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Benjy Davis Project
Official
Website
Myspace
Youtube
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 seven 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 November
4th on Rock Ridge Music of the Benjy
Davis Project’s 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.
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.
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Matt Duke
“When I first started out, I didn’t
know what style I was,” says Matt
Duke, a South Jersey-born,
Philly-based, 24-year-old
singer-songwriter. “I still don’t
and probably never will.” Matt
stands out in an industry that loves
to categorize. His second
full-length album and first for Ryko,
Kingdom Underground, came out in
2008 and rocked a fairly big sound.
However, Matt tours primarily as a
solo acoustic singer-songwriter, so
his fans have come to expect a
slightly quieter fare from him,
which is how the Acoustic Kingdom
Underground EP came about.
“It’s a nice complement to the
album,” says Matt. “I’m used to
going out and touring solo acoustic
and the fans often say, ‘We like the
record but we like what your shows
sound like too,’ so this is for
them. Regarding his
Philly-and-beyond fanbase, Matt
says: “I have seen blue-hairs, 14-
to 18-year-old girls and college
kids at my shows. And Myspace has
helped exponentially.” Some websites
have lumped him in with other
artists such as John Mayer and Jason
Mraz, which is okay with him.
Matt looks super-young – almost
teenage – in photographs, but the
sound of his voice and the gravity
of his lyrical content make you
believe he is an old soul who has
been through a lot. “That’s exactly
the image I am hoping to project,”
says Matt, who incorporates pop,
folk, jazz and rock into his
repertoire. His stadium-ready
Vedderesque voice may have mass
appeal, but for now you are more
likely to see him in a coffeehouse
setting, following in the footsteps
of some of his heroes, such as Ani
DiFranco and Conor Oberst. |
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