Lucky for us, Brooklyn’s own Marco Benevento seems to enjoy inhabiting his own sound-world. On his debut Invisible Baby (2008), it’s a place where chalky acoustic pianos collide with bursts of drum accents, a banjo rubs shoulders with globs of distorted electric bass, and using an old film projector for amplification seems right at home next to a drum kit supplemented with old car parts. Few records of this past year have been as fun to listen to, the listener reeling in anticipation of whatever sonic curveball Benevento has up his sleeve, joined by a devastating rhythm section tighter than a steel cable. To follow-up my initial coverage of the album last week, I asked the pianist ten questions of shaky relevance.
Floodwatchmusic: What is your favorite city - anywhere in the world - to visit?
Marco Benevento: Brooklyn. Frankie’s 457 has the best meatballs in the city! Oh, to visit? Well, I like Seattle a lot – the coffee is insane. And three of my favorite musicians, Matt Chamberlain, Skerik, and Bill Frisell, all live there. A lot of musicians I’ve met there are super creative and involved in so much different music, live and in the studio. I guess I could say that about musicians that live in San Francisco, Portland, Boston, Chicago, or Boulder, too. There is definitely a huge spark flying around the world that I feel is hitting a bunch of musicians right now. When I hear my friends’ new music that they’re currently working on I’m just blown away at how different it was from their last, or how different it was when I first met them. Lots of musicians are reshaping the music that they are into, including musicians that they collaborate with.
FWM: Do you have a favorite chord, and if so, which one?
MB: My favorite chord is the one that happens at the right time, in the right place at the right moment, when you had nothing to do with it.
FWM: What is the most bizarre incident you’ve ever witnessed on the road?
MB: Buying a dried-out buffalo scrotum from a place called Tatanka Take Out in Tacoma, Washington. It’s still hanging from my rearview mirror in my van. I use it as a cell phone holder – it’s real nice!
FWM: If you could gain a superpower (strength, invisibility, etc), which one would it be and how would you use it?
MB: I think about that frequently. I mean, why don’t we have super special secret hidden powers? I think I’d have to say the ability to fly. I know that’s a little run-of-the-mill, but that would make everyone’s life a lot easier with gas prices and airlines charging extra for baggage. If I can’t have the power to just fly naturally then I’d at least want a jet pack. We need to bring those back – people invented those in the late ‘50s. I can’t believe we haven’t figured out that technology yet. If you know of anyone involved in making one, please let me know.
FWM: In the film adaptation of your life, which actor - dead or alive - would best play you?
MB: It would have to be some cartoon or furry Muppet, maybe Grover. He and I have the same Mayan calendar symbol: the purple flying monkey.
FWM: There are ten minutes left before the end of the world. What do you do in your last final moments?
MB: Wow. I thank Kevin Calabro for his guidance and inspiration.
FWM: What is the one corny song that you feel guilty - or not - for enjoying?
MB: I feel bad for people who don’t like Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” I mean, come on, folks! Myself? Well, I feel guilty for liking “Piano Man.”
FWM: If you could play in any band in history, which one would it be?
MB: Miles Davis‘ [second] quintet. It sure would be nice to hang with Tony (Williams), Wayne (Shorter), Miles, and Ron (Carter), not to mention sitting behind a piano with those cats around me would be damn surreal, and mind blowing too.
FWM: What was the first record/cassette/CD you bought as a kid and what are your reactions to it now?
MB: Slippery When Wet (1986). I also had The Big Chill (1983) soundtrack. Still dig Jovi’s rock excellence and the soul of all that Motown.
FWM: What is the biggest misconception that people have about you?
MB: I have no idea. Maybe people think that because I like the song “Piano Man,” I have no idea what I’m doing behind my instrument. They’re right though. I don’t know. I just party.
“Atari” – Marco Benevento 4:12 (Invisible Baby, Hyena 2008)
Those in the Northeast can catch Benevento’s live set at the following locales this fall:
November 7 – Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
November 8 – Drom, New York, NY
November 10 – The Flynn Center, Burlington, VT
November 11 – Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
November 12 – Cafe 939, Boston, MA
November 13 – Iron Horse, Amherst, MA
November 14 – Narrows Center For The Arts, Fall River, MA
November 16 – World Café Live, Philadelphia, PA
