You’ve probably heard of the Benjy Davis Project. The Baton Rouge-based band has built a devoted following here at Loyola and at that school on the other side of the fence. Their soulful rock invokes superficial comparisons to collegiate favorites like Dave Matthews or John Mayer, yet the Benjy Davis Project is much deeper, with songs that are melodic and memorable, familiar yet new, and most of all heartfelt.
Sitting in the backstage room at Tipitina’s, the band looks comfortable and at ease. After all, New Orleans has become a second home to the group.
“We play here more than in Baton Rouge,” bass player Brett Bolden explains.
Following an explosive appearance at Jazz Fest two years ago, Tipitina’s has been a regular and reassuring haunt for the group. They know their way around, they know the people and they even know when the complimentary backstage Popeye’s usually shows up.
But the genesis of the group came in Baton Rouge with lead singer, acoustic guitarist and songwriter Benjy Davis. Davis grew up in a musical environment. His mother wanted to make sure her sons were exposed to music and Davis found a guitar in his hands at an early age. He also learned how to sing which, aside from being perfect acoustic accompaniment, helped him overcome a stuttering problem.
The Benjy Davis Project coalesced into a band about three years ago. Aside from Davis, the band is comprised of bassist Bolden, drummer Mic Capdevielle, electric guitarist Jonathan Lawhun, violinist Anthony Rushing and keyboardist and backing vocalist Michael Galasso. While some of them were once enrolled at LSU, the band members said they are now “students of the road.”
And the road has taken them as far north as frigid Vermont and out west to mountainous Colorado. They’ve taken great strides for musicians who are all in their early 20s. Although they’ve shared stages with Buckwheat Zydeco, the Gin Blossoms and Sister Hazel, to name a few, the band doesn’t look at it in those terms.
“We take things day by day,” Davis said.
With two albums under their belt already, the band is taking their time finishing the third studio release. Davis said some of the past material has catered to drunken kids at parties.
“The new stuff is more serious, things are getting more serious,” he said.
Guitarist Lawhun chimed in, “This is the best we can do.”
So this is the Benjy Davis Project: soft-spoken, laid back guys from Baton Rouge who’ve tapped into the soulful rock rhythms of the South. They take things as they come, and are enjoying the road to success. The band is so grounded you could mistake them for your own group of friends, except for the pile of girls’ t-shirts sitting in the middle of the table waiting to be autographed. But, truthfully, it seems like the most natural thing in the world.
