Eric Benson and The Urban Legend Band

Music:

Member Since: 11/8/2006
Band Website: ericbensong.com
Band Members: READ ERIC'S ARTICLE "Writings of Holy Men", POSTED ON NEIL YOUNG & RB WARFORD'S "LIVING WITH WAR TODAY" WEBSITE (BELOW FARENHEIT 9-11 DIRECTOR MICHAEL MOORE'S LETTER). & WHILE YOU'RE THERE***VOTE FOR ERIC'S SONG*** "WRITINGS OF HOLY MEN"(www.neilyoung.com) - FOR OVER ONE YEAR, "WRITINGS" HAS REMAINED IN THE TOP 40 OF "TOP SONGS OF TODAY", AND IS CURRENTLY AT NUMBER 34 OF OVER TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED SONGS. EACH LISTEN COUNTS AS A VOTE! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CHECKED IT OUT
You can listen to "Writings of Holy Men" & view the entire list on Young's site: CLICK HERE.

GO TO YouTube.com FOR A LIVE PERFORMANCE: So I have been fortunate enough to not only get out there and perform my songs for appreciative audiences all over, but have opened for and shared the stage with some big guns in the industry too. Fellow Canuck's will recognize some of our homegrown talents, Amanda Marshall, The Cowboy Junkies, Valdy, Ian Tyson etc. I've also had the honor of sharing the stage with some of our American cousins, Juice Newton, Roy Clark & George Fox. I've spent a year with a small indie record label, mostly sleeping in my car from gig to gig (dues man, dues....), recorded 5 CD's to date, 2 of which are available still, and one more in the process... It's been a loooong journey, this music thang. Sometimes exciting, sometimes intensely stressful, sometimes hungry (for food, not fame) (ok both), sometimes lonely, but always always always so very cool to be able to do what I love the most, and every now and then get paid for it. Woohoo!------------ I met this awesome group of musicians who were performing around town, at various venues, in various ensembles, from duo to trio to quartet. The band is called "Biorythm". The lead singer - Cathy Kalyniuk, backed up by her husband Calvin on guitars and vocals, had moved to the area in the mid nineties and quickly established themselves as one of the premier groups in the area. They were invited to play at our world class resorts, receiving accolades from visitors from all 4 and a half corners of the earth. Just like everyone else, I was immediately struck by Cathy's powerfully intense and haunting vocals. I realize that "haunting vocals" can be overused in a singer's bio, but there are many ghosts that eminate from within her voice that wrap themselves around you as if from the ether itself, and stay with you, lingering around your head, reminding you that you heard someone quite extraordinary. I quietly stood in the background and watched people head to wherever her voice was coming from. I swear it was like watching "Night of the Living Dead" watching as flocks of admirers, old and new, made their way towards the music. Calvin effortlessly goes from one style of music to another. The transition incredible....but always laid back and unassuming....it's hard to grasp that the brilliant music you hear is actually coming from his fingers, as he seems to play so effortlessly, he may as well be drinking a cup of coffee, relaxing on the sofa
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...LOL....But make no mistake, he is one very focused and a dedicated guitarist. I knew I had to somehow incorporate this duo in some fashion, if not on my next CD, then in my next show(s). We did some fund-raisers together, always with a grand finale that included all the musicians who had performed that evening, and the magic was born, the stage set, so to speak. I had suggested that for one of the fund-raisers, we get together at their studio to work on an old Zep classic together. It was very very cool. I finally had the opportunity to ask Cathy and her band to try one of my own songs with me .. . Photo flashes everywhere, people offering to manage us - it was nothing short of electric. We have done some very successful shows since that memorable one, and now have a booking agent "www.thomaswalkerproductions.com" At times, I have ventured out onto stages and gigs with just Johanne, and the magic is not diminshed one bit. Johanne appeared with me on an early (very early, 7am) morning variety show on TV in Victoria, and she was a star. I was half asleep...lol Johanne's incredible angelic voice is like no other. Currently, we are busy in the studio recording our second album together.
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LOOKING FOR GREAT PAINTINGS? CHECK OUT RAINDROP HERE:WANT TO HEAR SOME MORE GREAT TUNES? CHECK OUT THESE AWESOME ARTISTS:

Nick Martin Music.


Influences: NEIL YOUNG: How cool to have one of my tunes on Neil's Living With War Website.....JIM CROCE & MAURY MUEHLEISEN - If you've ever been touched by one of Croce's songs, you may not have realized that much of the incredible guitar work, was the genius and magic of Maury Muelheisen, Jim Croce's "one man band". Maury's sister Mary, has set up a tribute website that anyone can visit and leave messages. It's worth checking out - you'll be amazed at what you find, and what a treasure Maury was and is, in music history.(www.maurymuehleisen.com) CLICK HERE.
You can also find his page here on myspace( CLICK HERE). I still remember the announcement on TV saying they were gone forever, & how I froze. I was only about 12 years old, and me & my best friend and guitar bud Mike MacArthur had just learned Bad Bad Leroy Brown. Without a doubt, two of the greatest influences of my music, as I try to incorporate some humor either in song, or inbetween songs, along with the more serious stuff. That's what was so great about Jim (CLICK HERE TO GO TO JIM'S MYSPACE PAGE). , and his quiet but brilliant guitarist Maury. ARLO GUTHRIE: What folksinger hasn't?LED ZEP: No explanation necessary.Canadian legend GORDON LIGHTFOOT (most of us Canuck musicians have a bit of Gordon's music in our souls)VLADIMIR (WALLY) BONDARENKO: I was introduced to Wally by one of his students, Debbie McLennan, when I was about 12 and just learning guitar. I believe Debbie was probably tired of hearing me play "House of the Rising Sun" over and over and over, and was determined to help me expand my repertoire! She arranged a meeting with me and Wally at the school he taught. It was on a Saturday (that's right, his day off...), and he played his guitar and sang, among other songs, Cat Stevens "Morning Has Broken". I was truly mesmerized, and determined from that day on that this was what I was going to pursue by whatever means possible. Wally is a Gemini Award winning documentary film-maker, and after 35 long years since that Saturday, we made contact again, thanks again, to Debbie! What a ride....JIM REEVES (actually, his back-up singers): My mother was upset one day, when I was about 5 years old, and my father explained to me that her "boyfriend" Jim Reeves had been killed in a plane crash. She was playing his music all the time, and his back-up singers were so very haunting. I believed my father....nutz.JAMES TAYLOR: So beautifully down to earth in his writing, and the way he carries himself on stage.CARLY SIMON: Not much explanation needed there either!FLEETWOOD MAC: Same as every other human being on the planet.BEATLES: Pioneers from HeavenJANIS IAN: Janis' influence on my writing is predominantly an emotional one that made me want to make people feel and think in ways they might otherwise not want to.MY MOTHER: She of course encouraged my playing and writing, and told me that if I made people sad, then I owed them a laugh. I try to do that at shows.MY FATHER: He had a knack for playing harmonica, anything he heard on a record or radio, he could play within minutes, and liked to "show me off" to his friends, making me bring out my guitar and play and sing. .. width="425" height="350" ..
Sounds Like: Me and my band.....
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None