Born of a mutual love of music, beer, party pies and sausage rolls, Benny & The Clones have been playing original music in Tropical North Queensland for the better part of a decade. Based in Port Douglas the band consists of the core trio of former Melbournians Ben Radford (Songwriter, Guitar & Lead Vocals) Ben Kuring (Drums) and Dale Priem (Guitar), and various special guests depending on the occasion. Having notched up airplay on Triple J and support slots for acts like Daryl Braithwaite and Kingswood, Benny & The Clones have recently released their third album titled ‘The Clones’ and have two launch shows in the coming weeks in Cairns and Port Douglas.
Listening to ‘The Clones’ you can definitely hear their influences in Dan Kelly, Sparklehorse, The Go Betweens, The Drones, and Radiohead. There’s also a nice 90’s undertone which highlights the grunge era of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. ‘Hold Your Head High’ will get you clapping your hands while Guitarist Dale Priem’s shredding solo’s and delicate effect work throughout verses in ‘Double Helix Comet Man’ have a Tom Morello feel without going over the top. Vocalist Ben Radford’s heartfelt vocals in ‘The Band’ will make you want to hold your lighter in the air, while closer ‘You Are Here’ leaves you on a rocking feel with echoes of Badfinger.
Speaking to Dale Priem, I was surprised to hear the 12 track effort was recorded entirely in the bands home studio in Port Douglas.
“We recorded the album in our home studio. It was really great not to be under the pump and to have as much time as we wanted. The recording process was really just about friends getting together with a few beers and having fun. Some days we’d spend more time mucking around and having a laugh than we did on the recording. This could explain why the process took the better part of a year. This could also explain the existence of a few stupid songs which should never be heard by anyone, ever, but still amuse us greatly”.
After the recording was all finished up, The Clones sent their product to The States to be mastered in Nashville.
“In the aforementioned online world, geographical distance doesn’t make a huge amount of difference when it comes to modern music recording/mastering. We decided to ‘outsource’ the mastering as up until that point it was all just ‘us’ . We wanted to have a new set of ears to apply a final polish on the whole thing. We tried out a whole bunch of options, and we all agreed that Sage Audio provided the sound we were looking for. It was a pretty democratic process, really”.
With two massive launch shows coming up, Benny & The Clones will perform at 12 Bar Blue in Cairns on Saturday 16th April and at the Port Douglas Yacht Club on Saturday 23rd April. Singer songwriter Tim Wright from King Pig, Bobby McGuire and Machine Machine will support both shows while Swamp Donkey and Moody will join for the Port launch. While the band is constantly performing around the region the boys are hoping to tour on the back of the new release in the coming future.
“We’re hoping to do a Melbourne tour to promote the album at some stage down the track. Benny Radford is constantly writing new stuff so we’ll definitely start working on ideas for the next album”.
Benny & The Clones launch ‘The Clones’ at 12 Bar Blue (62 Shields St Cairns) on Saturday 16th April. Doors open 7pm. Support from Tim Wright (King Pig) ,Bobby McGuire & Machine Machine. Entry is $5. Check out the Facebook event page.
Benny & The Clones launch ‘The Clones’ at Port Douglas Yacht Club (1 Spinnaker Close Port Douglas) on Saturday 23rd April. Support from Tim Wright (King Pig) ,Bobby McGuire, Machine Machine, Swamp Donkey & Moody. 4pm till 11pm. Entry is $8. Check out the Facebook event page.
‘The Clones’ album available from both shows or at online at bennyandtheclones.com
Mitch Sullivan
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