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 In
the South, music is seen as a social glue that
brings whole communities together, something listeners
of all types can share as they experience it. Whether it's soul,
rock, country, jazz, zydeco or blues, there is a universal truth
at the heart of those styles of music. The Benjy Davis Project
is at the forefront now of bands blending those sounds into
songs that speak to audiences everywhere. And Dust takes all
those traditions to a brand new place, and elevates the band
to new heights. In the wide world of American music, certain
bands have a way of building an exciting life for themselves
away from the glare of national attention. Much of that is because
of the relationship the group has with its fans. It usually
starts in small clubs or even backyards in their hometown, then
spreads to nearby cities, neighboring states and soon across
entire regions, until the band finally comes into its own as
a national presence.
The Benjy Davis Project is poised to take on that presence.
They've spent the past six years building fan strongholds around
the U.S., releasing three albums that capture their unique force.
Davis's songs speak to the ability of music to move an audience,
as seen in countless nights of touring and performing. There
comes a point in a breakthrough band's career where they finally
turn that corner into greatness. With the release September
4th on Real Records of the Benjy Davis Project's new album,
Dust, this Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based band now moves into
that moment.
"I want to reach people and hopefully touch them in some
way." That's how Benjy Davis describes his mission, and
music is his medium. It's always been that way for him, since
he was a young teenager in Louisiana, listening to everything
on the radio, taking it all in until it would be his time to
step up and become an artist. He formed the Benjy Davis Project
in 2001, which began as a simple folk-rock duo but soon grew
into one of the most popular bands in Baton Rouge. Mic Capdevielle
(drums) was the other part of the duo with Benjy Davis in the
beginning, and said "when Benjy and I got this ball rolling,
I could tell that this ball would never stop. Our relationship
goes further than just musically and that's what makes this
ball work."
Eventually expanding into a six-piece group, the Project has
recorded three albums prior to Dust, each a big leap from the
one before, and played across the country as headliners and
support act on shows with John Mayer, Better Than Ezra, North
Mississippi All-Stars and others, as well as events like the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. All this experience
has brought them to that place where they can become the next
band to take their Southern-based sound to a new level of national
popularity.
The new album
was produced by David Z., whose talents have helped ensure the
transformation of such artists as Prince, Fine Young Cannibals,
Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Big Head Todd & the
Monsters from cutting edge to mainstream artists. David Z summed
up his experience working with the group this way. "I have
striven to find artistic and musical originality my whole career
and discovered it was very rare. In a world of imitators and
posers, the Benjy Davis Project was a lightning bolt of reality
to me. We ran through every emotion working on this recording,
and I believe it shows in the music. Benjy is a true American
poet and the band are real artists."
Dust is the culmination of all the best creative parts from
the band's past, in a sound and style that proves they're totally
in the moment. The Benjy Davis Project has made an album that
highlights all their many strengths. From the emotional heights
of "The Rain" and "Whose God?" to heartfelt
romantic classics like "I Love You" and "Green
and Blue," the band sounds like they were in the right
place at the right time with the perfect producer.
There is such a sound of emotional freedom on the album, it's
obvious the band has truly found themselves. The musical backdrop
to each song frames Davis's vocals in a way that brings out
his most soulful expression. Like most great musicians, there
is a point in their playing when natural abilities take over;
it's almost like an underwritten code that each member of the
band now knows, and the way they interact with each other during
the entire album signals that as a group, they've fully arrived.
Michael Galasso (harmonica, keyboards, vocals) describes the
music of the Benjy Davis Project as "music with a real
sense of where it came from. We aren't discovering new musical
frontiers, but we are delivering honest and real music that
people of all ages and tastes can relate to. People like us
for the same reason they like music from the sixties and seventies.
There is no faking it. There is no manipulation. It is straight
forward and honest, but it is also relevant." There are
so many moments of revelation on Dust, it's clear that Benjy
Davis and the band have achieved a defining moment in their
career. The idea of permanence and heritage has always been
at the heart of the Benjy Davis Project. Each member understands
the proud tradition of Southern-influenced music, and has a
lot to continue and uphold.
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