Origin stories…the bane of comics fans and promo writers. Suffice it to say that this humble promo writer must trot out the “incestuous local music scene” trope yet again to explain the biggish bang from whence all Beatdowns life began. Matt Benz, formerly of The Sovines, felt the urge to leave the American roadhouse and enter the UK music hall, if only to justify his purchases of approximately every legal and bootleg Kinks, Small Faces, and Who record extant. With the best tunes Ray Davies and Pete Townshend never wrote in his songwriting quiver, he was soon able to convince four other gentlemen he’d known and played with over the years to enter the garage, so to speak, and embrace the jangle. After a few fits and starts with other musical pals, Mark Wyatt (Great Plains etc. etc.), Ed Mann (Ugly Stick etc. etc.), Gene Brodeur (The Sovines etc. etc.), and John Stickley (The Patsys etc. etc.) were on board. (Trust your humble writer when he says that the “etc.” is saving you a musical family tree so convoluted that it would turn Pete Frame into Rain Man.) The clatter and racket that resulted was both new and old, forever teenage yet acutely in the current age. With just two guitars, bass, drums, and combo organ, The Beatdowns may never change the world, but they just might change your mind.
credits
released August 5, 2020
Songs by M. Benz, 2009. Recorded at Zombie Shark Studios, Columbus, OH, engineered by Nick Schuld. Matt Benz, guitar; Gene Brodeur, drums; Ed Mann, bass, backing vox; John Stickley, guitar, backing vox; Mark Wyatt, keyboards, lead vox.
Here are some releases that are free for all! The Old 3C Label Group operates from the city-state of Columbus, Ohio USA. Please check us out via the below links.
Chicagoan Mike Ritt, rockin' out at Seatle's Crackle & Pop! studio with producer Johnny Sangster and members of The Young Fresh Fellows, The Tripwires, and Mudhoney. Yeah, it's real good. Old 3C Free Releases
Sarah Bethe Nelson leans into the uncanny and the poetic without resorting to grand settings or sweeping metaphors. Bandcamp Album of the Day Aug 1, 2022
Dreamy, intricate guitar pop from Oakland's Absent City; splashes of accordion, sitar, lap steel, and mandolin add textural richness. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 26, 2020