By: David Schultz

Large Photos Courtesy and Copyright of Greg Aiello.
Smaller shots, excluding cd cover, via Flickr.

If Lemony Snicket were enlisted to write the history of the Benevento/Russo Duo, he would be hesitant to name it anything other than A Series Of Fortunate Happy Accidents. Since forming, seemingly on the spur of the moment during Joe Russo's residency at New York City's Knitting Factory, the Duo have won over fans and their fellow musicians with their inventive combination of organ and drums. In the past two years the Duo have garnered the 2005 New Groove of the Year Jammy Award; embarked on several tours across the United States; released two critically acclaimed albums and, just this past summer, shared the stage with two of the jamband scene's most revered performers, Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon. With a career marked by fortuitous developments, it would be hard to say that things are going according to plan for keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo since the relatively rapid pace at which they've progressed has left them little time to form one.



In the short interim between the end of their highly publicized summer tour with Anastasio and Gordon and the commencement of their own headlining tour in support of their recently released second album Play Pause Stop, Russo spoke to Earvolution during a break from a recording session in Philadelphia. Benevento found time to chat, pleasantly multitasking the interview with maintenance of his Wurlitzer electric piano. While you might imagine that two separate conversations on the same topic would provide divergent responses, both Benevento and Russo are remarkably like-minded in how they view and interpret the events that have marked their career's past, present and future. Their similar views are indicative of the wonderfully symbiotic relationship that has resulted in the creation of some of rock and roll's most startlingly innovative instrumental collaborations.

Middle school classmates in Franklin Lakes, NJ, Benevento and Russo trace the Duo's origins to New York City's Knitting Factory. The small stage and lack of material prompted the Duo to face each other, giving birth to the unique stage setup they use today. "The first time we set up, we said 'Let's face each other cause we're going to be improvising," remembers Russo. "It made sense for us to watch each other: to communicate visually and vocally at times; to be right in each other's face. It made such a great connection for us. We didn't even think about changing it. It's such a great way to play music when you're staring into the other guy's face and able to see the facial emotion and really feel what the other person's feeling."

While their studio albums have received considerable critical acclaim, it's the Duo's live performances that started people talking. The two regularly amaze mystified concert-goers who sometimes have trouble explaining exactly what it is they just saw. Benevento's and Russo's effect on their audience isn't accidental. It stems from their refusal to limit themselves to traditional roles. "We started as a band playing totally free-form jazz," says Benevento of the Duo's maturation. "We use everything to our advantage," states Russo. "Charlie Hunter, when we first met him years ago, told us, 'Just because you guys are a duo doesn't mean it just has to be organ and drums. There are two men on stage, two musicians, do whatever the fuck you want,'" recalls Russo. "That was something that spoke to the both of us at the time. It took a little bit of time for us to come full circle, but now, we're at the point of complete abandonment of our roles. We know I play the drum set and Marco plays the keyboards, but we don't confine ourselves to those roles. We want to be two guys on stage that make music, whatever the instrument is or however we do it. We just want to hear what's in our heads live and play it for people." In acknowledging the difficulty of explaining what the Duo accomplishes on stage, Benevento has a perfect solution. "You just have to come out and see it," he explains. "If you have ADD, you're going to love this show. There's so much different shit going on every second that anyone with a mind that likes to drift will have a hard time drifting at a Duo show."

This past summer, which saw the Duo hit up many of the numerous festivals that have sprouted up around the country, seems to have flown by in a blur. When asked about their experience at Warren Haynes' Mountain Jam, Russo had to rack his brain to recall the event. "It feels like so long ago," said Russo, finding humor in his struggle to remember the early June festival. "I remember having a good time there," he chuckles, marveling over how much can happen to a band in a very short time.

Old hands of the festival circuit, both Benevento and Russo expressed their thrill at playing the Fuji Rocks Festival in Niigata, Japan. Russo compared the diverse lineup of bands to that of this year's Lollapalooza festival. "It was such a refreshing vibe," he said. "It was different in almost every way possible. People there go to really enjoy the music. There's not as much of an obvious, people just want to get fucked up kind of thing. They're there, they're psyched for the music and they treat the grounds with such respect." Benevento echoes Russo's observations about the respect the Japanese crowd showed for the venue. "They recycled every bit of garbage. I was just about to throw a water bottle in the trash: they had me pull the label off the water bottle; throw the bottle in one place; the label in another place and the cap in another place. They had truckloads of chop sticks just to be recycled. There was no trash anywhere; everybody was very peaceful." Benevento also had nothing but kind things to say about the locale itself. "The scenery was gorgeous. It was really misty and humid. You would walk through the woods from stage to stage and there would be these cool art installations with laser beams shooting through the forest like a disco ball. It was very magical; a cool little hobbit world to be in."



The Duo didn't just appreciate the respect the Japanese showed for the festival; they also enjoyed the reception they received during their performance. "People there knew our music better than the people know it here," Benevento explained eagerly. "They were behind every dynamic change and behind every little thing that anybody could cheer. They made so much noise. I've never seen Joe smile on stage before; he was smiling the whole set. It was totally incredible: one of the highlights of my life to play there." Russo also enjoyed the Japanese audience's familiarity with their music. "It's how a concert should be. It felt so good playing for that crowd; just really being there for the music."

With the festival season coming to a close, the Duo are preparing to head to the west coast to begin a two month tour in support of their recent album Play Pause Stop. Their newest release marked a significant step forward for the Duo. "We tried to embellish on the concept that we wanted on [their debut album] Best Reason To Buy The Sun," explained Russo. "We were still coming out of a more improvised sound on Best Reason and there's more of a jazzlike feel on that record. On this one, I think we realized that we can play instrumental rock music. We weren't really afraid: people like what we're doing; they like what we're going for, so let's go for it. We were more confident on this one and got closer to the mark of what we wanted." Typical of the Duo's ability to collaborate unselfishly, Benevento explains that, "There are some songs that are more Joe and there are some songs that are more me. But for the most part, the arranging and the decision as to how we're going to play them as a band is done by both of us." Russo and Benevento are incredibly open in describing the writing of their songs, each remembering the details of how their songs came to be. As an example, Benevento, describes the creation of Play Pause Stop's title song. "I wrote the beginning of the tune; I had the melody in my head," explains Benevento, singing the opening melody for emphasis. "That was my idea. The middle idea was our idea, Joe was like, 'Why don't we circuit out in the middle.' The ending was his chord progression." If the songwriting style sounds familiar, it may be because a certain couple fellows from Liverpool found success writing songs the same way.

In bringing their songs into the studio, the Duo curb their prodigious ability to creative improvise wonderful melodies. As their catalogue grows and matures, they realize that the room for odysseys and explorations diminishes. "For the most part, the songs are the songs on Play Pause Stop," explains Benevento. "There's not much variation to be done on any of those. Not that we're playing them note for note every night, but the tunes that we can stretch seem to be 'The Three Question Marks,' 'Becky' and a lot of the covers." Russo enjoys the freeing aspect of improvising, especially with Benevento, because there's not much room to hide. "Say I go for something and don't pull it off, Marco's right there with me to get me back on track. We'll throw little shots at each other, especially when we're improvising and getting into something heavier, in the moment stuff. It doesn't feel like there are any mistakes: just going for it and the result is whatever the result is; it's never wrong. Sometimes it feels totally right, but it's never wrong."

The free-form improvisational nature of the Duo's performances succeed due to their respective mastery of the keyboards and drums. However, Russo may have the deck stacked biologically in his favor. Anyone who has ever seen him stretch by throwing both arms directly over his head in a manner that would dislocate the shoulders of your average man, drummer or not, can attest to his near super-human flexibility. When asked if he is double jointed, Russo laughs. "I have something called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome," he discloses. "It's something where the ligaments in my arms are connected in a different place from normal people, so I'm able to do weird shit." Does it help him play the drums? "When I really get into it, I get into a rubbery zone and my body kinds of moves with it. Maybe it lets me relax a little or get into the music or something easier for me," Russo explains before breaking it down to its essential components. "I just kind of flail around and hit shit."

Inspirationally, Russo traces his passion back to one of the original rock masters: John Bonham. "He just had that don't care attitude and just did whatever," states Russo. "That was the first guy, when I was younger, that had that impression on me. After that, when I started playing with the Fat Mama guys, they would take me to see Joey Baron, Bobby Previte and Kevin Wolleson, playing this stuff; Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams as well. It was so freeing: they didn't fit in this mold; it was in the moment stuff; it relaxed me into that feel of being able to be a musical drummer without having to play just a kit and a snare drum, even though that can be musical too." Those drummers taught Russo to not be afraid of the pressure and not be afraid to mess up. "That was the biggest lesson I learned: messing up can be really cool."

The Duo indulge their love of Led Zeppelin with "Bustle In Your Hedgerow," their Zeppelin cover band, whose current lineup includes RANA and former Particle guitarist Scott Metzger and Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz. Just as he provided Joe Russo the Knitting Factory residency from which the Duo sprung, Wetlands owner Jake Szufnarowski was the catalyst for this project. "For his birthday, Jake wanted Joe and I to play with Scott Metzger and he wanted us to play all Led Zeppelin," recalls Benevento. "We both love Led Zeppelin; so we learned a bunch of tunes. It was great to go back and learn all the tunes that I listened to a shitload of times when I was a kid. They were definitely one of the first bands that I got every album and listened to every day when I was 12 or 13." Russo clearly relishes the opportunity to step into the shoes of John Bonham for a night. "You get a couple drinks in you and get to play music of the best band ever. It's supposed to be fun for us and fun for the crowd. It's fun playing your idols' music. It's a treat."



Inventive and influential in his own right, Benevento seems to thrive on soaking up knowledge from his fellow musicians. In fact, it's that aspect of the business that he appears to enjoy the most. "The musicians you hang out with are so willing to share: always talking about stuff that they're being hip to or getting in to," explains Benevento. In listening to Benevento, it becomes evident that his home, while serving as a hostel for all musicians traveling through New York, also doubles as a think tank for emerging musical thought. "Every musician that I know is just sharing information constantly. There's no musician saying 'I'm not telling you what's in my iPOD. You got to find it yourself bro.' You can't hide anything in music, everyone wants to share. That's what I love about all the people in my music world. When I get turned on to something, it immediately changes the way I play or the next thing that I'm looking for." He also enjoys the personalities inherent in the business. "In music there's no 'I'm better than you.' You're just on stage being as honest as you can."

One of those relationships, that with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, helped thrust them into the spotlight, greatly accelerating their progress on the national recognition curve. Like most events in the Duo's career, their affiliation with the Phish bassist just kind of organically occurred. "I met him [Gordon] at one of the shows we were doing for Ropeadope [Records]," explains Russo. "Mike and I played together and then went back to his apartment and jammed a little bit and we said 'Oh we've got to do this again.'" Soon thereafter the Duo agreed to participate in a benefit being organized by Disco Biscuit Mark Brownstein for the voter registration organization HeadCount. "I was like 'I kind of just met Mike. Maybe he'd be down for doing a trio with me and Marco," recalls Russo. Brownstein agreed that this would be an excellent idea and encouraged Russo to make the call. "So I called him up and was like, 'Hey Mike, would you be down for doing this benefit show for Headcount?' He was like, 'Yeah, how much rehearsal?' I was like 'none.' To which he immediately said, 'absolutely,'" recalls Russo. "We went on stage and played for 45 minutes to an hour: completely improvised music. We all went into it without great expectations or really, any expectations. We walked off stage and thought, 'Wow! That was some real cool shit going on.'"

From there, their musical connection with Gordon continued to progressively pick up steam. "After that we thought, 'Well, now we have some material: Mike learned some of our stuff; we learned some of his; we did some covers," said Russo of the evolution of the trio's catalogue. "We thought that maybe we would do a little run. Then, like everything does, it just kind of organically snowballed into three or four tours with Mike . . . and then Trey had us come in and all play on his record for two songs . . . and then that starts a whole other thing of us going 'Wow, that was real fun; let's play a gig' . . . and then 'Let's do a tour' . . . .and then 'Holy shit! We're actually doing a tour,'" marvels Russo over the events that rapidly developed. "There was nothing preconceived or anything like that. That's been Marco and my history the whole time. There's never been any set thing: we play, have a good time and luckily, things have just been happening."

The latest "thing" to have happened to the Duo was a high profile pairing with their friend Mike Gordon and his former bandmate Trey Anastasio on a tour that overlapped many dates with Phil Lesh & Friends. Obviously, the Duo realized the opportunity presented to them. "We both listened to Phish," said Russo. "To be able to play with two guys who we respect immensely and experience that whole side of the music business that a band of our size normally would never get to see. It was really quite a gift."

Most new groups warm up with a couple club dates or small arena shows; so of course, the G.R.A.B. quartet debuted on the main stage at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival with an unannounced performance in front of approximately seventy-five thousand people. Although the gig had been scheduled for a couple months, it was a well kept secret; at least until that day. "During the day I started telling people," admitted Benevento. "I had to tell someone." After only four rehearsals at Benevento's house, the Duo took the stage before the largest crowd ever assembled to see them play. With Russo describing the event as "awesome" and "very intense," Benevento termed it "the incredible high of the summer for sure." "The first five to ten minutes of that show kind of got all that anxiety of playing for a crowd that big over with," said Russo. The initial amazement of the number of people in the audience quickly passed and then it was simply business as usual. "I don't think it was the tightest show but I think the energy was so cool because we were all so excited," Russo further explained. "Just as much as the fans, we were excited to hear what it was going to sound like."

In joining up with Anastasio and Gordon, Benevento and Russo found themselves in different roles, musically and logistically. "I haven't played in the back of a band . . . ever," explained Russo. "I always set up on the side so I can see the musician's faces or their hands or read their body language, so that was real awkward for me." From a musical perspective, Benevento approached the venture as a bit of a working vacation from his role in the Duo. "I didn't really have to change my style; I just changed my role from more of a lead player to more of a piano player. With Joe, I'm the bass, the chords, the melody, the soloist and everything. With Trey and Mike, Trey takes a lot of the leads and Mike plays the bass line and I was a lot freer to fill in the texture. I turned into more of a keyboard player: I'll just play those chords under Trey, I can figure this out," Benevento explained of his approach. "I played piano a lot on the Trey tour so I would do a lot of chordal accompanying. It was a different way to think. I had to tune my ears to a different place by being the piano player." Russo concurs with Benevento as to the necessity of finding a new role within the foursome. "We all went into it not being very rehearsed or familiar with playing as a four piece. It took time talking with each other about what needs to happen and how we can all make this sound like a band within 2½ weeks," explains Russo. "Instead of trying to force your own vibe; you had to try to figure out what's better for the whole. We figured it out towards the middle and once we really started clicking, near the end, it was over."



There are no future G.R.A.B. shows planned for the near future, but Russo did not rule out the possibility of further performances. "I don't see why there wouldn't be. We've made no plans; we all have such busy schedules. When time allows, in some facet we'll all play together again. Maybe we'll just do a random club show in New York. We would do it just for fun, just to enjoy playing with each other again."

While the Duo's tour with Anastasio and Gordon excited many, Russo was aware of some the criticism leveled at the G.R.A.B. quartet. "We all knew going into this thing that everybody wasn't on board with what we were doing: especially dealing with a band like Phish that is so dear to people's hearts that everybody feels so involved. So many people want to hear Phish and the last thing we wanted to do is pretend that we were Phish. I'm not John and Marco's not Page and we never wanted to portray that we were trying to fulfill that role," explains Russo. "I think some people really respect the fact that we did it; I think some people hated the fact that we did it."

The small ripples of resentment Russo sensed gave him an insight into Anastasio's post-Phish existence. "It's appalling the things I've read and heard about him as if he owes people things. He was in a band that people really enjoyed and the fact that people can say fucked up hurtful shit about him because that band's not around any more and he's trying to do something different; I find it insane and that shit pisses me off so much when someone says something like that that's so stupid or so ignorant . . . but let everybody have their opinion." The discussion over a certainly vocal minority leads to a broader discussion over the relationship between jambands and their fans with Russo noting a sense of entitlement that seems to arise. "I'm not trying to bash anyone," Russo states with honesty. "They get so involved where they think they can control the band. The reason they liked [the band] in the first place was cause they were a fan of the music. It seems like a group mentality to hop on the bashing train. To be so involved with something you don't like is such a waste of time. That's something that a lot of scenes don't have; it's kind of specific to that audience. A normal music fan will go 'I like this band; I'll go see them' or 'I don't like this band; I'm not going to go see them.' Some of these kids will get so aggravated, so personally involved in hating something; which seems that it would be the complete opposite of this scene. If you want something that you know you're not going to get and then get pissed off: well then, don't come."

The extended tour with Anastasio and Gordon as well as Lesh made a lasting impression on the Duo. "An unforgettable experience and an amazing moment of my life," states Benevento. "I played at a place where I saw Phish 11 years ago." However, what they will take away from the tour goes beyond melodies and chords. "Those guys have had so many experiences and have been doing it for so long," relates Russo, explaining that his time with Anastasio and Gordon left him with a feeling of optimism. "The knowledge of being a lifelong musician: hearing the stories of what they went through when they weren't PHISH; when they weren't this huge band and seeing that they went through the same shit that every small band goes through. Sitting back and listening to them talk about old times and the war stories of Phish puts a lot in perspective." Benevento had a more pragmatic take on the subject. "Mainly the thing I'm taking away from [the tour] is that it's going to make touring a lot easier. It's going to make our whole operation a lot more pro, a lot more efficient."

Once the Duo's fall tour concludes, Benevento will take up residency at New York City's Tonic for the month of November. Stanton Moore, Skerik, Bobby Previte and Russo are already scheduled to make appearances over Benevento's slate of Wednesday night gigs. "Any moment I can get to play with different people, I'll take it. It's really awesome to have the Duo and have our little musical baby per se and then go and freak out with all my friends and play totally improvised music," says Benevento. "I love playing free music. Every chance I can." How much of the Tonic residency will be laid out beforehand? "None," Benevento replies and without seeing him, you can imagine the smile accompanying the statement.

Since their debut at the Knitting Factory, the Duo's career has moved ahead at light speed. Benevento attributes the pace of their career to not vacillating over decisions. "Joe and I are definitely good at deciding quickly; which has pretty much been the theme of the Duo," explains Benevento. "Knitting Factory show, no problem; Mike Gordon wants to play with us, sure we'll do it; want to get in the car and do a tour, no problem. We're quick to decide yes or no." So far, the path of the Duo's career has emulated their approach towards their music: by refusing to be confined to a regimented plan, they have been able to benefit from the myriad of opportunities generated by their inventive talent and robust creativity. Like most things associated with the Duo, it seems to be something that only Benevento and Russo could accomplish.

Labels: Benevento/Russo Duo, Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Mike Gordon, Trey Anastasio