By Mike Breen

Benj Clarke

Not to stereotype, but if you know any musicians, you probably know that "lazy" can be one of the main adjectives used to describe them. Not all of them, but, well, you know artistic types. Last minute flyers, no guitar strings, two years to finish a record -- it's all par for the course.

Benj Clarke, local singer/songwriter formerly of Mystery Wagon, Balance Allstars and New Age Insomniacs and currently frontman for A Slice of Nice, took three years to complete his debut album, Out Through The In Crowd. But, even if Clarke does share the lackadaisical trait with fellow musicians, that's not why it took him so long to complete the album. With close to 50 guest artists from the local scene, Clarke had a few logistical issues to deal with, to say the least.

"There was no way I was gonna do another 'two guitar, bass and drums' record," Clarke says of the "special guests" approach. "The guests were there for a few reasons. Like a scrapbook, like collecting photos or autographs, I was collecting performances from some of my absolute favorite musicians and some of my best friends. That way, as the years pass, I have this cool little scrapbook of a record that will no doubt grow richer in sentimental value. And I figure that some of the names may help me sell some records, too, of course!"

The results are impressive, making for one of the most ambitious local releases in recent memory. Even with such a daunting roster of guests (including members of Homunculus, psychodots, Simpletons, Promenade, The Ass Ponys and Freekbass, plus former bandmates), Clarke and producer Brian Lovely -- who Clarke met while working on an abandoned New Age Insomniacs recording -- do some dazzling things to keep the focus on Clarke's Pop songwriting and grand studio ideas, fleshing them out with string flourishes and other layered additives. Clarke says Lovely's participation was crucial, helping to transfer the big, layered sound he was hearing in his head.

"The records I had always enjoyed, Beatles and ELO, Pet Sounds and Motown, Elvis Costello's Spike and mid-period XTC, always (had) these layers of big crazy sound, little things darting in and out," Clarke says. "We really took a Sgt. Pepper approach to tracking, laying one part at a time, as creative and mad as we wanna be, and sometimes the last things that went into a song were bass and drums! Like making a cake with the icing first."

"(Lovely) understands most of my references and is open-minded and insane enough to try anything. He really allowed my vision to guide the project, for which I am absolutely grateful. A talent of his caliber at my disposal -- how lucky could I get? Sometimes he would not immediately understand or agree with what I wanted to do but he always indulged me 'til we got it right, and sometimes, when I was completely at a loss for what to do with a track at a given point, he could fill in the blank."

Clarke says that only two people he asked to lend a hand couldn't make it to the studio, but almost everyone was eager and willing. The scheduling presented some difficulties, but Clarke says the logistical headaches were relatively minimal.

"Patience was part of the original work order," he says. "No deadline; let's get it all the way right. Still I wasn't counting on three years! If it took some time to get so-and-so to the studio, and that person's track was required before we could move ahead on the song, well, we'd just work on a different song until so-and-so could get to the studio. And keep in mind that those people were brought in one at a time. There were some frustrations, but you tend to forget that stuff and just remember the cool times."

While the songs on the release often sound tailor-made for the guests, Clarke insists he didn't have people in mind specifically while writing. But when it came time to record, he found himself in the enviable position of being able to play wizard and come up with some intriguing pairings. For example, on the hyper-catchy "Only One," Clarke was able to reassemble all of the psychodots on one track (with Lucky Spaulding handling vocal duties) and the late Circus of the Sun take on the rocker "Cobain in Vain (Another Radio)."

"I think it is very interesting to have a Freekbass share a track with a Promenade," Clarke says. "An Ass Pony with a Leap Skyward and a couple of Homunculi; Roger Klug with Roger Yeardley. Yes, I was conscious of really mixing it up, bringing together pieces of the community and introducing every one around to each other. I want conversations to start: 'We've never met, but you and I are on a song together on Benj's record ...' "

Clarke's band, A Slice of Nice (which features Bill Brandenburg on keys, Chuck Davis on guitar, Kortez Kaufman on drums and Brian Mahan on bass) was put together last year as a way to perform and promote Out Through The In Crowd. For the future, Clarke plans to continue being a valiant local music supporter, hosting the local music radio show, Spin Cincinnati, on WAIF (88.3 FM), airing Wednesdays at Midnight and booking local talent for the public access television program, City Nights. On the creative front, he says his goals are simply to keep on keepin' on.

"The first goal for this album -- sheer artistic satisfaction -- is already accomplished," Clarke says. "I would hope that it will establish me as a songwriter, maybe sell some records and give me the wherewithal to do another one. Because I love the process, you know?"

E-mail Mike Breen

print this page

Spill It (January 24, 2002)
Spill It (January 17, 2002)
Short Takes (January 10, 2002)
more...

personals | cover | news | columns | music | movies | arts | dining | listings | classifieds | mediakit | promotions | home

Spill It

Gig of the Week
Steve Wilson

Positively Yeah Yeah Yeah
New Tunes

Music Listings

Coming Music Dates

Club Directory

Dance Directory