We first met Benji in 1995, when Nailbomb played the Dynamo Festival with his band, Dubwar. Dana first told us about them and insisted we watch their set. How fortunate we were!! Little did we realize, that in 2 short years, in 1997, Benji would bring his troupe to perform at the first D-LOW Show. Looking back, after 20 tears of Memorial Shows for Dana, that first one was the show that struck me and stayed with me forever. Maybe it was the first year and our wounds were all fresh? Maybe it was the fact we played outdoors in the club, Boston's, and our friends at that painful time were all there? I am not sure but I remember when Dubwar hit the stage, Benji's voice surely wound its way to the gates of Heaven.
When it was time to record Soufly 1, it was natural that Max would invite Benji to perform. He wrote the immaculate, now relevant track, Prejudice. Benji is a manipulator of vocal patterns, with a range to the horizon and back. His voice is a beacon, drawing you in to him like a lighthouse! And who can forget Benji's lyrical blast on Bumba, Max's anthem for the raw, forgotten people of Brazil?
When it was time to Record Soulfly 1, it was natural that Max would invite Benji to perform. Max and he wrote the immaculate, now relevant track, Prejudice. Benji is a manipulator of vocal patterns, with a range to the horizon and back. His voice is a beacon, drawing you in like a lighthouse! And who can forget Benji's lyrical blast on Quilombo, Max's anthem to the resistor, Zumbi, who lead the slaves away from the clutches of the save plantations to the idyllic north?
We recently had the opportunity ...and honor!...to share the stage in Australia, with Beni and his band of warriors, Skindred. What a show they gave us, bouncing rhythms and THAT VOICE!! THAT PRESENCE!!! Time has passed for us all, and life's events have given us all more knowledge, but some things never change. Things that matter, like friendship and thankfulness and memories...they last through distance, through time and through the ages. "Our roots you can never erase!"
Class dismissed....