introduction to you was through the Benevento Russo Duo many years ago. I still remember listening to the Darts album for the first time in 2003. There was so much amazing instrumental music coming from The Duo, and later Garage A Trois. Now, you've become a lyricist and handle a healthy dose of vocals. How has this experience played out?

Marco: I was just talking to my friend about this the other day. I'm 42 now, so you've known me since I was in my late 20's. Wow, a lot has happened since then, as you know. I was talking to my buddy, and we were both kind of high fiving about where we are. We both finally put out a record where we have figured out that we are fully realized as human musicians. We've realized that we're making fully, whole music. Vocals, lyrics, good arrangements, shorter songs, professional production, all of that.

People are kind of rediscovering our band. We've kind of reached a new platform. We are playing bigger rooms. We have all of these new songs, as well as the old songs. We have instrumental music, then we have the heavy rock music led with fuzz bass. We have more "radio friendly" songs now. We were just thinking about how we are fully realized as musicians right now. Of course, it's going to change, and I'll probably say the same thing in 5-10 years.

I guess it's a new starting point. There are so many elements of the past in the new music, like playing instrumental material. There are points in our show where we are just playing instrumental tunes. There is a lot of musical interaction and not much singing. It almost feels like you're getting the full gamut of music from almost a classical sounding jazz/rock, to a girl singing a Buzzcocks song, to us singing a Butthole Surfers tune, to an original tune that sounds like something you could hear on the radio.

I feel like we have a really nice variety of things to cover on any given night. I like that fact. It's a pretty different show. A lot of tunes seem like they could be from almost different bands. Somehow, it's all one color and one vibe. It becomes our show, and the way we entertain people. It's really cool. I feel like I'm just getting started. I'm really excited for the next year, to see how the music will grow.

I'm sure it's a totally different experience of telling your story through writing lyrics and finding your voice through the vocal work. It's been a lot of fun to watch from afar.

Marco: Totally, man.

To wrap things up, you've had the opportunity to be a part of so many different significant projects. You've seen it all at this point, from the dive bars to some of the biggest festival stages in the world. When you look back on the experience, what is it that you love about these more intimate venues, such as those on this upcoming run of shows?

Marco: Right. First and foremost, the crowd is so much closer to you. When it's a really great night and everyone is honed in, you can feel it even more in the smaller rooms. The song ends, and it's so loud when the crowd erupts. It's a really cool feeling. We recently played a smaller room in Portland, Oregon, and it was one of those nights. You can just tell that people are good to go. That is a great feeling. You know it, because they're right there in front of you. With some of the festivals, the stage is 10 feet tall, the crowd is past the barriers, and it's more of a sea of people. That's equally as rewarding, obviously, because there are even more people.

Another aspect is that we get to put on our own vibe with our own show. We get to show people what we have made, and what we are promoting. It's really nice to have an entire room of people listening to your music. I've been a part of several other projects which obviously cover a lot of ground. This is a different thing that allows us to shift the focus. I like knowing that we are showing up at these clubs, and we're putting on a show that we all like from all of the records that we have made.

I can imagine how rewarding of an experience that is.

Marco: It really is. It's a great feeling.

Well, it's been a pleasure catching up. It's been way too long since I've seen this band play, and I'm really looking forward to this weekend. It's been nothing short of amazing to watch your musical story unfold over the years. I couldn't be happier for you and look forward to seeing what's next.

Marco: Thanks so much Jordan. See you soon!

Letting it Slide: A Conversation with Marco Benevento January 15, 2020 02:25

Recent Articles