Ben Kenney

Infobox Musical artist


Img_size = 150
Name = Ben Kenney
Background = khaki
Born = birth date|1977|3|12|mf=y
Genre = Rock
Funk
Hip Hop
Instrument = vocals, guitars, Bass, drums
Label = Ghetto Crush Industries
Associated_acts = Incubus
The Roots
Time Lapse Consortium
The Division Group
Supergrub
URL = [http://www.benkenney.com/ www.benkenney.com]

Ben Kenney, (born on March 12, 1977), is a musician from the United States, and the bassist for the band Incubus.

Ben Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group The Roots before he joined Incubus in 2003 after the departure of bassist and founding member Alex Katunich aka Dirk Lance. He had previously played with Incubus members Mike Einziger and Jose Pasillas in Time Lapse Consortium.

The introduction of Kenney into the group marked a shift in the band's sound. His tight grooves and hip hop influenced sound replaced previous bassist Dirk Lance's funky bass lines. Apart from changing the groove and the style of Incubus' work, he also added backing vocals to their songs (Mike Einziger used to do them), adding extra harmonies to each song, examples of which can be heard in the songs Agoraphobia, Pendulous Threads and Diamonds and Coal.

He also plays in his own band, The Division Group, (formerly known as Supergrub) with Neal Evans of Soulive and Ashley Mendel.

Ben is known to play 6 different instruments and sometimes plays drum solos with Incubus' drummer Jose Pasillas live on-stage.

He has also done studio work for artists including: Justin Timberlake, Faith Evans, Erykah Badu, Blackalicious, and producers Timbaland and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

Ben has three solo albums, "26" released in 2004, "Maduro" released on March 1, 2006 and "Distance And Comfort" released in 2008. Ben plays guitar, bass, and drums while singing and writing every part on the solo records.

Ben's website, "benkenney.com", allows you to download two tracks from his solo work; "Hoopdie" from "26" and "Wrong" from "Maduro". Towards the end of 2007 Ben added a link to a video of him playing each part of, "Eulogy", a track from "Distance And Comfort". In this video he also spoke about the tour he is doing with Chris Kilmore in early 2008.

His equipment includes Lakland basses, Line 6 effects cite web |url=http://www.bassplayer.com/article/ben-kenney-on/Apr-04/650 |title=(interview) and Mesa Boogie amplifiers.

"26" and "Maduro" were both released by Ben's own record company, Ghetto Crush Industries. Ghetto Crush has also released music for The Division Group, Aleda, and Root Valdez. Ben has also recently helped The Smyrk produce their latest EP, "New Fiction".

Discography

26 (2004)

#Breathe - 3:31
#Hoopdie - 4:17
#4.2.3. - 5:23
#Andrea's Asleep - 1:08
#Creme - 3:41
#You Won't Like The Sound - 3:16
#So Hard - 2:47
#Mr. Spader, I Presume - 1:28
#Empty Handed - 4:30

Maduro (2006)

#Wrong - 3:00
#Inside Pt. 2 - 4:15
#Skyscraper - 2:57
#Nigeria - 1:12
#The Ether - 2:52
#Nepenthe - 1:15
#Conception And The Funeral - 3:26
#It's Not Too Late - 4:08
#How Would You Know? - 3:49
#Girl - 3:55
#The Moment - 3:09

Distance And Comfort (2008)

#Not Today - 3:27
#Get It To Go - 2:14
#18th Avenue - 3:53
#Eulogy - 4:20
#Walking - 5:19
#When We Are Both Cats - 1:51
#Implants - 3:04
#Fluorescent Yellow - 4:14
#Some Days Are Better Than Others - 2:58
#Comfort - 4:05

Three singles are available for download in Ben's webpage: Hoopdie, Wrong, and Eulogy

External links

* [http://www.benkenney.com/ Ben's Website]
* [http://www.enjoyincubus.com/ Incubus' Official Website]
* [http://www.thedivisiongroup.com/ The Division Group Website]
* [http://www.supergrub.com/ Supergrub Website]
* [http://www.ghettocrush.com/ Ghetto Crush Industries Website]
* [http://www.incubus-online-view.com/ Incubus' #1 Fansite]
* [http://www.blackhorizon.org/?p=5 Ben Kenney Search on the iPhone]
* [http://www.incubusportugal.blogspot.com Incubus Portugal]
* [http://www.thegrixer.com/benkenney.html Ben Kenney Interview with TheGrixer.com]