Benjamin Lee Kenney, Sr. (born on March 12, 1977), is a
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
from Brielle, NJ, and the bassist for the band
IncubusIncubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
.
Ben Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group
The RootsThe Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
before he joined
IncubusIncubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
in 2003 after the departure of bassist and founding member Alex Katunich aka Dirk Lance. He had previously played with Incubus members
Mike EinzigerMichael Aaron Einziger is a Grammy-nominated musician known as the co-writer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Incubus. Einziger is widely known as an innovator and enthusiast of the use of pedalboard guitar effects during live concerts, and was voted #41 in Total Guitar's top 100...
and
Jose PasillasJosé Antonio Pasillas is an American drummer known as the drummer of alternative rock band Incubus.-Biography:José Pasillas is of Mexican descent. He grew up in Calabasas, California. He began playing drums in 1990...
in
Time Lapse ConsortiumTime-Lapse Consortium is an American band formed in 2003. Their sound is described as Psychedelic, Jazz, and Funk. The group consists of current Incubus members Mike Einziger on Guitar, Jose Pasillas on drums, Ben Kenney on Bass , Neal Evans of Soulive on Organ, and Suzie Katayama contributing on...
.
Ben is known to play at least six different instruments and sometimes plays drum duets with
IncubusIncubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
' drummer
Jose PasillasJosé Antonio Pasillas is an American drummer known as the drummer of alternative rock band Incubus.-Biography:José Pasillas is of Mexican descent. He grew up in Calabasas, California. He began playing drums in 1990...
live on-stage.
He has also done studio work for artists including:
Justin TimberlakeJustin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
,
Faith EvansFaith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
,
Erykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
,
BlackaliciousBlackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
, and producers
TimbalandTimothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
and
DJ Jazzy JeffJeffrey Allen Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince...
.
26, Maduro,
Distance & Comfort & "Burn the Tapes" were all released by Ben's own record company, Ghetto Crush Industries. Ghetto Crush has also released music for The Division Group, Aleda, and Root Valdez. Ben has also helped
The SmyrkThe Smyrk is a band from New Haven, Connecticut. The members are Doron Flake, Ari Sadowitz, Chris Barone and David Marvuglio.-History:The Smyrk formed in 2003, when singer Doron Flake joined up with instrumental trio of guitarist/bassists Nick Logan and Ari Sadowitz, along with drummer Chris...
produce their latest
EPAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
,
New Fiction.
Solo career
Ben Kenney started off in a New Jersey band called
Racecar in 1994 with band members Jimmie Mueller and Sam Hoffman. After this, he and his friend Chuck Treece started a musical duo christened
Supergrub in 1996, with three CD's released:
Norma & Thurselle, Communicator, and finally
Challenger.
Ben has four solo albums,
26 released on December 1, 2004,
Maduro released on March 1, 2006,
Distance And Comfort released on January 15, 2008 and "
Burn The Tapes released on October 1, 2010. Ben plays guitar, bass, and drums while singing and writing every part on the solo records. When touring to support his solo records he plays guitar and sings, along with Ashley Mendel on bass and vocals and Sekou Lumumba on drums.
Ben's website,
benkenney.com, allows you to download three tracks from his solo work;
Hoopdie from
26, Wrong from
Maduro and
Eulogy from
Distance & Comfort. Towards the end of 2007 Ben added a link to a video of him playing each part of,
Eulogy, a track from
Distance And Comfort. In this video he also spoke about the tour he is doing with
Chris KilmoreChris Kilmore is an American DJ. He is the turntablist and keyboardist of the rock band Incubus.-References:*...
in early 2008.
On September 2, 2010, Kenney announced that his fourth solo album,
Burn The Tapes was released.
Equipment
His bass equipment includes
LaklandLakland Guitars is a Chicago, Illinois-based manufacturer of electric bass guitars. The company's first bass combined elements of the Fender Jazz Bass and the Music Man StingRay. The company's current line-up includes basses inspired by classics like the Fender Precision Bass and Jazz Bass as...
basses, Line 6 effects and
Mesa BoogieMesa/Boogie is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969....
amplifiers. His collection of basses includes a seafoam-green USA Joe Osborne, sunburst USA Joe Osborne with a fretless fingerboard, sunburst Skyline Joe Osborne, red Skyline Bob Glaub, shoreline gold Skyline Hollowbody, and a Hofner 500/1 "Beatle Bass". All of his basses have rosewood fingerboards and are strung with GHS flatwounds, with the exception of the Skyline Bob Glaub which is strung with roundwounds. His live Mesa/Boogie rig consists of a pair of Big Block 750 heads and a Roadready 8x10 cabinet. In the studio and for solo gigs and small live gigs with Incubus, he uses Mesa Walkabout 1x12 combos and extension cabs.
Discography
26 (2004)
- Breathe - 3:31
- Hoopdie - 4:17
- 4.2.3. - 5:23
- Andrea's Asleep - 1:08
- Creme - 3:41
- You Won't Like the Sound - 3:16
- So Hard - 2:47
- Mr. Spader, I Presume - 1:28
- Empty Handed - 4:30
Maduro (2006)
- Wrong - 3:00
- Inside Pt. 2 - 4:15
- Skyscraper - 2:57
- Nigeria - 1:12
- The Ether - 2:52
- Nepenthe - 1:15
- Conception and the Funeral - 3:26
- It's Not Too Late - 4:08
- How Would You Know? - 3:49
- Girl - 3:55
- The Moment - 3:09
Distance and Comfort (2008)
- Not Today - 3:27
- Get It to Go - 2:14
- 18th Avenue - 3:53
- Eulogy - 4:20
- Walking - 5:19
- When We Are Both Cats - 1:51
- Implants - 3:04
- Fluorescent Yellow - 4:14
- Some Days Are Better Than Others - 2:58
- Comfort - 7:06
Burn the Tapes (2010)
- Beard of Bees - 3:50
- Homes - 3:52
- Heemtro - 0:44
- Aftertouch - 3:09
- Rubber Sheets - 4:40
- The Kibash - 3:52
- Worlds Collide - 3:54
- Ishmael - 1:45
- Habit - 3:34
- Go - 5:49
Three singles are available for download through Ben's webpage: "Hoopdie", "Wrong", and "Eulogy".
External links