It was 2004 and Ben Musser had just moved from Austin, TX to New York City looking to put together an act that had been ringing in his ears his whole life. Leaving behind projects as the drummer for Ross Flournoy (The Broken West) and Scott Claassen (Scott Claassen, The Broken West), Ben headed east where he knew only an artist manager and his sister, an accomplished singer.

Musser took a job with the artist manager and promptly discovered that working for their client, North Carolina troubadour, Malcolm Holcombe, would change his musical world forever. He jammed with Holcombe whenever he could and began studying his voice, his guitar playing and his songs. Along with these new influences, working for Holcombe armed Musser with connections in and a deep knowledge of the “roots” music business.

After meeting Holcombe, Musser began studying the voices of Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles and intensely working on his own. He was soon loaded with a strong voice, a new guitar-playing technique, and songs by Claassen, Flournoy, Holcombe, as well as some of his own. Now a frontman, Musser needed a bandmate. His sister was a new mom so Musser found upright bassist Tucker Yaro on Craigslist in the spring of 2005. They called themselves Benyaro.

Ben looked to his boss, the artist manager, for help. She believed he had a gift and told him they should hone their skills on the subway platforms. If they drew crowds consistently, they knew they had something. Drawing crowds came easier than Ben thought possible. Benyaro quickly became a favorite of the cops on the station beat.

Musser finally saw it was time to have his sister, Meg Chamberlin, step in with her sweet and powerful voice. The trio began booking in Austin, Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, DC, Charlotte, Philly, Richmond, Charlottesville, etc. via word of mouth with no demo to hand to bookers or promoters. They became at once a critic’s pick and a crowd pleaser. Benyaro supported the legendary Malcolm Holcombe in Boston, NYC and in Johnson City, TN.

A year and a half later Benyaro saved enough money to record a self-released, self-titled debut album which is now available at shows, on iTunes, CD Baby and across the internet. The project is produced by Ben Musser and features the trio performing material written by Musser, Claassen, Holcombe and Flournoy. Team Clermont (White Stripes, Flaming Lips, Death Cab, Avett Brothers, Jose Gonzalez, etc.) helped promote the album on radio and on February 23, 2009 “Benyaro” reached 161 on the National CMJ Top 200 chart, several spots above Ray LaMontagne, M. Ward, Medeski, Martin and Wood, and many other great, “signed” acts. The album continues to receive great press and airplay at stations across the country.

 


Read more: http://www.myspace.com/benyaro#ixzz0vB8iq5f4