In the Wild West that is today’s music scene, a band like Bencoolen can not only survive, but they can thrive. The band, formed in 2014, has gone from a college band and turned themselves into the band that is about to explode onto the jam scene in 2019. Self-managed, and self-booked the band has taken themselves from the college bars in the D.C. area to opening up at Firefly and touring with the likes of Marcus King, Spafford, and Mungion.
Tonight, the band takes their fat, infectious maximalist sound and brings it to Pianos in New York City, as a part of their tour to promote their new forthcoming full-length in March. We spoke to the band’s guitarist and co-founder, Teddy Scott, about the band’s formation, their forthcoming record, and what it’s like to be their own boss?
Can you talk about how the band came together? I hear there’s a great story about you and Paul meeting?
Paul Greggattended a George Washington University showcase that I was performing in, and unfortunately for everyone in attendance, I was singing, along with playing guitar. Paul nonetheless saw I had songwriting and playing chops, and expressed interest in jamming. We joined the same fraternity and kept working together, bandless. We started brainstorming about building a group when I visited him in New York the following summer. We went to a free Trampled by Turtles show in the city, went water skiing, and he showed me around, but it had become a consistent conversation by the end of that trip.
Admittedly, it started as a little project. We were just playing locally, infrequently and with a much different lineup. Jack Bentsen, Will “Willy Pipes” Lockery, and Ben Suarez, joined us as the band grew up. We all contribute as musicians and songwriters now. It’s been a journey already to get here.
What were some of the sonic influences for the band? What artists did you look to or draw from to help create the sound of Bencoolen?
I think we’d all answer this question differently. There are influences from pop, to jazz, to jam, to funk, to radio rock that I think comes across in our eclectic sound. This causes a lot of discussion as we song write and prepare sets, make choices on when to vamp, and when to be concise. Broadly some artists we’d consider influences include: Kaleo, The Revivalists, Moon Taxi, Tom Misch, Big Something, and The Main Squeeze.
Here’s an obvious and over-asked question, for sure, but for those who are unfamiliar with the band — what’s the story behind the band’s name?
Paul spent the majority of high school living in Singapore. Bencoolen Street was an important spot for him. Our name is a tribute to that. A place of many firsts, including his first guitar! The play on words available in the name has a literal “cool” factor, too!
In the near five year run of this band, you’ve had a pretty eventful history — opening for some pretty big bands and playing at Firefly. What has been the most surreal, and/or amazing moment you guys have had since you’ve become a band?
Firefly was a great experience, we were treated well, we got golf cart rides, multiple sets, and I met Lil Dicky and his mom. We’ve played legendary venues and gotten to tour up and down the Coast, too.
But for me, the most amazing moments come when we connect with individuals. We travel with a manager/roadie, Tony Lyons, who has believed in us from the beginning. Seeing him light up during a solo section, or a new song is pure energy. In the case of others… signing a tour poster, having a bartender give me the shirt off his back as a trade for a Bencoolen shirt, getting invited to sit in with other bands, and recording for free at Dragon’s Lair Studio all come to mind. These tiny victories and positive moments keep us inspired. I know I cheated your question and gave more than one moment, but I think calling attention these details are much more defining of our experience than standing on a famous stage.
If someone has never heard the band before what song would you recommend they check out in order to fully get what Bencoolen is about?
I think “Remember” is a great song to check out for first time Bencoolen listeners. It starts on a funky vibe, but builds into a rock chorus, and falls into a sax-filled bridge. In the live iteration, we give it a little lead guitar ripping, too!
You’ve got a new record coming out in March. Can you talk about the recording process of this record?
Dragon’s Lair Studios and Addison Smith are monumental reasons we have this record. The studio is built into a big cabin in West Virginia and managed by Chuck, “C-Wired.” Per a recommendation from Threesound, I submitted old songs and demos to him, he dug our work and said we could use his space for free. He’d worked with Addison before and passed along that contact info.
Addison gave us a fair rate, and we quickly grew to trust him. He plays keys and even guitar in some spots on the record, had a 6th voice in production and was our anchor throughout. We made demos to guide us through, but the first work to the final record you’ll hear was the rhythm section tracks we laid down. For the studio nerds out there, Will’s parts were not quantized. He played it as you hear it. He’s as close as you can get to a metronome! We built it up with overdubs from there. We worked 10-11 hour days and battled through a water outage on guitar solo day. But playing un-showered and with only whiskey available is probably more appropriate anyway.
What are some of the themes you guys explore, lyrically, in this record?
The record frequently touches on what it is like to be on the road, building relationships, falling out of them, mental health, and the challenges of chasing a dream. Musically, even though it has somewhat fallen out of pop fashion, we maintained a commitment to instrumental breaks and solos. They are key components to a Bencoolen live show and we wanted to capture that.
How does this record stand out from the rest of your catalog?
This record stands out because it is the first, collaborative record that this lineup has released. It truly is our debut album. Our previous releases have been five guys playing Teddy and Paul’s songs. This was a much more collaborative effort. In fact, Jack and Ben have their own credit as lead songwriters here! This album is all of us.
What do you love about being in this band?
I love the adventure. We play beaches, military towns, mountain towns, festivals, cities, anywhere. Connecting with people in all of them is unbelievable. Connecting as a single unit to create those moments is unlike any other career option.
You guys are self-managed, and self-booked — can you talk about the freedoms and frustrations of this situation?
The freedom of it means that, to some extent, we can play places we truly enjoy, can write music we want, and work things out without outside influence. It is challenging though because there is no direction, no feedback from a boss, no path available to reference. Every morning we go out and take another uncharted step. That’s both exhilarating and exhausting!
What are you most excited for about 2019?
I’m most excited to be performing these songs live and hitting some of our favorite towns with them including DC, New York, Charlotte, Savannah, and Richmond! I’m sure we will end up in the studio by year’s end, but I hope to enjoy this moment while it is here.
