Ben Farley on Lowell, MA, Butthole Surfers, and Bandmates as Friends with Benefits
Ben Farley (aka Benjamin Lee Farley, Benbo Benskie, Benjelly, Packrat, Toxoplasmodon, Venyamin Wetkoff, Benjamiah Bunkum…) was featured on Holy Crap Records Podcast #38 for his song “Let Me Live in Your House.” He reports that he has finally formed a band around his solo stuff: Ben & the Couch Crashers, and is also in the band PNDB.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Undies?
why
I’ve been in this one band called PNDB for 3 plus years and for the most part I’ve been wearing various cowboy hat/fancy jacket/tighty-whitie combinations. Drunkenly dropping trou in front of a roomful/not-so-full of people has been strangely and stupidly liberating. But now I have this gargoyle mask and yellow leisure suit. I’m tempted to start a whole other project around it but I think it’s gonna hafta be my PNDB shit from now on.
Suit and mask. Undies not pictured.
The last musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I bought and loved was:
I am currently still making payments to the gentlemen at the Tone Loft… a 1981 Gibson Sonex… I keep erasing the rest of my reply because no matter what I write it sounds creepy and/or vaguely sexual. But I love that guitar and it was instant symbiosis and being able to make tiny payments on it has been crucial.
[Editor’s note: If I had a dollar for every creepy/sexual guitar reference I’ve heard, I would not have to make a living as a highly-paid Editor.]
The artist who has influenced me most is:
Ooof. This is gonna take a while. But just this morning while listening to your podcast and hearing y’all talk about “Let Me Live in Your House” and feeling all good about myself, your mentioning Butthole Surfers got me realizing that, if I was to be put in exactly this current interview scenario, but also with a gun at my head for whatever reason (must be one o them SERIOUS interviews… ) Butthole Surfers might really truly be my biggest influence when it comes down to it.
image by Coleman Rogers
Independent Worm Saloon is the second CD I ever bought with my own paper route money, back in like 1996…? I should check my dates… Point being that I’m sure getting into BHS at 8 or 9 or 10 years old had a big ol’ influence on me and my not realizing that some people just aren’t ok with a noise track in between ballads or whatever I’m trying to say at this point.
Could list a bunch more “serious” influences that make me sound deep or whatever but no one gives a shit, BHS 4 RNR HOF.
Something I wish I’d known before joining/starting a band:
It’s like being friends with benefits with each bandmate but everyone also kinda wants to get serious but it’s terrifying so everybody just sleeps with everybody else instead and local scenes get very incestuous. I forgot which way I meant that.
friends with benefits
Image by Brian Bailey
I live in Lowell, MA.
I was born in the area, grew up here and in the area, left for a while, came back. It’s kinda my favorite city in the world, at least out of the few dozen or so where I’ve lived/crashed/toured/etc
The general vibe of this city is:
Cautiously optimistic creative explosion. Because everything is falling apart around us, plus looming gentrification
Image by Coleman Rogers
Some examples of that vibe include:
Inspector 34, Angie Bruce, Michael F Dailey Jr, the Natty D’s, Kofi Edzi, Trope, Corner Soul, Kishor Hollenbeck (SP?), Corey Luebbers, Walter Wright, Nick Telles just moved here… too many musical and visual Masterminds and I really don’t fuck around with that word haha… But also there are more and more homeless folks downtown and fentanyl is killing everyone else and uhhhh wanna buy an old cotton mill? it’s haunted and at least one guy will ask you if Kerouac ever peed on anything in the building.
The best place to play music here is:
Tie: UnchArted Gallery and Warp & Weft. UnchArted is a miracle establishment run by the above-mentioned MIKE DAILEY, with rotating monthly art shows, nightly live music, music scene incubation, and some seriously great pizza (and beer). Warp n Weft is my ego’s choice because I never sing better than on that stage. Also a miracle establishment, for other long-winded reasons.
UnchArted. Art+Music+Beer+Pizza. Let’s all go to Lowell.
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
Inspector 34. Jimm Warren is a brilliant human and this band is his baby and it’s just the best and we feed each other’s egos and self-hatred in equal measures.
I collect:
Records until I’m broke again and then I sell them all back to RRRon. At the moment it’s pretty much gone. Now I collect a thousand pennies at a time and trade them for cigarettes.
My favorite thing to watch on tv is:
All-time? South Park. Lately, Impractical Jokers. Dumb name, great show. I want Trey Parker to somehow, one day, find and read this interview, and then invite me to hang out with him.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Odors. Not aromas. Odors.
why
I am a disgusting person.
A winter indulgence that I would never forgo is:
Being caretaker of the Overlook
why
Dunno, I’ve just always been the caretaker.
Wamesit falls overlook, Lowell, MA
if you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
Cigarettes and weed
The last music I downloaded was:
San Cha. Recent Bandcamp find. Wacked-out operatic traditional Latin music but also nowadays skronky and she freaks out sometimes and…
In my heart I wish I was:
Bugs Bunny
because
I mean when he was alive.
A beauty staple that I’m never without is:
The staple that holds my upper lip in place.
why
You should see me without it, yowza.
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:
Bandcamp solves everything
The best place to eat breakfast in my city is:
Club Diner at 3 a.m. Above-average diner food with the best kind of grizzled waitresses but mainly it’s the only thing open after last-call and hooooooooweee Good Times.
Club Diner, circa 1981. Let’s all go to Lowell.
my favorite websites or apps are
Bamscamp
why
Bamp scamp a damp a damp pow
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
Church
Why:
Weird em out early, you will have the upper-hand for the rest of their visit.
favorite seasonal beverage:
Blood of Christ
Why:
Around the holidays i get a lot of unwanted visitors who are cooler than me.
The last meal that truly impressed me was:
Paella at Warp & Weft.
why
Mouthfeel.
Tell us about your future projects:
Most excited about “The Self-Saboteur” ep I’ve been recording with Jimm. Should be out by March.
Equally excited about releasing the first Idiot Sect EP… High-speed thrash-grind mayhem. Also out by March.
And and and
New PNDB album in 2019…
Have begun a trillion other projects in the interest of getting it all out there before they nuke everyone and blame it on aliens.
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Cinnamon2019-01-29 16:38:172019-01-29 16:38:17Podcast 38 – Dating Advice
Lil’ Tone on Brussels, Assassins, and Eating Wild Boar
Lil’ Tone is a French British multi-instrumentalist who fuses elements of psychedelia, hauntology, lo-fi rock & sonic fiction. His song `Black Rose’ by Lil Tone and the Unknowns was featured on podcast #37. It nearly made Johnny P weep with joy on his birthday.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
My Monte Paradiso T-shirt. Last summer I was living in Pula, Croatia and went to the 26th Monte Paradiso Punk & Hardcore Festival that takes place in the Rojc cultural center, formerly a military casern back in the days of Yugoslavia. The t-shirt’s became a kinda good luck charm, that reminds me of those awesome vibes. When I’m down, I think a lot about that special energy I felt and created over there.
the shirt
the festival
The last musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I bought and loved was:
Korg Electribe 2. It’s key to my solo shows & it fits in my backpack. Ideal for gigs abroad !
Described by one user as ‘Almost the perfect groovebox !’
The musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I really really really want is:
A nice fucking studio. I’ve got a lot of instruments at home as it is, but I’d love to build/improvise someday a studio with a nice acoustics.
Something I wish I’d known before joining/starting a band:
Don’t think twice, just do it. Live fast, but don’t die young.
I live in Brussels, Belgium. I moved here 20 years ago with my family. It’s taking time for me to think so, but it’s a place I can really call home.
A city with street art is a good city.
The general vibe of Brussels is: a messy hell (and that’s how I like it)
The best place to play music here is:
Le Moerasque. It’s a park on the outskirts of Brussels that’s fairly close to my house and that few people in Brussels have ever heard of. I have my loner moments and nothing beats playing a guitar out in the open like that.
The best place to SEE music here is:
Barlok. Underground music only. It’s on its last legs and will apparently shut down soon, but I like that it’s been a home for so many people these last few years. Hopefully they’ll find a new venue !
Barlok. Groovy!
My favorite local band (aside from my own)
Bear Bones Lay Low. We’ve been friends since our teens. He makes great music and as a person he’s a friendly reminder to give no fucks, to enjoy yourself, and to never stop making music.
I collect cassettes.
It’s my way of supporting (local) bands and a way to briefly avoid computers.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Beer
why
Belgium !
The last music I downloaded was:
Keel Her. She sent me a pre-release of her new album (and it’s awesome), shhhhhh !
In my heart I wish I was:
The stealthiest assassin there ever was. World leaders have been fucking up this world
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:
I feed my passion, but my passion can’t feed me.
The best place to eat breakfast in my city is:
Turkish omelet at Emirdag Koftecisi. It’s close by, cheap, reminds me of Istanbul where my brother lives
My favorite websites or apps are:
Currently I’m switching between NTS, 6Music, Radio Panik, Radio Maestral, TapeOp, The Guardian, Reddit Jokes
[editor’s note: definitely click on those first five links. They will make you wish there were a million hours in the day.]
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
No plans, but we will return victorious
why
Euuuuh people who come to visit me will be treated equally. Fuck being cool, just stay true to who you are (that’s why I like you!). [editor’s note: hey!]
Favorite seasonal beverage:
My new favorite drink (for any season) is a corretto, istrian style. It’s coffee with mistletoe rakija. A close second for the summer is a Ginlet, gin with cucumber
The Italian word corretto corresponds to the English word ‘correct’ in the sense of ‘corrected’.
The last meal that truly impressed me was:
Wild boar in Chimay bleue brown beer sauce, marinated over a whole afternoon. One of the best meals I’ve ever had, a fantastic night out in the Belgian countryside with good friends, we cooked the poor three legged bastard !
In the Ardenne countryside, Lil Tone stumbled upon this boar statue, which he felt had been placed to honor to the fallen one they had for dinner
Tell us about your past/present/future in music:
In 2016, I started making music as Lil’ Tone, recording and performing either as a solo synth act, with a folk rock band or in spontaneous acts. In the early months of 2018, I started digging through tape sessions from when I started writing songs, roughly ten years ago. And what I found was a whole trunk of dizzy memories, and a lot of fooling around with my family and friends. It’s not always great music, but it’s not bad either. To me, it feels larger than that. Hearing something from long ago that’s raw, wild, unpolished, feels really rejuvenating and I’m happy to now have these old rags by my side again.
2019 will be no different. I’ve got a lotta music ready to release but the big one this year will be a synthpunk album, that features songs I regularly plat in sets and that explores themes such as pulp horror, lost futures, the collective unconscious & other blurred oddities. I’m hoping to play as many gigs as possible, touring in as many cities in and outside of Belgium as I can, meeting familiar faces and greeting new ones on the way.
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Cinnamon2019-01-28 16:54:092019-01-29 16:55:31Song We Like: Under the Microscope by Matthew Santos
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Cinnamon2019-01-28 16:51:572019-01-29 16:53:20Song We Like: Kill No More by Lo Wolf
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Cinnamon2019-01-28 16:49:202019-01-29 16:50:53Song We Like: Artificial Things by Eerie Point
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Cinnamon2019-01-27 16:58:252019-01-29 17:00:06Song We Like: Ego by Jeff Lipman
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Cinnamon2019-01-27 16:56:182019-01-29 16:57:37Song We Like: Let Me Live in Your House by Ben Farley
Alvaro Gastmans of Hairy Nipples on Seville, Tintin, and what you should be wearing
Alvaro Gastmans has been in the Spanish band HAIRY NIPPLES for 15 years. The band just released a new mini-lp “X-bomb” (clifford records 2019); their song from this album ‘Like Everybody Else’ can be heard on Holy Crap Records Podcast #36. In 2007 Hairy Nipples won the prize for best Spanish garage band in the Pop Eye Festival, and were featured on 2 movies. Gastmans also has a solo career in which he is influenced by French music, especially by genius Serge Gainsbourg. He has released 2 solo albums and 3 EP’s. He is currently producing an electronic analog album, and making demos of future songs both for his solo project and Hairy Nipples.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Black shirt/jacket or a vest. I don’t like bands that play with the same outfit they’ve been wearing for the sound check or that have been wearing (and sweating) the whole day through; I think a concert is a special occasion, especially if you are on stage, and you should look smart to show the audience that you care. Never put on stage the same clothes you used to go to the supermarket.
The last musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I bought and loved was:
The volca analog synthesizers by Korg. They are so tiny they look like toys for kids, but the sounds you can get from them, combined with special effects and pedals, are absolutely mind-blowing. I can be for hours stuck on one loop just playing with the knobs and oscillators trying to get different sounds. I have a drum loop, a bass synth and a polyphonic synth and I am already thinking about getting some more. Although I have a rock background as musician, I always loved psychedelic music, and it was just a few years ago that I got into the 70´s and 80´s electronic music and kraut rock sounds, and I found it really interesting and since then I am totally into it!
The Volca by Korg: a diverse array of fat sounds!
The musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I really really really want is:
A Fender Rhodes 73 keyboard. Since I was a kid I loved the sounds you can make with that keyboard, and most bands I like have used it at some point; also the way it looks it simply beautiful to me. Stylish, simple, not very big but with a powerful stage presence.
Something I wish I’d known before joining/starting a band:
A band is about songs. Egos can’t be the driving force of a band. To be more humble on your artistic proposal will help dealing with frustration.
I live in Seville (Spain).
I’d been living in the city of Malaga by southern coast of Spain for nearly 20 years, but at some point I wanted to have a family and I knew that if I moved to Seville I could have that life, so I did and I don’t regret the decision; I keep my band (Hairy Nipples) in Malaga though; It is only 200 km away so we still can rehearse and plan concerts.
The general vibe of Seville is: Heavily traditional. The weight of religion, traditional customs and a certain classism in all public domains (Holy week, bullfighting). I have the feeling that this sometimes suffocates the efforts of the underground artists that don’t have much echo or place on the cultural agenda of the city, but the artists and especially the bands are part of a very interesting scene that is trying to make this a more cosmopolitan and open-minded city.
The Holy Week processions in Seville are Spain’s most famous
The best place to play music here is:
“Sala X”. The place has a very good sound, in most concerts I’ve been I don’t recall having a bad experience; it also has a medium capacity which makes easier to bands to have a minimum audience and it is well located, not very far away from the center.
“A cracking little bar” – Google reviews
The best place to SEE music here is:
The Contemporary Art Museum (CAAC). Although it feels that every festival is on that same place, it is still one of the most beautiful places to see music here. The place is an old monastery with its architecture from the 15th century together with the facilities of the contemporary art museum, which makes a nice contrast. It is on the open air, and in the hot summers here it is the place to be in the evenings.
Seville’s CAAC is host to a lot of big festivals
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
Los Rosarios. They are pretty new but the members were part of other important bands from Seville whose I was fan as well. This new project sounds more like The Stooges, The Gun club, Velvet Underground with a electronic drum machine which makes them approach Suicide and other Spanish punk bands.
I collect:
Comic books. I am a huge fan of classic European comics and graphic novels. I was never interested in superheroes although I’ve read the most famous. I am also an amateur draw-er myself and I find great pleasure in reading and re-discovering my favorites books. “Tintin” and other Franco-Belgian characters are my favourites.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Yogurts
why
I’m a father of a 4 year old girl
If you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
A comic book or a vinyl.
The last music I downloaded was:
Kosmischer Läufer vol.4. I´ve downloaded the other 3 previous volumes which were presented as “The Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Program 1972-1983” and that got me hooked, and I found a wonderful collection of space-kraut-rock music.
In my heart I wish I was:
More focused. I tend to do too many things at the same time and that makes the creative process extremely long and sometimes discouraging, especially right now that I am aware how short time really is.
A beauty staple that I’m never without is:
Bleu de Chanel perfume. It´s classy, fresh and a bit bitter; could be related to my personality?
This woody, aromatic fragrance is made for the man who defies convention.
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is :
Change is inevitable, but the music industry had to change quicker these last 10 years although they did not really wanted to; I don’t think it will disappear entirely, as music will still be considered a good which can be traded, but the way people consume music is way much different from the glory days of the record industry. I am also a secondary teacher and I see that among most of my students MUSIC IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS IT WAS, it is not defining personality or tastes in other areas. Fashion, technology and talent shows have taken the interest of most teenagers and art is not considered as something important. We have more music available than ever for little (or none) money, but musicians must earn some money to live and to pay their recordings as the “home studio” era is gone, mainly due to the poor quality that was hiding in most of these recordings. The interesting music will be there for everyone to listen to, but the way to get there is not through mass media or tv shows.
My favorite websites or apps are:
Amazon music unlimited. I had a 3 month free trial and I am understanding now the success of streaming platforms and the joy of creating playlists.
Favorite seasonal beverage:
Beer, especially abbey types (Chimay). I am half-belgian, it is part of my DNA I guess.
