Sometimes fate turns on a dime.
Frank Benbini, drummer and one third of New York natives Fun Lovin’ Criminals, will testify to that.
In February 1996, the faceless music factories were continuing to churn out forgettable, formulaic albums to feed the masses. In the UK, Britpop was deflating and the media were desperate for a story.
They got exactly what they wanted when, on February 19, Jarvis Cocker invaded the Brit Awards stage and presented his bum to the hungry cameras during Micheal Jackson’s messianic performance of ‘Earth Song’. The media were delighted and covered the music sections of their papers with shots of it the next day.
Something else occurred on 20 February 1996. An album arrived, without making too much of a fuss, that would become one of the most important and influential debut albums ever made – “Come Find Yourself” by Fun Lovin’ Criminals had arrived.
“Come Find Yourself” has a timeless quality and an exquisite balance of hip-hop, groove, rock and latin soul. It sounds like it could have been released yesterday. How many other mid-nineties albums can say that?
Frank Benbini has been a vital and integral member of the band since taking over on drums in 2003, but how did someone, who was born and bred in Leicester, find himself playing in the very definition of a New York band?
This is where fate turned right on that dime.
Frank told BAM: “When I was about five or six I lived in San Francisco with my mum where I became a massive basketball fan. I was lucky enough to be an eighties kid growing up through the birth of hip-hop. One of my main musical hobbies was studying hip-hop from an early age. I loved the mix of street sounds and big beats.
“Back in the UK several years later I was watching a basketball program on Channel Four. Every week they would play this piece of music over the trick shot of the week section. I remember thinking ‘this music is badass! Like a James Brown funk, hip-hop mash up.’
“I wrote to Channel Four to ask them about the music and they told me it was off an EP by this band called Fun Lovin’ Criminals. This was before they were a well known band. I did a bit of digging and found out that they were playing a small show in six months time in a place called Rock City in Nottingham. So I went to what was quite a low key show.
“I thought the music was great and I introduced myself. We became friends after that and they found out that I did a lot of hip-hop DJ work. They asked me to open a few shows for them as a DJ. I went on the road with them for a year. Then when Mackie (Maxwell Jayson) wanted to leave the group, the boys asked me to join as their drummer. That’s about fifteen years ago now.”
The album “Come Find Yourself”, with classic songs like “The Fun Lovin’ Criminal”, “Smoke Em'”, “King of New York”, and of course “Scooby Snacks”, has become something far more than just a collection of songs. It holds a special place in the hearts and minds of fans across the globe, including Frank.
Frank said: “It was a body of music that was totally my thing. It had this great way of mashing up my favourite genres of music like rock blending in with a bit of funk and even elements of jazz with a strong belt of hip-hop and Huey’s spoken word, broken rap style. At the same time it married up some nice live playing which is what I’m all about.
“We’re very lucky to have ‘Fast’ (Bass, Keyboard, Harmonica and Trumpet player Brian Leiser) who is awesome at sampling and programming beats. He has a lot of patience in the studio. With Fast and Huey playing guitar and me on the drums it all works really well. On “Come Find Yourself” they managed to mix all that together so well.
“They were very fortunate back then to find and work with a guy called Tim Latham (Grammy award winning recording engineer) who was a master at mixing the sounds. “Come Find Yourself” still sounds fresh today whereas other bands from the same era have dated really badly. It’s a clever blend of programming along with live musicians that will never date. It was an antidote to a lot of bad nineties music and that’s worth celebrating.
“Also for three such fiery characters in a band to have survived this long without killing each other is another cause for celebration!”
In 2016 the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of “Come Find Yourself” with a tour and a deluxe CD re-release. The album was performed live every night from start to finish to an electrified, ecstatic audience.
They will continue to celebrate the release of this album with a new UK & Ireland tour which kicks off on 1 February 2017 in Dublin. Has Frank adapted the Steve Borgovini’s (original FLC drummer) style on “Come Find Yourself” to make it his own or does he remain faithful to the original album?
“When I first discovered the band I didn’t think that one day they would become my band so I had been influenced already by the beats on the record. For the past 15 years I’ve always stayed true to the arrangements on the original recordings but every drummer is different so I do have my own nuances and fills.” he said.
“I also sing and drum which is different. I know how to judge the ebb and flow to make the song better. I know when to hang off a bit. An out and out drummer may not have gotten that. That’s where they got it right on that first record.
“We’re an exciting band live so as a drummer I have to have a bit of style and flare and I’ve gotta have my chops sorted. There are some nice touches I do live but I’ve always stayed true to the songs. I pride myself on being badass every night!”
When they aren’t playing live, Fun Lovin’ Criminals are also working on a new album.
Frank said: “Just before Christmas we went into the studio for the first time in about five or six years. It was great. We were firing on all cylinders. We went in for about three days and did five or six new songs. We are thinking about doing something like we did on the “Mimosa” album where we take some of our favourite songs from other artists and re-work them in a Fun Lovin’ Criminals style then pepper the album with one or two new songs.
“It would be nice to put out something smooth in the summer time like a nice Fun Lovin’ Criminals summer cocktail. It’s been a while so it would be nice to ease back into studio work without too much pressure. That’s what we’re feeling at the moment.”
Frank didn’t want to finish without giving a shout out to Belfast: “I did a private solo gig last year in Belfast and we were looked after so well. I love Belfast. We did the Titanic museum, ate at lovely restaurants and stayed with great people. We tried to get back to Belfast on this new tour but the venues couldn’t fit us in beside our Dublin gig.”
The Fun Lovin’ Criminals kick off their new tour in Vicar Street, Dublin on Wednesday 1 February 2017 then play around the UK in February and March.
Tickets available online at www.funlovincriminals.co/#tourdates
“Come Find Yourself (Live In Berlin) – 20th Anniversary Ltd Edition DVD” is available to buy from the FLC store online: funlovincriminals.tmstor.es
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