With all due respect to his bandmates -- all of whom are ace musicians and most of whom are also friends of mine -- over the years, Mike Benign doesn't really need anyone else.
Sure, he'd deny that vehemently -- and I'll await his e-mail on this -- and it's true that solid support allows him to focus on getting the job done, but, really, Benign and his songwriting have always been the stars.
I guess you could say, though, that Benign's compulsion is to play his strong songs with stellar musicians.
His latest outfit, The Mike Benign Compulsion -- the name supports my hypothesis! -- started as a solo project and grew into a band. "Rollicking Musical," the debut CD, is launched with a party gig on Friday, May 14, at Shank Hall.
Starting with Umbrella Man, Benign's sharp, sardonic, intelligent pop songs have made him a beloved -- and more importantly, respected -- part of the local scene. A lot of folks expected his next band, Arms and Legs and Feet, was destined to break big outside of Milwaukee.
When they didn't happen, Benign built an even better model in Blue in the Face that, for much of the ‘90s, was the premier soul-tinged power pop band in town.
Benign is eager to point out that the Compulsion is a "full-fledged band" -- but after a decade away from music, Milwaukee is most eager to get reacquainted with the cutting pop -- a la Elvis Costello, Semisonic, Crowded House and Squeeze -- that made Benign famous.
Brew City music fans can breathe easily. "Rollicking Musical" is laced with top talent like guitarist Joe Vent, bassists Brian Wooldridge and Paul Biemann, keyboardists Tyler Traband and Dan Type, and drummer Mike Koch. But also with the kind of slice of life tunes like "All the Married People," "She Believes It" that have been Benign's bread and butter.
The result is a straightforward, tuneful, smart debut that says Benign is back and, oh yes, he's got a band with him.
Showtime at Shank is 8 p.m. and the show is non-smoking. Minneapolis' Petty Demons (ex-Deliliahs and Ward) open.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
