Artist Bio
Influences: Beck, Elliott Smith, Jorge Ben, Sam Cooke, Tom Jobim, Beatles, Nigel Godrich, Herve Salters, Zero 7, Hank Williams Sr., Prince, Jimi, Beach House, Django Reinhardt, Olodum, Jose Gonzalez, Fruit Bats, Johnny Cash, The National, Django Django, Radiohead, Stereolab, The Clash, Danger Mouse, Other Lives, Rolling Stones, Pinback, Ennio Morricone, Bowie, Baden Powell, Bob Dylan's pen, and Schrodinger's cat.
Songwriting is a muscle. Work it out.
I'm a multi-instrumentalist singer songwriter who's played in funk bands, emo power trios, indie cafe softrock groups, solo singer-songrwriter acoustic sets, and collaborated with DJs. Influences are many and varied.
2022 Intention: 2/1/2022
Planning to do a concept EP this year. Maybe 6 songs that are unified musically and thematically. Last year I was working for myself and poured all my time into getting to 14. This year I’m working full time again so going for cohesive quality over eclectic quantity.
2022 Update: 2/28/22
I did not reach 14 but I did something I'm more proud of. I wrote an album. A cohesive album. It turned out to be less of a concept album than an album built around a common set of musical and lyrical themes. It is one of the more personal works that I've done, and for that I think it really helped me grow as a songwriter. I also finally got closer to figuring out how to capture my vocals and learned some new tricks as a producer. Although it spans different genres I think it is cohesive. Let me know if you agree. Please comment and read the liner notes here. If you like what your hear here, you can listen to them back-to-back on soundcloud at:
https://soundcloud.com/bennett-grassano-92754464/sets/the-boy-remains-fawm-22?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
And now . . . I'm overdue for lots of listening and commenting!
Songs (9)
| #1 | Opening Closing Remarks |
24 Feb 2022 |
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| #2 |  The Boy Remains |
19 Feb 2022 |
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| #3 | Rescue |
12 Feb 2022 |
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| #4 | Every Sunny Someday |
12 Feb 2022 |
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| #5 | After the Rain |
11 Feb 2022 |
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| #6 | Nothing But Love |
16 Feb 2022 |
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| #7 | Burning Embers  |
8 Feb 2022 |
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| #8 | Harlequin Falls (One-Take) |
11 Feb 2022 |
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| #9 | Wondering the World Away |
7 Feb 2022 |
Soundboard
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@wolfkier Mar 2022
Great give me a day or 2 to get back to the last 4 of yours. I'm glad.Hugs.
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@sunnymae Mar 2022
thanks for your feedback and helpful insights on timeless time. I appreciate the critical listening very much!
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@karlsburg25 Mar 2022
Thanks so much for your comments matey and it’s been fantastic to discover you this fawm . Am around all March so will be diving all over the rest of your tunes . It’s so special to discover someone who’s music totally works with you . So massive congrats my friend and here’s to next year ⭐️⭐️
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@jayjay Mar 2022
Thank you for your wonderful feedback. I am glad you like the spoken word as that’s the one I felt most exposed on. :)
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@richaaaay Mar 2022
Hey Bennett, thanks for listening and the comments. I’ve very high regard for your musical abilities and sensibilities. Really enjoyed your concept album. It was interesting to learn more about you. Keep up the great work…
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@davidtaro Mar 2022
Hey dude! Funnily enough I was just thinking about you and the fact that I needed to catch up with the final couple of tracks on your album. And then there you were on my soundboard :D I shall check out that plugin, thanks for the steer!
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@coolparadiso Mar 2022
Thats ok just do what you can when you can! I listen because i want to if i get a comment back even in tit4#tat its a bonus.
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@katestantonsings Mar 2022
Hi Bennett! You've had a wonderful FAWM. Your comments mean a lot to me because I am a fan of your writing and style. You blend genres so well. I'll listen to your concept EP on SoundCloud! I particularly want to say kudos for being so open and transparent about your losses--it's inspiring to others. All the best!!! Keep writing and playing. -Kate
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@nadine Mar 2022
You're welcome! I'm gappy that I discovered your music last year and you're one of my favourite artists here. I like people who rock more than one style. Take your time for listening. The #tit4tat crew sticks around for some weeks. I still have a lot to listen to and take a pause from production :)
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@richaaaay Mar 2022
You game for some tit4tat? I’ve listened and commented on all of your songs except for one so I don’t have much more to offer. However, I’d love to have you listen to some of my collaborations with Serene.
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@actualjulian Feb 2022
Hey thank you so much for the outstanding feedback on Cloud River. The listen and the love mean the world to me. May the FAWM be with you ALWAYS
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@nadine Feb 2022
Thanks a lot for your kind and encouraging comment on "Love lasts forever". I never considered myself as a singer cause I've been ridiculed a lot, never train and so I just recorded some demos to help vocalists. I wish I could control my vibrato. It's quite heavy and fast. Maybe someday I dive deeper but since I don't have a proper microphone I can't do that now.
On style.... I guess vampire burlesque is the goodterm. Maybe dark cabaret? I didn't take myself seriously. -
@greengrassgirl Feb 2022
I loved your description of the speakeasy in your comment on Hit Man. So glad we could paint that picture. It was a really fun collab! Thanks for your kind words.
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@davidtaro Feb 2022
Thank you for the truly exceptional comment on Hit Man :)
I need to catch up with the concept album! Going out with missus now, but it's on my To Listen pile... -
@jayjay Feb 2022
@radiobenedetto I was actually inspired by a country blues guitarist I found on youtube. Justin Johnson. Not sure if links work but here https://youtu.be/J-kH82K8dCs
That was the prosody for Devil on my Shoulder.
Thanks for the comment. Much appreciated. -
@mikeskliar Feb 2022
thanks for the comment on 'power of music'. The guitar and vocal were recorded and played together live just using the one built in mic on my iPhone, so on this one, its not possible to separate the vocal and slide it around, - good thought tho!
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@nadine Feb 2022
You're welcome! Things like this happen. I usually mix with headphones first then speaker cause my room acoustics are super weird. My hardest issue is reverb..I usually don't comment on technical stuff during FAWM unless it distracts me too much... but I know that you're a good producer so I hope it was okay :D
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@serene123 Feb 2022
Hello! That's so kind of you thank you
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@williamjames Feb 2022
Thanks so much for your comment on gone along! You really gave me some great ideas. Maybe I will revisit and revise the song later!
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@hanley Feb 2022
Hey, thanks very much for your kind words on my song "Hunger Games"! I haven't heard of Amon Tobin, but just having a taste now and will certainly be listening to more.
Good idea to strip back a few layers and build it back up again. I tend to have a habit of stacking things and not letting them breathe, a friendly reminder to throw a few curveballs in the mix!
Cheers -
@cleanshoes Feb 2022
Thank you so much for your comment on What the Body Knows! I actually had the same thought regarding the fourth verse, and may play with it if I decide to revisit the song after FAWM.
No worries regarding Carousel! I wouldn't mind revisiting it and recording new vocal tracks at some point if you're up for it. -
@frozenlonesome Feb 2022
Thanks for checking out Men Of Science. Not my most ambient piece,
But am glad you liked the string-fuzz. -
@richaaaay Feb 2022
I was excited to see your song posted as I was hoping to hear more of your music this FAWM. Really enjoyed your work last year.
Thanks for the excellent feedback on Weight on My Shoulders. I’m gonna explore taking out the bass. It’s so great to get thoughtful feedback like that. Never would have thought to do that on my own, yet it seems like such common sense…Not just for that song but as a general exploratory concept. -
@adforperu Feb 2022
Hey, thank you for your thoughtful comment! You're exactly right about that thread, the arrangement was much fuller from the start originally (that guitar line and bass from the start) but I ended up deleting and bring them in much later. It means that opening verse has very little harmonic context; it's weird because I can 'hear' the chords I wrote for it, but the listener can't, so I can't fully know how it must sound to them. Maybe if I return to it in a few months...
As for the drum patterns, I didn't realise there was much variance haha, but once again I stripped the kick out of it for a long time, and pulled back the velocity (they're MIDI) which certainly helps. Thom is my guy so I'm always happy with comparisons - I sometimes try my best *not* to try and sound like Radiohead, but it's hard when they're such a huge part of my life. I think I managed it the last couple of years, but now he's back with his Smile side project, heh!
re: the groove part, yeah I'm not full happy with that section, it doesn't gel all that well - I tried a variety of things and none of it really stuck! -
@apolez3 Feb 2022
Thanks for the welcome back!!I think maybe I'll save a concept EP for another year perhaps... have too many ideas of different topics or ideas on stuff... what is your concept ep theme about? -Just found it within the song you have, about to listen,,, called "Opening ; Closing ; Remarks"Well I see how you'd want to write your own lyrics because being personal to you from your viewpoint on your life; if I happen to write anything that might work for you;
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@katestantonsings Feb 2022
I love your ideas for ‘House Guest’—thank you! Creating interesting bass lines is a weakness at the moment, so it’s definitely something I want to explore with music. I’ve saved your suggestions in a journal folder I have for my little song seeds. A heartfelt thank you for the thoughtful listen!!
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@nadine Feb 2022
Thanks for your comment on Skyscraper! Made my day ^^ No worries about the bar set higher. We couldn't nail such a collab in a day or a week. But great things happen when the right people come together and have fun :)
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@katestantonsings Feb 2022
Hey Benedetto! I'm looking forward to hearing your new music! I enjoyed listening to your songs last year. Have fun!!
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@nadine Feb 2022
Welcome back Benedetto! Looking forward to your new stuff!
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@apolez3 Jan 2022
Bonjour, Happy FAWMing 2022!! Would love to collaborate!! Meanwhile; I'm a lyric writer solely...(more/less)
