The Benjy Davis Project will once again make an appearance at Rick’s Café on Thursday night. It will also be exactly a month after the release of the band’s fourth album, Dust. The name of the album describes past memories and thoughts of yesteryear. Davis, the lead singer, said he feels Dust is the best presentation of where they are and what they’re doing right now.”[The band’s] crowds at Rick’s have gotten bigger and bigger, building their fanbase a little more each gig,” Café owner Rick Welch said. “Most of their fans are local MSU college students, but people travel from all over to see them when they play here [at Rick’s].”
Welch first learned of the band back in 2003.
“Their agent sent me their CD, More Than Local. I listened to it, loved it and booked the band.”
The upcoming performance will be the band’s 12th appearance at Rick’s.
Michelle Cothern, one of the band’s managers, said that the band travels all over, even as far as Wisconsin and New York. The band has thus far traveled to 30 states.
BDP comes from Baton Rouge, La. and is made up of Davis, Mic Capdevielle, Michael Galasso, Anthony Rushing, Jonathan Lawhun and Matt Rusnak. The newest member of the band is Rusnak, who joined this summer as the bassist.
Davis and Capdevielle have known each other since they were young and first performed together at M’s Fine and Mellow Café in Baton Rouge. The band just grew from there, adding piano, violin, another guitar and bass to the one-time guitar and drum duo.
“I’m not sure what we would be classified as, but it would be great if you could come up with something,” Davis said.
The music is mellow with an acoustic pop sound to some of the songs, but the band is labeled on iTunes as rock, alternative and pop.
Davis is extremely shy and quiet answering questions about himself and the band. He said he first started singing to help out with a stuttering problem and received his first guitar from his mother at the age of 13. “I wanted to play the flute, but my brother called me a [sissy] and said that only girls played the flute,” he said. “My mom wasn’t sure if I would actually take to playing guitar.”
Not only did he take to the instrument, he and the band have come very far with their music.
Davis is modest about his preferred spots to play. “It would be easier to say places I didn’t like,” he said with a laugh. “I like being out, doing fun stuff everyday, never being in the same place twice and hanging out with the band.” For more information, visit www.rickscafe.net.