About

“Conversations Missed,” the haunting EP by electric troubadour Benny Marchant, is the sound of a hopeful heart that’s bruised but still beating. Painting the stages of love and loss, Benny’s emotional alternative folk-rock, sweetened with pedal steel, a horn section and his own delicate guitar, is his coming of age as a solo artist.  Los Angeles Magazine agrees, calling him “A cross between Tom Petty and Pearl Jam (no, really),” and adding, “Marchant’s sound mixes acoustic and electric guitar and is catchy and upbeat—and with lyrics like “I don’t want to dream tonight about conversations missed/gonna hold on to the light,” his songs are both touching and relatable.”  The 5-track EP was produced by Joe Chiccarelli (Radiohead, White Stripes, My Morning Jacket, The Shins) and recorded with band mates Walker Gibson (keys/guitar/vocals), Hubie Wang (electric guitar), Spencer Wright (bass) and Steve Robinson (drums).

Lacrosse skills scored Benny his first European gigs, playing in matches while attending Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland; but his real major was music.  With friends, he formed a jam band called NRG whose popularity became Benny’s apprenticeship, gigging all around the DC area.

After graduation, NRG split as the schoolmates went their separate ways.  But Benny couldn’t abandon music and boldly plunged into the unknown, producing his own album, Teller, on a studio he set up in his parents’ garage in 2004. “It was the first time I realized you could hire musicians for sessions!  I had to learn how to get things done,” he laughs. “Teller became my resume.” Despite its limited distribution, Teller’s cult following has kept on growing; and now a Teller track, “Alone,” features on a British TV show.

In 2005, Marchant packed up and headed for Nashville on a quest to hone his songwriting skills.  After two years, during which he scored a local radio hit with the bright, pop sound of his “My Next Ex-Girlfriend,” he left to carve out his niche in the City of Angels, where he helmed alt rock band The Kings Royal founded with drummer Dave Krusen (Pearl Jam), culminating in a tour with Candlebox in 2008.  Most impressive is that Marchant has remained true to his alternative style since settling in Los Angeles and splitting from Kings Royal in 2009.  His songs are arrestingly honest and heartfelt, and that’s especially evident in the tender ballad “A Better Way,” heard in the 2011 feature film “Soul Surfer”—a true story about a teenage surfer girl who summons the courage to go back into the ocean after losing an arm.

The collaboration with Chiccarelli started at Sunset Studios in Hollywood where Marchant would rehearse. They hit it off, and what began as casual improvisation evolved organically into a full-fledged collaboration. Benny recounts the beginnings of the process: “I had originally written the tune ‘Cold Weather’ for a side project, and then it changed a bit as I began working with Joe on the EP.  I wrote a different bridge for it altogether, a Simon & Garfunkel-ish bridge, because again I listened to the classics, so that took things to a new level.  Lyrically, it’s one of the songs that says, ‘I’m not alone, I’m actually with somebody and I don’t care what anyone says, I’m so excited that I am in this moment.’  ‘Cold Weather’ is a metaphor for life.”

Bolstered by strong support at Triple A radio, Benny’s got the Southern California scene covered, playing return engagements at the House of Blues and Winston’s (San Diego), The Piano Bar, Viper Room, Tommy’s Place and Hotel Café (LA). A 2011 summer tour included stops at Rockwood, Milkboy, Jammin Java, Tin Angel and The Foundry in Phoenix (8/27) followed by a trio of dates in Baltimore (‘Grand Prix’ 9/2-9/3 and ‘Street Beat Festival’ 9/18). This fall he joined indie folk-rockers TFDI (Matt Duke, Jay Nash, Tony Lucca) for a national tour that kicked off 9/25 in Decatur, GA, just a few nights after they all performed at the Hotel Carolina Festival in Isle of Palms, SC.  Meanwhile, Marchant said that he and his band have “lots of new music” aside from the “Conversations Missed” EP that is expected to be included on their debut full-length, out in early 2012. Having already shared the stage with such acts as Collective Soul, James Maddock, All Mighty Senators, and Candlebox, Benny’s rapidly growing fan base connects with his rare gift of giving voice to feelings of love, loss, journey and victory.

Tune into Benny’s own Internet radio channel, Codename.Mike, and you’ll hear icons like Lou Reed, The Doors, James Taylor, Grateful Dead alongside modern rock and pop standouts by the White Stripes, Beck, The Strokes. Benny Marchant is a artist who, when asked, says he’ll “always be searching, reaching further”…. That hard-won self-awareness and ability to turn raw emotional realities into tuneful songs are the result of a musical journey in search of his most authentic voice — a journey that will position Benny Marchant as a singer-songwriter to make his generation know their own hearts.