Promise doesn’t even begin to tell the tale of Darin Bennett’s blues rock ability – this man is off the charts, through the roof, honest to goodness one of the best things you haven’t heard… yet. Head over to www.darinbennett.com/ for just a taste of what Darin Bennett and the Requiem have to offer and you’ll understand why Bennett has already been mentored by some of the biggest names… biggest legends in the blues business.
In fact, Hubert Sumlin (guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters) once complimented Mr. Bennett after a show at The Mint in L.A., and when he was asked for any advice, the legendary guitarist pulled Darin tight into his arms and whispered, “It’s a long road”. What a moment! But these kind of moments will certainly not be few and far between for Bennett, as we learned while sampling his latest 5-song EP, “Midnight Storybook”.
The collection comes from Darin’s own Mumbella Records label, and has already drawn comparisons to icons like Tom Waits, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke. Bennett says of the effort, “I guess you could say that my sound is deeply rooted in the blues, weighed heavy on soul, steeped in classic R&B, and rocks and rolls to the beat of an eccentric primal drum. Really it’s world music under the guise of rock… My influences are essentially my starting point. I never set out to deliberately copy anyone or even sound like them…Where Tom Waits could look to Hoagy Carmichael, I can look to both of them. I have that extra generational reference point.” And boy, does he take advantage of it. Get into “Midnight Storybook” ASAP. Look out for much, much more from Darin Bennett and keep reading – there’s still a whole lot to get into in the XXQ’s.
XXQs: Darin Bennett (Darin Bennett and the Requiem)
PensEyeView.com (PEV): Compared to a wide variety of artists including Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Bruce Springsteen, as well pioneers such as Son House, Robert Johnson, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke, how would you describe your sound and what do you feel makes you different from the others in your genre?
Darin Bennett(DB): I guess you could say that my sound is deeply rooted in the blues, weighed heavy on soul, steeped in classic R&B, and rocks and rolls to the beat of an eccentric primal drum. Really it’s world music under the guise of rock.
My influences are essentially my starting point. I never set out to deliberately copy anyone or even sound like them. I am performing my music under a completely different set of circumstances than those who came before me; as they did before me. So that alone will immediately set me apart from them. That said, I wear my influences proudly on my sleeves. Hopefully, I’ve chosen my heroes wisely.
Where Tom Waits could look to Hoagy Carmichael, I can look to both of them. I have that extra generational reference point. Hendrix blended together blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, and even folk music. Now, someone like me can take everything he was able to draw from, as well as those who came between us. The aural tradition is an amazing thing that can be rooted as far back as the lineage of just about any culture. So, whatever I end up doing, even if it is just humming, will be intrinsically different and unique.
I have equal love for so many different kinds of music. It allows for less restraint when writing and performing.
PEV: What kind of music were you into growing up? Do you remember your first concert?
DB: I have always loved old blues (Delta, Chicago, and Piedmont) and plenty of old R&B and soul from the 1950’s to the mid-1970. I spent a lot of time listening to 78’s of preachers like Rev. Gates, as well as a lot of archival field holler music from chain gangs. It all really started when I first heard Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. A cousin of mine turned me on to a few albums and that was the beginning of my real education. Those guys were and, in Clapton’s case still remain, true lovers of music who never failed to educate people about their idols. You can learn so much if you just shut up and listen, which can be difficult at times, at least for people like me. The lessons came from their words and from their music.
There are certain flags in the road in music and you can trace most things, especially in Americana, back to the blues. Artists like Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal laid down some of those flags that lead me back to the music of various African countries – Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania, Senegal, etc. There were things going on there ages ago that would sound rather familiar to hip hop listeners today. I find that everything I do can be traced back to the Mande Griots from Mali. They have a tradition of storytelling in the aural tradition that is as effective as the biggest pop hit on the radio here in the States. The bottom line is communication and, as a performer, entertaining the audience. My first concert was Jackson Brown with David Lindley at the Universal Amphitheater here in Los Angeles. It was an education I’ll never forget. The next day, I cut my first slide from a BMX bike handle and tuned my guitar down to C. I had no idea what I was doing but it just seemed right. I still mainly use alternate tunings.
PEV: What was it like trying to break into the music scene when you first started? What was your first show like?
DB: I had the opportunity to play with many local luminaries who were many years my senior. This started when I was just a kid. A man named Chuck E. Weiss used to call me “The Kid”. I actually liked it. Through Chuck and many others including Joe Sublett and J.J. Holiday, I was able to sit-in with and/or open for a lot of my idols – everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Hubert Sumlin to Prince. It 
was crazy because I really was just a kid; pimples and all. Most people didn’t even know my name. They still don’t. I couldn’t get a date, but I was jamming with monsters of music. Sitting in, even for a song or two, was the best way to learn because I was able to spend most of my time just listening and watching. Most of these gigs, I was brought in to the clubs and told to pretend I was a roadie.
I played my first show as a proper band leader when I was 18 or so. I had already been playing in clubs for years. Man, I even played in mental institutions for extra cash. Those were some of the best gigs I ever played. No one can dance quite like the mentally insane. So, the band was called Darin Bennett & The Third Degree. It featured me on vocals & guitar, Gary J. Roisentul on drums, and a bass player named Mark who was quite a bit older than me and Gary. The show was a royal mess and I actually apologized to the audience when it was finally over. I do remember playing a killer rendition of SRV’s Lenny.
The early years were spent mainly playing with other people and keeping my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open. You have to fight for respect when you’re younger than the majority, especially if they see you as a threat. It’s like a jungle full of egos and bad hair. My mouth opened when I started to sing at around 18 or 19 years old. The L.A. music scene has always seemed to be a mystery to me, even to this day. So I just try to find like-minded individuals and float in and around them. Generally, they’re doing the same thing. I played gigs with blues bands, jazz bands, soul and R&B dance bands and even metal bands. But I always sounded like me which made for some interesting shows. The thing is, I only know how to do what I do and nothing else. I just go for 100% feel.
PEV: What can fans expect from a live Darin Bennett show?
DB: I have a rule to never perform the same song or show the same way twice – ever. It’s easier to deviate from form at my solo shows but, with Darin Bennett and the Requiem, we still wander off the road quite a bit. I feel that I owe it to an audience to give them something unique and special that they would not have seen before and will not see again. I don’t care if I’m playing to the cook in the kitchen (and I have) or 10,000 people. It’s all the same. I like to say I play music with a jazz mentality without actually playing jazz. The main thing you’ll get is a lot of music from my catalog and beyond, plenty of sweat, and as many laughs as I can muster. I love taking risks on cover songs and pushing them somewhere unexpected.
I think the songs sound better live than on the album. We get a chance to really experiment and work off the energy in the room. After a show, I want the audience to be exhausted, smiling, and humming.
PEV: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you step on stage to perform?
DB: Honestly, I am just making sure that my picks and slide are where they need to be. Then I always say to myself, “kill ‘em”. That can mean a lot of different things. I just want people to feel that they spent their time in the best way possible; that they were luck to see what they saw. It’s not about CD sales. Not in 2012. I want people to always leave wanting more. I live by it and, as a rule, never overstay my welcome. Of course, I’ll never leave the stage if people want me there.
PEV: What do you think is the best part about being a musician from your home town?
DB: Well, it’s not for the amazing music scene. It’s really non-existent for an artist like me. Always has been. However, being a hustler in Los Angeles can behoove an artist. You have to create your own opportunity. It will not find its way to you unless you’re in place for it when it shows itself. Being in L.A. has meant I’ve been close to a lot of action and I’ve taken advantage of it in a big way. That said, how many people can say they’ve worked in and around almost every one of their heroes? I’m very lucky in many ways and I never forget that. It’s made me want to better myself on a daily basis and, hopefully, be able to be a good influence on those who follow me.
PEV: What was the underlining inspiration for your music?
DB: It’s a desire to find truth in madness.
PEV: Thinking back to when you first started out do you ever look back at your career and think about your earlier days and how you’ve arrived where you are today?
DB: There’s no real mystery to me. I know I’ve been lucky but I’ve worked my ass off. So has everybody who has worked with me. My idols and mentors in the blues community always told me to expect no less from myself. Hubert Sumlin, who was Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters’ guitar player, once came up to compliment me after a show at The Mint in L.A. I asked him for any advice he could give me. He grabbed me tight into his arms and whispered into my ear, “It’s a long road”. That’s some powerful shit coming from a guy like that.
PEV: What¹s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about Darin Bennett?
DB: My best friend is a stuffed gorilla named Mum. He travels with me everywhere and I love him deeply. I also love comic books and, if I had a choice, would rather be a superhero (or Matt Kemp from the L.A. Dodgers).
PEV: What happens when you hit a brick wall when writing? What are you methods to get over it?
DB: My writing partner is my wife, Tiffany Winget. She has a perspective on things that, while similar to mine, comes from a different place. Even if I work on something alone, her voice is still present in my work. With a partnership like this, we never face a brick wall for too long without going over, under, around, or through it. Then again, sometimes you just have to face the fact that what you’re working on sucks and it might be better to take a walk.
PEV: How do you think the industry has changed over the years, since you started out or at got involved in just enjoying your music?
DB: When I was a boy, there was a record industry. It was a proper place where creative people from all areas came together under the same banner to create, promote, and sell music while evolving as people and professionals at the same time. Money and greed killed that. Maybe it was a failed ideology, but at least it was something to look to as somewhere to go. Now, artists are forced to wear the hats of people who originally specialized in other arenas; particularly business affairs. It hurts the artist and, ultimately, the fans suffer. Yes, we now have no one to tell us what to do and no one to screw with our careers and, ultimately, income. I will say that I would wholeheartedly share my income with honest people who are specialists in some of those arenas. I think the “industry” will reemerge in a new form.
PEV: Tell us about your latest release. What can fans expect from this?
DB: This is my first album as Darin Bennett and the Requiem. My solo debut album, ‘20 Scarlet Monkeys’, was low-fi and eclectic. I performed everything on the album expect for some saxophone by Joe Sublett. It was very intimate and I still love it. Several of the songs have been taken from that album and worked up with the Requiem including the first single ‘Holdin’ Me’.
I decided to issue a five song EP first. It’s called ‘Midnight Storybook’ and it is on my own Mumbella Records label that I run with Tiffany and her sister Stacey Winget. Each song on the album brings forth a little piece of me, while all of them have been written in the voice of others. Strong ties can be found to the work of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Bruce Springsteen, and Otis Redding. It’s unmistakable. That said, it’s a completely fresh approach to the music. The main thing is that there is a strong emphasis on lyrics over guitar riffs. The music is dark and even dreamy at times. I really think that there’s something for everyone. I played a solo on Dead Where I Stand that, while restrained, is my favorite that I have ever recorded. The coolest thing is that it can all be played live and sound as good as the album. There’s no B.S. on there. What you hear is what you get. Redbone and I insisted on tracking the instruments mainly live and together in a room. That really added to the vibe that we caught on tape. I’m really proud of this one.
This album was co-produced with Redbone, the other guitar player in my band, along with Geoffrey Michael Brandin, who played all the keys on the EP. The band is also comprised of Gerrod Miskovsky on bass and Cosmo Jones on drums. It’s a tight unit and I just love playing music with these guys. They really get where I’m coming from and I never have to beg to get what I want out of a song. These guys just get it from the word “go”.
PEV: With all your traveling is there one area you wish you could travel around and play that you have not yet?
DB: I love what I do and I want to play for people worldwide. There is no one place, although I would love to see more of Italy. We tend to be quite ethnocentric in the U.S. and that’s just not what I’m about. Music is the universal language and, other than English, it’s the only one I speak with any fluency.
PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your career?
DB: Well, no one has said that I suck. I do receive a tremendous amount of support.
PEV: What can we find you doing in your spare time, aside from playing/writing music?
DB: I’m an avid reader. I watch more movies and television shows than should be allowed. Charity is something that I insist on. My iPod is really my number one time killer. I also love to walk in place, pretend I’m Sting by dreaming of blues turtles, sell soap to the clinically insane, ponder Faust and then disagree with myself, steal clothing from department stores but pay before I leave, write novels that are only a few pages long and insist that they’re not short stories, quote myself in mixed company and then argue the point, swim in small bathtubs, shadow box with mirrors, dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, walk before I crawl and then run home, and so on and so forth. I also read comic books, think about space travel, and play with Mum.
PEV: Name one present and past artist or group that would be your dream collaboration? Why?
DB: It’s funny, but I never really spent any time thinking about this sort of thing. Many of my heroes have come and gone – a lot of them before I was born. Howlin’ Wolf or Muddy Waters would have been idyllic. Actually, I could imagine nothing greater than making an album with Eric Clapton. I credit his influence as a major factor on my development as an artist. Dylan, Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, and B.B. King are right up there, as well. All of these people have had a profound effect on me. It’s hard to keep it to just one. I’m greedy that way.
PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?
DB: There’s a guy making waves here in the States named Gary Clark, Jr. He’s got it, man. I dig his music and there’s just inherent soul in everything he does. I hope to see a lot more of him.
PEV: If playing music wasn’t your life (or life’s goal) what would be your career?
DB: I can most definitely say that I would be a creative writer in one way or another. You see, it’s my life’s ambition to always be in situations where I have to struggle without bleeding. Who wouldn’t want it that way? Right?
PEV: So, what is next for Darin Bennett?
DB: I’ll continue working with the Requiem for sure. I want to travel a great deal more. I’ll go anywhere that will have me if I can play my music. It’s more than ego. It’s an addiction. Tiffany and I are also working on a theatrical rock opera that will pull together everything I’ve done up until now and then turn it on its head – literally. We’re going to produce it with our production company, Mumbella & Co. Productions, which is me, Tiffany and Stacey Winget.