February was a very busy month for most B3NSONites due to the RPM 09 Challenge. Local paper, Times Union, picked up on the story this Friday, thanks for writing about us! Read it here: http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=781619&category=ARTS&BCCode=&newsdate=3/22/2009

Ah, well, it has been a week now since we gave a fond farewell to the Hobo Banned at their CD release/tour kickoff show. An evening of sing-alongs and much merriment! Unfortunately the space between now and then has been an increasingly nerve wracking time to be residing in the city of Albany. The wave of violent crime has been affecting the B3nson family both directly and indirectly and we urge everyone to be very careful out there!
Ok, on to the really exciting stuff! Sgt Dunbar has been BLOWING UP …

Jonathan Fink, aka Jon of the Atom, aka Dead Canaries, sheds light on some of the musical influences that have helped expand his ever growing catalog. Jon is part of the large music conspiracy known as Cozy Home Records out of Utica, New York– the dude wears a dress… sometimes.
B3: What album are you currently listening to over and over?
Jonathan: There’s a couple. The First one I thought of is Beck’s Modern Guilt. I’ve been listening to Beck since I was 14, I think it was, and everything that he …

B3NSON sits down with the man behind the low end. This week we take a look at one of B3NSON’s own, Jesse Horton. Jesse plays nice, juggling the bass lines of Beware! the Other Head of Science and Desperately Obvious, as well as working on the Pocket Concert series. So sit back and relax as we explore all that junk inside his trunk. 
B3: What album are you currently listening to over and over?
Jesse: I’ve been listening to the Beatles White Album a lot. I owned a couple of Beatles tapes and …

Today was a good day for a rock show and Valentines did not disappoint. While sipping my Genny Cream Ale and reading over this weeks Metroland (I was happy to see Sgt. Dunbar listed in the number two spot for the readers pick Best Alternative Band –everyone knows the saying, first is the worst, however I am not sure how they escaped third… I’ve seen Louis’s braided chest hair and… well anyways), I eagerly awaited for the music to begin. The three members of ‘Document’ flooded the downstairs of Valentines with a …

 
   Our friends from the Albany Barn Project  have been around for a couple of years now trying to raise money to convert St Josephs Academy in Arbor Hill into a cheap place to local artists to live.  While they haven’t raised all the money yet they have put on a great series of first friday shows at Tess’s Lark Tavern and other great local events.  
   After being ready to go for several years the project seems to have found a possible source of funding, the new federal stimulus bill! …

The 3 2 1 takes a look at local musicians in the capital area and what music they are currently listening to. This week we had the pleasure to interview Heather Williams. Heather has had an active role in the local music scene for many years with her band Amazing Plaid and currently plays in the punk rock extravaganza Spread ‘Em and Secret Service. 
B3: What album are you currently listening to over and over?
Heather: Neil Young’s Harvest. I get hooked on this album over and over and over again. It is …

Matthew Ferguson’s “Colors I Have Heard” (RPM Challenge 2009)
01. At Night We Play
02. What If It Doesn’t Stop Exploding?
03. A Sunrise At Twilight (Trapped in a Seashell)
04. Remind Me Tomorrow
05. Fweaky Haiwr
06. An Elevator Ride Through Hell
07. Don’t Fall Off the Back of the Couch
08. Back On the Right Side of the Couch
09. Eathe Breasy
10. Seep Dreeply
 
In Keeping with the B3nson tradition of being a productive music maker I decided to try and tackle the OTHER B3nson tradition of partaking in the annual RPM Challenge this February. It was grueling …