The rock breaks into this Wednesday evening. “You speak your mind and you’ll end up dead!” Sling that slide guitar across your shoulders and Bash those drums and thump that bass – we’re tasting some blues in our rock! “Rich man spilling the poor man’s blood.” Yep, bail out the old greedy banks and let the young fight the wars. Great way to end hump day – gives me just enough anger to want to teach the young to think for themselves and not toe the party line. Eartaste

My brother and I are the first for many generations in my family that have not served in the armed forces which goes all the way back to the civil war. I go in and out of feeling guilty for not enlisting at some point. My Grandfather was on the beaches of France during D-Day +1. My father was a Captain in the Army and served as a field surgeon in Vietnam being award a bronze star for valour for his service. I feel like these conflicts could have been markers for change in the way the human community decides to deal with their differences and their endless urge for control. Sadly it seems we’ve used our past to perpetuate our present and as a vision and platform for the future.

“All war is deception.” Sun Tzu

Download and share ‘World on fire’ for FREE!

“Have a listen to “World on Fire” and you will have a general idea what I am discussing in that aspect. The album has raw, acoustic rock with some pop sounds blended in, incorporating the lyrics of each song to create such a dynamic album; it is one of those projects that captures the experiences of our daily lives.” Indie Music Stop

Maybe I’m just crazy but it does seem that there is more than enough to go around if we were to share the riches of the world and live side by side and thrive as some dream of. As we continue to disregard the facts and live in a numbed state of bliss the world as we know is quickly slipping away. In the next 20 years we will continue to see wars over water, gods, land, oil, power, fear, and ignorance but it will happen by making that choice not because the universe is shoving us in that direction.

“I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.” George McGovern

Illustration by Patrick McQuade based on a photograph by Jeff Forney.

Demand that your media outlets report real and meaningful news based in fact or continue to be enthralled by a waterskiing squirrel.

On ‘World on Fire’ Bennett’s voice is distinctive, his spirit passionate, and his delivery confident, and setting it all down in propulsive lines and thoughtful pensees with a taste for the underside of things. He has a way of feasting with panthers while alternately breathing fire or lamenting the way of things.

Vote with your dollars and understand the flow of money in the world and how you, I, and everyone else are systematically funding our own demise.

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity.” DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

San Francisco has this unique vibe that’s hard to put your finger on. I lived here for six years and for me it had this strange darkness to it though it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world. What a crazy mix; the complete spectrum of what’s considered real or true, free or fair.

My primary reason for this trip was to record the self titled debut for the band The Gutter Report, a collaboration between Gabe Ford and myself. We tracked the full album in two days, April 2nd and 3rd, recording the songs live in studio and then overdubbing vocals.

The album was produced by The Gutter Report and engineered by Matt Stamos with the assistance of Marcus Buick. Duane Lundy will mix the album that looks to release in Late May 2012. We are all very excited for people to be able to hear the final product as soon as possible. What you can expect is sexy, slightly creepy, and very dirty gutter rock.

It’s been very rewarding working again with my friend of 20 years on this project. It’s been a long time coming and well worth the wait. Gabe is an extremely talented writer, drummer, and vocalist. It was a pleasure to rock out during the sessions and we’re both jacked about a run of shows later this summer.

Many great thanks to everyone that made the trip a reality. First and foremost a huge thank you to my love Suanne Gray for allowing me the chance to dream the dream. What a ten day trip it’s been! Now it’s back home to Nashville where I truly left my heart.

Networking during music week went really well and I am very pleased about my new contacts and momentum from being in Austin, TX for sure. Big thanks go out to my close friends Brian Waymire, Duane Lundy, Justin Craig, Chris Bolan, Chris Cooley, Kevin Hahn, Katie, Lori, Colby, and everyone else at Red Gorilla for making the trip a complete success. Big thanks to my bandmate May Hwen and our drummer Any Wilmoth for their incredible efforts. Most of all I want thank the love of my life, Suanne Gray, for her love and support.

This month I have begun the long process of listing my network with my label, Blue Pie Records. This exercise will put my lager network into prospective and allow me greater ability to collaborate and focus on writing for TV and Film. As I’ve been putting my greater list together I have really been blown away at the talents and accomplishments of my close friends and collaborators. I have incredibly gifted friends and I’m certainly lucky to have them all in my life. These are the musicians, songwriters, producers, filmmakers, directors, and artists of the future for sure.

As they say, beware the ides of March. This year March 15th had great meaning. It was the realization of three months of hard work and I take great pride in what we were able to accomplish in Austin. The future holds great promise for all my current projects and I’m very thankful to be working side by side with Blue Pie Records on my solo career. Here’s to continued forward momentum in all directions.

Invision mountains of posters, handbills, promo CDS, and business cards flying around in a hurricane of band propaganda. For many bands this is viewed as their golden opportunity to land the elusive label contract, manager, agent, and or tour. In reality it is, for most, just another stop on the long road to complete oblivion. No one should have the illusion that they will receive the golden ticket in their candy bar.

For the bands that succeed during Music Week it is the hard work beforehand that really matters. Bands should be working hard to invite industry to their performances in the weeks before Austin while most people are still generally sober and checking their emails. Bands and Artists should be setting goals for attendance and pushing hard to get feedback before Music Week not during.

I will be making the trip this year with my band, NARROW STRAIT, to perform twice at RED GORILLA FEST 2012. We head into Music Week with level heads and realistic goals for what we’ll accomplish in Austin. Most of our connections have already been made, our emails sent, and our handbills distributed. Any new connections during Music Week will be icing on the heavy lifting already taken care of. The rest is hanging on who decides to give our band a chance as well as on the quality of our performances. Good Luck and Break a leg!

A bluesy rollercoaster ride. If his debut album ‘The Violet Hush’ whetted your appetite then Johnny Bennett’s ‘Gone Missing’ will leave you hungry for still more. An eclectic mix of bluesy, indie rock the Indiana singer/songwriter has a voice that lends perfectly to his chosen genre. The title track is perfect choice to kick off the album; in your face and catchy, reeling you in from the get go. ‘I’ll show you out’ is a heart-wrenching ballad that showcases the maturity in his writing, exposing what’s going on inside this man’s head. He’s been compared to Mr. Cool, Lenny Kravitz, which is a pretty tall order and if I’m honest he doesn’t even come close – but that doesn’t mean he isn’t good. This album won’t rip your face off, but it will take you on a rollercoaster ride you won’t want to get off of. 8 out of 10 Stars / Kylie Olsson – Classic Rock Magazine – AOR Edition.

I choose to embrace the great in every review I get as I feel very lucky to be getting reviews in print magazines at all. I know I’m very lucky to have the chance to record and release my music and it’s amazing to read someone’s take on my stuff. This is a fantastic review and it begs the question; “What is hip?” and “What is cool?”. I’d say it ain’t bad for a skinny white boy from Indiana. Huge thanks to my UK publicist, Nicky at Two Side Moon, for this amazing work.

It seems to be a major theme these days, not just in the music business but all around, that one should be paid for his or her time and effort and not based on his or her results. I believe strongly that this is one of the major failures of the current music business. Managers, Labels, Agents, Radio Promoters, Concert Promoters, and Publicists should be paid based on their success not upon smoke and mirrors pay to play type shenanigans.

The current sham business models that rule the business allow mediocre and tired individuals to thrive off of the hopes and dreams of independent artists and signed artists alike. Does it make sense to have someone on your team that doesn’t feel responsible for your success or failure just because they know they’re going to get paid some minimal fee that they in turn charge a long list of clients just like you? Trust me it adds up. This is a mistake that I’ve made many times and it’s one that I’m trying hard not to make again.

“The whole music business in the United States is based on numbers, based on unit sales and not on quality. It’s not based on beauty, it’s based on hype and it’s based on cocaine. It’s based on giving presents of large packages of dollars to play records on the air.” Frank Zappa

I’d rather deal with Payola at radio to be honest. At least when you’re paying for spins you know what you’re getting. We’ve ended up with an industry of bottom feeders who, when it comes to creating success, have no fucking clue what they’re doing and they get paid well for their incompetence.

“Without marketing plans, the greatest music in the whole world don’t mean shit.” Christopher Knab

The sad truth is that music takes a hit on multiple levels. For example, if a publicist was being paid based on results, would they work with an artist that had little opportunity of being reviewed? What you get is a market propped up by subpar artists with very little if no chance for success. It’s very hard to maneuver through the biz without getting caught in the web. Good luck!

“Are we strangers now like rock n’ roll and the radio?” Ray LaMontagne

Radio has had a huge influence on me over the years and I love the format. I remember waiting wildly with my tape deck to record my new favorite song off my local station as a kid. I remember the special moments and seasons when I was introduced to some of my favorite bands via fantastic radio programming. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed really. There are still a lot of great stations, shows and DJ’s out there turning us all on to new tunes. Another thing that hasn’t changed is that it is very expensive to get music to decision makers at stations and even harder to get them to add a song to their playlists.

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.” Marilyn Monroe

It’s hard to comprehend how many CD’s I have delivered of the years to radio world-wide. Certainly thousands have gone out my door with a large percentage headed straight for the trash can. Not until I hired successful radio promoters in the US and UK did my music really have a fighting chance. This year I’ve gone 100% digital with my music and I no longer press my albums physically. With the help my label, Blue Pie Records, I am testing the new world format by sending my AirPlay Direct page where stations can download my tracks for airplay. Check it out here.

“Radio is a bag of mediocrity where little men with carbon minds wallow in sluice of their own making.” Fred Allen

Over the past few years I’ve had some really great airplay in formats including College, Triple-A, BBC Radio in the UK, and Hot AC in the US. I’ve been lucky to work with some brilliant radio promoters including Tinderbox Music, Serious Bob Promotion, Jeff Chegwin Promotion, and Kyle Meredith Promotion. These relationships allowed me to chart in the top 200 at Triple A radio in the US, get titles added at over 230 College stations, as well as getting major features and on-air performances on BBC Radio 2 in the UK.

“It’s so sweet, I feel like my teeth are rotting when I listen to the radio.” Bono

I’ve also gotten screwed a few times by shady promoters, who will not be named for good reason. I’ve had radio reports doctored, been fed misinformation and lost thousands of dollars in the process. This all in the name of believing in my songs as well as being naive to the dirty business that is radio in the US. As far as I can tell Payola is still very much alive, and there is still a great divide between quality music and it’s ability to have even a slim chance to competing with major label releases. Radio playlists are in large part created by independent radio consultants who are paid off, stroked off and wined and dinned to make a single happen at radio.

“Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?” Billy Joel

I know a lot of people use YouTube as their radio these days and I’m guilty of it too. Others enjoy sites like Pandora that give the impression that they are an open format to all available music. The fact is that they exclude huge amounts of quality music that has charted at conventional radio and been reviewed my major print magazines. I’ve been asked by fans of my music on numerous occasions why they can’t find me on Pandora. We’ll folks it’s because they have decided for you what you’ll like. Period. There are some great sites like blip.fm and The Sixty One that allow music listeners to choose for themselves and share what they like and what they’re listening to. It’s sites like these that are leveling the playing field for the future.

“The whole country was tied together by radio. We all experienced the same heroes and comedians and singers. They were giants.” Woody Allen

Getting paid for airplay in the US is worth another whole post but I won’t bore you. I’ll just say that the systems are broken and something needs to happen on a large scale to ensure that writers get paid for each and every spin at both conventional and satellite radio. How else can artists afford to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars promoting their music to radio in the first place?

“When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio. If all the stations are rock and roll, there’s a good chance the transmission is shot.” Larry Lujack

So the next time you’re listening to your favorite radio station take a moment and think about the immense effort that it takes to get a song on air, and the considerable amount of bullshit that continues to keep a lot of great music from your ears.

Blurred Lines

Blue Pie Records released ‘Blurred Lines’ in January. This twelve song album is a rock compilation of my last two releases ‘The Violet Hush’ and ‘Gone Missing’. I am super proud of this set of songs as well as the albums that they were selected from. I hope you’ll take some time and check it out.

Buy it here: Johnny Bennett – Blurred Lines

Narrow Strait – Strait Push

I’ve been working with my bandmate, May Hwen, over the last nine months in Narrow Strait. Our debut album, Strait Push, is currently being mixed and will release in March. We’ll be launching the album at The Red Gorilla Music Festival in Austin, TX. We play twice during the festival on Thursday, March 15th. Locations and Times TBA. I’m very excited to be focusing on electric guitar and writing in this band and letting the spotlight shine on the amazing vocal and lyrical talents that May brings to the project. This is high energy rock pop with a modern edge. Look for Narrow Strait to make big waves in Nashville and beyond this year.

The Gutter Report – Multiple Edges and the Sugar Female

My long-time friend and collaborator, Gabe Ford, and I are finally locked in to record our debut album under the band name The Gutter Report. You might recognize Gabe as the drummer for the iconic band Little Feat. Gabe and I will track, Multiple Edges and the Sugar Female, during the first week of April and it will release in June this year with touring to follow.

Johnny Bennett with Mason Embry and Michael Rinne – The Standards Session

I’m very pleased as the plans are coming together for the second installment of my jazz EP series with the incredible talents of Mason Embry and Michael Rinne the first of which was ‘The Christmas Session 7-December-2011′. This second EP will focus on rare american jazz standards and it will again be recorded live in the studio. The session will take place in early May here in Nashville and should release in June.

Red Light Room EP

I working on the re-release of my 2008 EP, Red Light Room, a five-song piano driven set of pop-rock songs. With the re-working it is my hope that the EP will reach a larger audience. Look for it to resurface sometime this summer.

40-0

40-0 will be my next full-length original album and I’m currently cutting demos and writing the material for it. My hopes are that the stars will align for this album to be produced late this year for release early in 2013.

Singles / B-sides

I’m currently working with several very talented producers to release a series of singles this year and I’ll be keeping everyone updated as they take shape.

2012 looks to be my most prolific year yet and I can’t wait for people to hear what I’ve been working on. Here’s to continued creative inspiration!

Remember in high school thinking “I can’t wait to get to college and the real world”. Well as the great quote above clearly states the real world is much more like high school than college and the sooner we figure that out in life the better.

Yes the Grammys do leave a lot of great talent off their stage every year and it’s always been that way. Some folks say we need quality music to take back the world. I’m here to say that there was plenty of amazing talent on that stage last night. Was it all there? No. And that is life. There are winners, losers, and it’s not based on skill or effort. That would make for a three-day Grammy award festival and still wouldn’t include all the exceptional talent in the world.

In life there will always be individuals that are left out of the conversation. Artists that don’t win big awards or even small ones and that’s ok. I may never win a Grammy and that’s certainly not why I create music. But if I did I would thank the powers that be for including me in their little club for a bit. I would embrace that the ‘popular people’ chose me for some reason and then I would be on my way.

If one always focuses on why or when they were left out then life can get bitter and ugly. And who wants a bitter boy or girl at their party. I really believe that it is true that life is like high school so excuse me why I return to hanging out with the misfits in the parking lot.

“The variety on offer may be off putting for the more one-dimensional listener but. frankly, hell mend them if they can’t take pleasure in such a delightful musical journey.” ZEITGEIST

“Johnny Bennett appears to enjoy shuffling the deck and keeping things loose, incorporating a variety of genres and succeeds in all aspects.” BOOTLEG

“Bennett’s all-encompassing, genre-bustin’ musical journey takes the listener from electrifying Dylan-esque belters like ‘World On Fire’ to the gently Damien Rice-esque and folkish ‘One Night Bag’ visiting Springsteen-like light industrial rockers ‘The Violet Hush’ and ‘Sister Pharmaceutical’ along the way.” TOXIC PETE

So whatever your mood be it sad, mellow, happy, excited, rude etc. my songbook will deliver. If you want to rock, chill, party, make love, cry, smile, laugh etc. you should take a chance and check out the tunes.

Gutter Sex Rock

Sister Pharmaceutical

I’ll never be this high again

The Smooth Cowboy

Sailboat

Lights in the drive

Solo Acoustic

A girl from Birmingham

Song for Suanne

The Love and Loss

Why are you so happy?

One night bag

The Angry Rockers

Gone Missing (Album Version)

You played it well

The Party

Gone Missing (Single)

The Jazzman

You will begin

Johnny Bennett – Where we belong

The Urban Beat

Sweet Memories

Done with it

The Political Bends

World on fire

New war countries

So there’s a taste of how mixing it up can be exciting and fresh. Thanks for taking the trip. If you’d like to share any of the above songs with your friends here is a link to my Music is for Sharing post: Share it around