|
Read here for reprinted editions of TMPB-related press coverage, as well as special announcements exclusive only to the web.
Both TMPB Recordings and its recording artists get much well-deserved press. Unfortunately, because of the geographic disbursement of TMPB's artists, we may not have all known media coverage captured in our webpages. If you know of an article or music review pertinent to TMPB Recordings or one of its artists, then please submit it, along with its credit information (source, author, date, etc.), to our promotion department and we'll post it here for all to read and enjoy. |
| SPECIAL TMPB INTERNET OFFER! For a limited time, TMPB Recordings is making a special offer available only through this website. These offers are good only for web purchases made on this site and do not apply to any other on-line stores or retail establishments.
|
| THE RECIPIENT OF THE APRIL 8, 1999 OMI (Online Music Industry Award) IS TMPB RECORDINGS Beats E-Zine April 1999 TMPB Recordings is a full service independent record label offering affordable studio recording, record manufacturing, music publishing, promotion, and distribution. TMPB Recordings is the first label to emerge in the Southwestern United States that truly operates as a "one-stop-shop" for unsigned musicians. Its services are just recently available on-line. TMPB believes that this type of online promotion and distribution is the way of the future. By the professionalism they display and the knowledge they have, they well could be right! We are proud to present this OMI to TMPB Recordings, a great promotional vehicle for the indie musician. |
| KEVIN & THE KICKERS CD-RELEASE PARTY A HIT! Southwest Musician March 1998 Last Month I was searching for country bands in the El Paso region and was a little disappointed because I couldn't find but a couple. That same day I listened to the messages on my answering machine and I couldn't believe my ears. Kevin Havron of Kevin & The Kickers had invited me to their CD release party, The Silence Says It All, held at Ricky D's on February 20, 1998. The party itself was happenin', but the highlight of the evening was when Kevin & The Kickers took the stage. Their country-rock style had the crowd dancing to their first song, Our Boots are Steel Toed, an upbeat two-steppin' tune followed by a great rendition of Dwight Yoakum's Little Sister. A couple of slow songs followed, that put the crowd into a "romantic" mood. Due to previous engagements, I left after the fifth song but Kevin and the Kickers had the crowd dancing once again. These guys must be doing something right because the audience responded to every chord and every note that was played. One special attention was given to Kevin's vocals and Xavier Munoz's lead guitar. Every time these two showed off their stuff the crowd let them know they had an ear out for them. The rhythm section of the Kickers is made up of Ed Clore on Bass guitar, Jackie Davis on drums, and Jeff Daniels on rhythm guitar. Of course, the main ingredient in this band is singer/songwriter Kevin Havron... |
| KGB BLUES BAND Ruidoso Lifestyle June 1998 Ruidoso's own KGB Blues Band offers up a combination of both originally penned tunes and obscure covers. Mixing both Chicago style and Texas Blues, KGB is on a mission to spread the news about the blues. All members of the band contribute to the compositions. Some of the biggest crowd pleasers have become known as "girl songs" (blues from the female perspective). The KGB Blues Band records for TMPB productions and their debut CD Out of the Blue is scheduled for release this June. |
| THE HILLS ARE ALIVE... Pecos Valley Powersport News Summer 1998 You won't get the Von Trapp family, but come June 20-21, the hills of Lincoln County will be alive with the sounds of music. Blues Music, that is. That's when the first annual Mountain of Blues Festival kicks off at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport. The event, sponsored by Mountain of Blues, Inc. and Budweiser, includes four national bands, five regional bands, and one local band. The national performers are Long John Hunter, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Sista Monica, and Mike Morgan and the Crawl. Regional bands include groups from El Paso and Albuquerque such as The Sultans, Bad News Blues, Bare Bones Blues, PCG, KGB Blues Band and Tony Rio and Voodoo Chili. Gary Stamper, guitarist for the KGB Blues Band, said the festival offers music lovers a rare opportunity to hear some of the best in the business. "This will be the biggest blues festival ever in the Southwest," Stamper said, "with groups from all over the country." Stamper and his wife, Kathy, make up half of the band. Kathy sings and plays keyboards. Another couple, Steve Sandy on bass, and Tami Foor on drums, completes the ensemble. They began playing as a group mainly for their own enjoyment when they could find no other blues entertainment in the area. Both couples ride Harleys and met through a mutual friend at a motorcycle event. "We just hit it off," Stamper said, "and share a love of blues so we started a band." But what to call the band? Stamper said the name came as a shortened version of "Kathy and Gary's Band." Not only has Mountain of Blues brought a blues festival to Ruidoso, but the movement has spread to the schools as well. Stamper, who teaches third grade at White Mountain Elementary School in Ruidoso, said last year, he worked with the Ruidoso schools to bring blues to the classroom. The Blues in the SchoolsProgram introduces students to the instruments, the history of the music and many of the performers. Plans call for the program to continue next year. |
| Q & A Vamonos! - Arts and Entertainment in Lincoln County February 20, 1998 A mainstay at the monthly Blues and Barbecue events and an active voice in the drive to bring the sounds of Mississippi to the mountains of Ruidoso, the KGB Blues Band has made a name for itself. And the names behind the name-Kathy and Gary Stamper-have also found a niche in these pines for the sounds of their hearts. With Gary on lead guitar, Kathy on keyboards and vocals, Steve Sandy on bass, and Tami Foor on drums, the KGB has made it its mission to bring nothing but the blues to local audiences. Here are a few of Kathy and Gary's thoughts on the music and the mission. Q: When did you first discover music? Gary: About 1956... Kathy: I was in the third grade. I used to put a little black transistor radio underneath my pillow and go to sleep to KOMA. Gary: I listened to WLS in Chicago. Q: Whose music were they playing? Kathy: Elvis Presley. Gary: People like B.B. King, James Brown, Sam and Dave, Booker T and the MGs. Those are the people I remember from the late '50s, early 60's. Q: Why the Blues? Gary: I think it's real honest music. It always spoke to me because it concerned normal, everyday problems, but could still have a good time. Kathy: For me it's the music that expresses my soul the best. Q: Tell me about the band. Gary: All four of us really enjoy the blues. We've grown up with it. It's been an influence in all our lives. The songs we do are important to us...the ones we've written and even the cover tunes. They really express the way we feel about things...especially in an area where you don't get to hear them very much. Q: Gary, you've become a quasi-historian on the blues. How did you get started with your research? Gary: I'm a real trivia freak. I've been that way for the last 30 years. I've always been very interested in music, artists, origins. Researching blues music was real natural for me because I've been interested in it since the time I was in grade school. Q: Define the blues. Gary: To me, blues is human emotion in musical form. It's honest. There's no pretentiousness there. It's all honesty. Kathy: It doesn't really know any boundaries, either-racial or gender boundaries. Gary: Or age boundaries. It's crossed all those boundaries... It doesn't matter who you are, everybody gets the blues. |
| JES LIKE A PLATE OF GOOD BARBEQUE Alamogordo Daily News September 6, 1998 Gary Stamper laid out a serving of some slippery, smoky blues with fellow members of the KGB Blues Band Saturday afternoon for the folks attending the Cottonwood Arts and Crafts Festival in Alameda Park. The crowd ate it up. The Cottonwood Festival will open again this morning at 10 a.m. and run until 6 p.m. with arts & crafts booths, entertainment, and food concessions. It's also open Monday until 4 p.m. |
| THE KGB BLUES BAND Mountain Monthly April 1998 In an area of southern New Mexico where blues is a rare commodity, the KGB Blues Band offers up a combination of both originally penned tunes and obscure cover tunes. Mixing both Chicago style and Texas blues, the KGB Blues Band is spreading the news about the blues. One major strength of the band is the number of original songs performed. Approximately one half of the repertoire is original. The KGB original songs are a blend of swing, jump, jazz, and down home blues. All members of the KGB contribute to the compositions. Some of the biggest crowd pleasers have become known as "girl songs" (blues from the female perspective). Lead guitarist Gary Stamper has 34 years playing experience with most of these years focused on blues and rhythm and blues. His smooth style and clear sweet guitar tones are a KGB trademark. Lead vocalist and keyboardist Kathy Stamper's powerful vocals and expressive delivery captures the audience from the first song. Her "girl songs" (both original and cover tunes) are responsible for this part of the band's popularity. Another unique aspect of the KGB is Tami Foor. It is unusual for bands to have two females but even more unusual when one of those is the drummer. Tami's backbeat is very simply blues inspired. Steve Sandy lays down some of the most solid blues bass lines around. Steve describes his job in the band as, "keepin' it on the bottom where it belongs." He does not subscribe to the "bass in your face" theory. His tone is always solid and clear. Make no mistake, the KGB Blues Band is an original group with an original sound. Although the KGB respects the great blues artists both past and present, the band has built a reputation for a distinctive sound that truly stands on its own in the blues genre. The KGB Blues Band has one musical mission, to bring you the very best in the blues, and nothin' but the blues. On April 25th from 6 pm to 12 am at the Museum of the Horse in Ruidoso, the KGB Blues Band will perform at a Blues and BBQ along with The Bad News Blues Band, winners of the 1997 Arizona Blues Showdown. Call the Ruidoso Chamber of Commerce at 257-7395. |
| BLUE SKIES, BLUES FESTIVAL ARE PERFECT MATCH FOR MADRID AFTERNOON Albuquerque Journal: Venue July 10, 1998 The Albuquerque-based P-Tails are headlining Sunday's Mid-Summer Blues Festival at Madrid's Oscar Huber Memorial Ballpark. Also on the program are Dem Bones, Chris Dracup and the KGB Blues Band. The name KGB derives not from the name of the onetime dreaded Soviet spy agency but from something more innocent and homespun-the phrase Kathy and Gary's Band. As in Kathy and Gary Stamper of Tularosa. "We call ourselves a covert operation," joked lead guitarist Gary Stamper. "We play Chicago and Texas blues. We do the smoother stuff associated with T-Bone Walker and also some harder-edge stuff like Junior Wells." With him in the band are his wife, Kathy Stamper, who plays keyboards and sings, Steve Sandy on electric bass and Tami Foor on drums. "Kathy's main instrument is her voice. It's powerful, but doesn't have Janis Joplin's gruffness. Powerful but smooth," said Stamper, a third grade teacher in Ruidoso. |
| MID-SUMMER'S BLUES FESTIVAL: KGB BLUES BAND The New Mexico Jazz Workshop 22nd Annual Summer Concert Series Summer 1998 The KGB Blues Band comes from Ruidoso, and are newcomers to the Madrid Blues Festival. From the small town, the Stampers, and Pete and Sheryl Blanchard have built a fledgling blues society. Its summer performances, outdoor jams, and shows were not unlike the New Mexico Jazz Workshop's humble beginnings. "The Society has brought together the blues lovers in the community, and there were a lot more than there first seemed," Stamper says. "We had regular concerts, and provided a focal point for blues fans. We also started doing education in the schools to get kids into the music. The band started out to jam and just have fun, and that's what it's really been all about. We are real fortunate to play this music--every one of us love the blues." |
| CATCHING UP WITH THE KGB BLUES BAND Vamonos! - Arts and Entertainment in Lincoln County September 25, 1998 The KGB Blues Band, one of the mainstays of the Blues and BBQ series, returns tonight to the delight of Ruidoso blues fans. The goup's style of "straight blues" has produced an ever growing fan base as well as a new album, Out of the Blue, and the group plans to release another album fairly soon. Cutting a new album hasn't altered KGB's sound. Fans can still expect to hear the winning sound that has made them a favorite. "We have tunnel vision," said Gary Stamper, KGB guitarist. "We really stick to the genre of straight blues." What the band does differently, while staying true to the blues, is mix it up with song from the male and female perspectives. The "girl songs" that the band performs have become quite a crowd pleaser, and the album promises to offer listeners a lot of variety throughout. Though the band is slowing down for the school year, they plan to stay active in the performing scene. "We've had a lot of doors opened to us that I never thought we would have. We've had so much support, and it's just been so much more than I expected. I guess we've been accepted in our area," Stamper said. KGB turned it up this summer with gigs in Ruidoso, promos at Hastings and Blockbuster and the Tailgate concert series in Alamogordo. As for next summer, members are setting their sights high. "We're hoping to do a lot more festivals and play more blues clubs. We're trying to find venues which feature the kind of music we play, and by next summer we're hoping to have our second CD out. We're looking at Albuquerque, El Paso, and Tucson," Stamper said. Out of the Blue is available at Hastings and Blockbuster music stores in the Alamogordo area, and was produced by Paul Benshoof with TMPB Recordings in Cloudcroft. The band wants to take more time to put out the next album, because the production of the last one was rushed to fit with the Mountain of Blues Festival. Songs are already in the works though, and audiences can look forward to a continuous stream of new material. The group has yet to be blinded by the success that has hit them in the past six months. "Sometimes it's been phenomenal, with people in our audiences from all over the place. And other times nobody's shown up, but every time we've performed, we gotten a positive response. That's all you can ask for," Stamper said. |
| RUIDOSO ARTIST RELEASES HER FIRST CD The Ruidoso News December 13, 1996 Local artist Debra Funke-d'Egnuff is releasing her first commercial CD Monday, Dec.16. This CD is called KAIRNE: Celtic Origins. The cover work was done by local photographer Jim Cooper, and both front and back covers were shot here in Ruidoso. Ruidoso musician Ron Turner lent his vision of sound to Debra over the year-long process of producing this recording. Paul Benshoof of TMPB Recording Studio in Cloudcroft engineered the CD and monitored its Los Angeles production. This album is a culmination of many years work, including the gathering of folk songs from the British Isles, Europe, and America. All of the songs are sung a cappella with environmental sound used on specific selections. Imagine the folk of decades ago before stereos and radios, walking amidst the moors and meadows singing songs passed along from generation to generation. This is the picture Debra seeks to paint with KAIRNE. This project has been a longtime dream of Debra, who will now become KAIRNE to her listeners. She has performed locally at the Museum of the Horse in the 1996 Pops Concert and at Gladrags and the Galloping Tortoise. Some of the selections on the CD include, The Rising of the Moon, Danny Boy, Ar Hyd y Nos, and Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair. |
| JANE HAIR - DEFINITELY MOORE News Release January 15, 1998 The classic rock roots of post-British-invasion America are proudly on display in Definitely Moore, a compilation of 11 high octane tracks by New Mexico's premier rock band, Jane Hair, featuring the Cordova Brothers: Danois (lead vocals, guitar) and Douglas Ray (background vocals and drums). A featured song off this set of 11 original rockers is Jane Hair's raucous Raleigha, which is currently in radio rotation. The classic spirit of this Jane Hair cut has been described as "a cross between The Who and The Kinks" and is everything one would expect from a band bent on delivering a classic rock sound. However, Raleigha's driving licks and energetic leads aren't the only highlights of the CD, which is the their first release from the Southwestern-based label TMPB Recordings. Each cut is an embodiment of the Cordova's classic rock and Southwestern influences, as clearly evidenced by Bring Back the Summer, a reflection of the Native American heritage of New Mexico, and Amore Mio, a song paying homage to their Spanish-speaking neighbors without compromising its rock'n'roll purity. This is music for fans of The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Kinks, and other rock groups that have helped shape the sound of what has become known as classic rock. Not just for classic rock purists, Definitely Moore jumps out of the speakers. Whether it's the power-pop shadings of the opening cut Colors of Love, the good-time rocker Holiday, or the raw, primal energy of You're No Good, freshness, honesty, and unbridled enthusiasm for no-nonsense rock fuels each unvarnished ripper. |
| BARRY RETURNS TO REDISCOVER MAGIC OF THE PAST El Defensor Chieftain December 25, 1996 A musician born in Socorro has returned, some 40 years later, to rediscover a mood and feeling of a not-forgotten time and place. "I've been wanting to come back here for the last 12 years, to capture something in my childhood I remembered that was lost," said Micheal Barry, a Socorro native who left in 1957 at the age of 12. "You can't go back--those days are gone," said Barry. "But I want to recapture the essence of a time when I felt a oneness with everyone. "I remember an honesty, a forthrightness about people, a true neighborliness in caring about people and things," he said. Those feelings are embedded in memories of playing kick the can with neighborhood children, and of a community devoid of the kinds of prejudices Barry discovered later as an adult. "In my memories of this town, those things didn't exist," he said. People listening to Barry's music may be able to detect a hint of that mood since a musician through his voice and instruments relays the experiences of his life. Barry's own music is an original blend of contemporary folk, country, and bluesgrass, or what he calls a Southwestern style that differs from the more traditional cowboy sound. "The Southwest for me has a particular sound and feeling I try to capture in my music," he said. His musical roots are in Socorro, NM where he became a member of a local high school rock'n'roll band called "The Renegades" for which his mother, Marietta, recommended he join. His father, Dan Barry, was a local businessman. Barry said the band did a lot of Everly Brothers material. Earlier, he had played trumpet with a grade school band. "I was such a good trumpet player they made a drum major out of me," quipped Barry, who remembers marching around town for a 49ers parade. He got his first acoustic guitar, a Framus, from Bobby Shrode with whom he stayed in touch all through high school. "I never considered music as a career; it was just something I did in high school," said Barry. Then one day in 1974, he picked up a mandolin from a lead electric guitar player who lived on the south side of El Paso, where Barry had moved to from Socorro. "I started playing it, and I loved it," he said. Mandolin in hand, Barry walked into an El Paso bar and asked the proprietor if he could play for tips. "He said no, but he gave me a dollar and told me to go next door. 'Buy yourself a drink and tell 'em Jimmy sent you,' he said. 'Tell 'em I said you could play.' So I did, and they did." From there Micheal played amateur night gigs at different clubs with various musicians, performing as opportunity allowed and picking up work where he could. "Anything that was honest and legal," he said. "I tried to stay within that realm." He started to seriously write songs about 15 years ago, mostly ballads and stories about people. Barry performs his own work. "I write the song, arrange it and put it to music," he said. "I find it difficult to perform other people's music. I think it takes a special kind of person to properly interpret someone else's song." Among his early musical heroes is the legendary Buddy Holly. "He played his own music and the way he liked to play it," said Barry. "I respect him for that." In an experimental vein, he is "intrigued" with musicians like Dizzy Gillespie "who didn't follow the trends of the time, but stepped outside to do new things," he said. Music, said Barry, is an art form like painting or sculpting. A musician uses his talents and feelings to create something that will strike, literally in the case of a musician, a chord of emotion in a listener. As Barry puts it: "Your life and experiences are felt in the music as your fingers move up and down the strings." |
| WON'T YOU LEAVE THE ICE CRITIC ALONE? The Manhattan Beach Reporter Music Review by Doug Cagney November 1, 1994 As many of you who regularly read my column have come to realize, I don't like much of the music I review. Recently, Dana Berstel of Redondo Beach referred to me in her letter as "The Ice Critic...who has no business reviewing anybody's work." Well, I take no offense. I've been called worse. But considering the kind of recordings I'm sent to review, I take great pride in the number of unfavorable reviews I'm responsible for. Let's face it: The world doesn't NEED more of the alternative and sentimental-pop trash that saturates most contemporary radio stations. There are days I feel that if I hear one more song comprised of either chainsaw-like guitars with inarticulate, unimaginative lyrics or another poor attempt of a Whitney Houston sound-alike, I would gladly donate my ears to science prior to my demise. Won't You Leave Me Alone? notably stands out in my inventory of new releases as being different. These days, Paul Benshoof is something of an anomaly, a young musician who obviously doesn't make crass commercial calculations when writing his material. To attempt to praise someone like him is to risk alienating all the twenty-somethings who just don't appreciate music if it doesn't sound like a metal chain forced into a garbage disposal. But so what? If this guy were any older, I'd call him an imaculate survivor of the Seventies who still has the gutts to record music without selling out. As a singer, with his wavering pitch and often monochromatic tone, Benshoof is likely to make you think, "If this guy can get up on stage and carry a tune, so can I!" Yet, as a writer, he contributes several uniquely-stylish and enduring ballads on his latest release. From the energetic opener, Love Was All That She Wanted, to the appropriately titled The Last Song, he combines the Beatles' melodic sesnibilities with the urgency of vintage Costello. All songs feature pleasantly melodic arrangements complemented by well-writen lyrics, although I would have preferred more of a variation in themes. Most of the songs harp on the familiar topic of troubled relationships, which I would find very annoying if it weren't addressed from such an entertaining point of view. When it comes to this, you've got to admit that Paul Benshoof has a sense of humor. Despite the album's few weak moments (Out of the Void gets a little too moody and ambitious for its own good), this collection is a strong set, possibly Benshoof's best yet, with sure-handed production of 12 memorable songs. Despite this, Paul Benshoof will probably never be called "hip" or "cutting edge," but he definitely writes better songs than almost any other new artist you stumble upon these days. Won't You Leave Me Alone? is full of snappy little ditties you'll find yourself humming in your sleep. I recommend this album to anyone who feels that contemporary music could use something fresh. I especially recommend this album to Dana, who obviously could use a dose of real music. She can borrow my ears if she needs them. |
| PAUL BENSHOOF - WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE? The Daily Breeze October 25, 1994 Stylistically, it's hard to classify singer/songwriter Paul Benshoof; his music here veers (most attractively) from sort-of-folk to sort-of-jazz-rock to sort-of-other things. The sound quality is variable, but if that bothers you you're just being difficult. Whatever, this is a stunner of an album--enjoyable and, in its surprisingly peculiar way, utterly unique. |
| PAUL BENSHOOF - STILL I SING Southwest Musician February 2007 Not really sure what to make of Paul Benshoof and his album Still I Sing. Described as “light rock,” this is mostly a folk album intertwined with swing-jazz-rock style music. Not that this music is bad, you just have to appreciate, or at least be in the mood for or tolerate, poppy, folk-swing-jazz-rock ballads with occasional sappy lyrics. Still, Benshoof delivers a consistent, vibrant sound throughout the disc. His lyrics are often rich and varied, demonstrated best in the hauntingly beautiful Another Rainy Day and What Your Eyes Have Never Seen. Bottom of My Heart is somewhat addictive, and New Attitude and Train to Amsterdam really move, with the latter reminiscent of a Bob Dylan musical odyssey. A solid piece of work. |
| NEW PAUL BENSHOOF ALBUM! Pecos Valley Powersport News Winter 2007 Listen to singer-songwriter Paul Benshoof, and you figure you’ll eventually hear one of his songs while watching a sappy chick flick. Vocals faintly reminiscent of perhaps a sober James Taylor and eloquent love songs are what this folk-rock troubadour brings to the table. Infusing a bit of jazz, blues and pop into the mix, his latest album Still I Sing is an ambitious and well-taken leap from his previous release, nearly twelve years ago. Notable tracks include The Most Perfect Bachelor, What Your Eyes Have Never Seen and Another Rainy Day. For those with a folk-rock flair, they’ll fall head over heels for Benshoof. |
| PAUL BENSHOOF SINGS AGAIN WITH A NEW ALBUM Vamonos! - Arts and Entertainment in Lincoln County January 22, 2007 Those who love sixties-style rock’n’roll ballads will love Cloudcroft-based Paul Benshoof, especially those who have a special place in their hearts for music that includes a mix of well-crafted songs featuring instruments from guitars to keyboards, often tastefully accompanied by supporting symphonic string and brass tones. Every song on Still I Sing is a mix of melodic ballad rock and intimate lyrics, while the songwriting embodies a combination of Beatles, Bob Dylan and Al Stewart. Noteworthy tracks include Can’t Say Goodbye, Another Rainy Day, and I Love You More. |
| PAUL BENSHOOF - STILL I SING The Scene (El Paso, TX) March 2, 2007 Someday, we’ll all grow old and choose safe rock and roll, something solid and not threatening, something like Paul Benshoof’s Still I Sing. But that’s not to say this disc, Benshoof’s sixth and his first in 12 years, doesn’t have some definite highlights. The title track starts out haunting and builds to a nice, involved rocker; I Love You More is a heart-wrenching tribute to his wife; and Another Rainy Day and Can’t Say Goodbye are beautiful ballads. As an entirely self-produced and engineered effort, Still I Sing displays some tight songwriting chops, utilizing plenty of guitars, piano and assorted keyboards. Fans of ‘60’s and ‘70’s rock will approvingly be bobbing their heads to these tunes. |
| CD REVIEW: PAUL BENSHOOF - STILL I SING Roswell Arts March 9, 2007 One has to respect an artist that has good taste and good intentions. Paul Benshoof, from Cloudcroft, delivers pleasant, folk-edged guitar songs and light romantic piano ballads on Still I Sing, his first full-length album in years. His vocals mimic those of Colin Meloy’s (but without the twinge of resonance). The tracks are pleasant but aren’t without slight lulls, and the up-tempo tracks fill the order for marketability, notably Train to Amsterdam. Overall, it’s mostly coffee-sipping music for the non-rocker; however, a singer harking back to genuine Paul Simon-style vocal talent refreshes the ear. |
| MUSIC REVIEW: PAUL BENSHOOF Sierra County Sentinel April 2007 An album filled with folk rock and pop ballads allegedly recorded in singer-songwriter Paul Benshoof's one-room apartment, Still I Sing is charming and infectious—it has rarely left my CD player in the past two weeks. The songwriting is solid, and the performance is tight. The weak link here, however, is Benshoof’s voice, unmasked and out front throughout the album. He simply doesn’t have the vocal power to carry the melodies as far as they need to go. But at times, like in the rollicking Train to Amsterdam (which has a fantastically simple, catchy guitar riff) or New Attitude, it all works out for the best to create great indie rock. Simply put, he knows his limitations and his skills, and puts them to solid use on this record. |
| CD REVIEW: STILL I SING (Paul Benshoof) The Daily Lobo April 2007 With catchy melodies, smart lyrics and strong instrumental hooks, Paul Benshoof put together a delightful record that will appeal to fans of early Beatles and Harry Chapin without being a carbon copy of either. Train to Amsterdam melds a rip roaring guitar riff with fantastic vocal harmonies, while Can’t Say Goodbye matches Benshoof’s delicate piano with sensitive lyrics to create a simple and beautiful ballad. Benshoof, with his Lou Reed meets Gordon Lightfoot tenor, could do a bit of work on diversifying his vocal patterns, but this record is an impressive success: Still I Sing is a triumph of vision and execution that keeps the listener attentive and entertained throughout. |
| WORDS, MUSIC, AND AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL JOURNEY New Mexico Musician Paul Benshoof Releases Sixth Album By Jeff Jacoby May 2007 With his sixth album Still I Sing, New Mexico resident Paul Benshoof continues to win over the hearts of many. And he'll probably capture some more, who are likely to fawn over Benshoof's distinctively inimitable voice and folksy riffs, if not drawing inspiration from his words and the music itself. A mix of up-tempo rock and folksy ballads along with storytelling lyrics and a well-enunciated voice, Benshoof proves to be talented and will be sure to attract lovers of the '60's and '70's folk rock genre. I got a chance to sit down and talk to Paul, who graciously offered an insightful and humorous discussion about himself, his music, and his autobiographical journey. This is an edited version of the interview. Click here for the full interview transcript. JEFF JACOBY: First of all, Paul, I want to congratulate you on your new album. I think, and I know many agree with me, that this is your best album in years. PAUL BENSHOOF: Well, thanks, Jeff. But let's be perfectly clear: this is my only album in years. Twelve, to be exact. JJ: [Laughs] OK. Twelve years. Yeah, that's a long time. So, after a twelve-year wait, what made you finally decide that it was time to record this album? PB: A number of things, actually. One, my son Aaron has really become an avid guitarist, and I got a little envious that he was playing guitar more often than I was. I was eager to get back into it but was having trouble finding the time, so he was really an inspiration that motivated me to just do it and get started again. Two, last year I took a job that caused me to be out of town for a while, so suddenly I had an opportunity to get some recording done without taking more time away from my family. I took a portion of my studio with me and set it up in a little apartment while I was living alone. And three, a lot has changed in my life since releasing [previous album] Won't You Leave Me Alone?, and since my albums have always been somewhat autobiographical, it seemed like I needed to fill in the gap. JJ: Let's talk about that. A lot of artists would probably consider their music to be autobiographical. Is telling your story what drives you to make music? PB: Well, it's not like I have a laundry list of personal drama I'm dying to tell people about, but yeah, I enjoy writing about my experiences—if for no other reason than to give me something tangible to analyze so that I can figure out what happened! [Laughs] But that's not the only reason I write. If my songs were just about me, I doubt if people would really care because I don't think I go through much that other people don't also experience on one level or another. I mean, I'm sure people who know me can listen to my songs and generally know what situation I'm singing about, but what's more important is that other people can relate to the songs and feel as if I'm singing about something they've gone through. JJ: Writing about personal experiences would make some people feel vulnerable. But not you, I take it. PB: No. Actually, I don't worry about that at all, but what I sometimes need to be careful about is embellishing my songs to the point that they lack the poignant truth I'm striving for. I've gotten occasionally carried away with artistic license in the past, so now I do strive to keep things in check to keep songs from going wrong. JJ: So, would you say this album is mostly for you or for the listener? PB: Actually, this album has a lot of love songs on it. I'd say it's mostly for my wife! [Laughs] JJ: Yeah, this one is notably different than your previous albums. Are you worried that your new material will alienate you from your fans? PB: No, not really. I checked with both of them, and they said the new material was OK. JJ: [Laughs] That’s funny. Do you think this means you'll continue to write love songs? PB: That's a good question. I mean, I sure hope that I'll have a continued reason to be inspired to write honest love songs. It beats [the alternative], but I don’t know. I like the new album a lot, but I'll admit that it's a little heavy on the light stuff, if you know what I mean. Writing love songs was a good experience, and I'm glad people like them, but I'm not sure that I want to plan on doing it exclusively. I'd rather just see where life takes me and continue the autobiographical journey. JJ: So, basically just kind of as a last statement, for people who haven't found Paul Benshoof and checked out what your music's about, what's the reason they should do that? PB: To enjoy good music that doesn't seem to get the kind of attention it once did. Generally speaking, the industry has pretty much moved away from the genre of music I write and play, but I still enjoy it and I know a lot of other people feel the same way. I'm a sucker for coherent words put to a good, listenable melody. If you are too, then you should check out my music. That's what I strive to deliver. Check out Paul Benshoof’s new album at http://www.zianet.com/tmpb/artists/benshoof/DA0008.htm. |
| STILL I SING Music-Reviewer.com May 2007 A certificate is included with the new Paul Benshoof album, Still I Sing, to go to the record company website and download an exclusive song. I wish more artists would market their music using tactics such as giveaways and exclusive songs. Artists would sell more albums if something was offered with them above and beyond the album itself. The fact that many people find no value in buying albums is one large factor in the rise of downloading. Paul Benshoof tries to combat this with his exclusive free song Come, My Celia. Paul Benshoof is a singer-songwriter who at times sounds like They Might Be Giants, Ben Folds, Weird Al Yankovic and at times DL Byron, another talented independent singer-songwriter. Call me crazy, but yes I believe at times that I hear a little bit of Weird Al in his vocals. Just listen to the title track about how he plays on despite his neighbor’s calling of the cops and you’ll be hooked. Paul Benshoof plays all the instruments, writes nearly all the music and lyrics and produces his work. He is a one man show, similar to Lenny Kravitz in that way. The multi-layered vocals are a nice touch. Paul injects background vocals into most of the tracks. This is a very solid, self produced effort. The production quality isn’t quite at the level of a major label release but that fact does not detract from the quality of the songs and the musicianship. Highlights include the title track, the optimistic love song Bottom of my Heart and the piano-driven heartbreak of Can’t Say Goodbye. Paul Benshoof is the rare one man band. This is a solid effort with some promise. |
| NIKKI WRIGHT No postings to date. To submit an article, please send it to us. |
| THE DONORS No postings to date. To submit an article, please send it to us. |
| JIMMY G & THE BOYZ No postings to date. To submit an article, please send it to us. |
TMPB Home | artists | music | calendar | news | store | email | faqs | vote | links
about TMPB | recording | music production | publishing | promotion | distribution | awards | resources | new
© 2007 TMPB Recordings. All rights reserved.