Record Reviews – John Condron & the Benefit – Eleventh Hour Grace (EM Press)

bigtakeover.com

by Jeff Elbel

This collection of expertly-crafted Midwestern rock-pop features heartfelt songs that were built for the bars, with just enough decoration to keep your ears engaged through all twelve songs. Condron notches at least one should-be classic with “Blurred,” which pulls an equal measure of Dream Police-era Cheap Trick glam and classic Dave Edmunds melodic roots-rock. Condron’s vocal delivery hints at a possible fondness for celebrated tunesmith Neil Finn of Crowded House during the midtempo swing of “Moments of Grace.” The rhythm section shows why they rate co-headline billing during “Sacred Places,” as Jeff Bella’s burbling bass line runs the length of the neck and Barret Harvey’s intricate hi-hat work keeps the beat tense and tight. The economical riff-rock punch of “Tea Party Stomp” may not be purpose built for the campaign trail, but the song carries a message in tune with anyone who is looking toward the Hill and ready to simply “throw the bastards out.” “Open” is a gentler, acoustic-based tune with a tender heart. “Can’t you see how she saves me,” sings Condron with apparent wonder and appreciation. The acerbic wit of Elvis Costello pumps through the propulsive post-punk of “Shut Up,” with a little bit of Andy Summers-styled sci-fi guitar thrown in for good measure.

Illinois Entertainer

By Andy Argyrakis

Taking bits of Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook, John Condron & The Benefit show no shortage of melodic sensibilities throughout their fourth long player, Eleventh Hour Grace. Though the lyrics don’t possess either of those influences’ wit and sophistication, the group provide considerable depth, namely with the cheeky “Tea Party Stomp” and “Minutes To Hours.”

Interview for Chicagonow.com

By David Masciotra

John Condron is the John Condron in the Chicago-based rock band, John Condron and The Benefit. He is also singer, songwriter, and as I discovered when I interviewed him recently, an outspoken commentator and critic on live music, rock music, and most topics related to the arts.
Those who’ve had the privilege of seeing his emotively intense, sonically ferocious band perform live, already know that John performs at an energy level that would remind the current Bruce Springsteen of the 1970s Bruce Springsteen. The velocity of The Benefit’s frontman lights a fire underneath their already smoldering musicality. With Jeff Bella on bass, Barret Harvey on drums, Jeff Julian on guitar, and Condron taking lead vocals and guitar, The Benefit plays rock music for those seeking a reminder of the intensity of living that is available in the present. Condron’s acoustic performances, while emphasizing his quieter, lyrical side, are also rapturous. The singer plays his guitar like he’s breaking out of jail and energetically trashes about the stage with an apocalyptic earnestness and urgency.
John Condron brings the same passion and energy to conversation. I planned to discuss John Condon and The Benefit’s new album Eleventh Hour Grace, recently released by EM Press, and his own musical journey from his upbringing in Philadelphia to his migration to Chicago, where he and his band currently play with the greatest frequency outside of Joliet, which most people consider a Chicago-suburb. Condron, on the other hand, calls Chicago “just a suburb of Joliet.” Joliet is home to the Chicago St. Bar and Grill–an Irish pub that is akin to an institution for original, local music. Chicago St. is where John and I met and covered a lot of ground over a few beers and smokes.

David Masciotra: You grew up playing music in Philadelphia and planted your flag in Chicago several years ago. What influence do Philadelphia, Chicago, and Joliet have on your music? Is having a sense of place important to your music?

John Condron: It has an influence on everything I do. It has an influence on me, and my music comes from me. Philadelphia was a great, vibrant musical town to grow up in, and its rock music and rock audience was very working class. Joliet reminds me of home. It is like a neighborhood of Philadelphia. It is a great, working class town and I’ve met a lot of interesting and great people here. Our band is very working-class oriented. We don’t get much of a hipster crowd. Our music resonates with a working class audience, because we are working class musicians. I don’t make a conscious effort to be or sound “working class,” whatever that would mean. The relationship develops naturally because I can identify with my audience and they identify with me. It is a result of the process of performing.

DM: What about the Chicago scene?

JC: The Chicago scene is great. There’s a lot to be excited about here. But, it has become much more competitive over the past ten years, so much so that it is starting to remind me of out East (Philadelphia and New York).

DM: Why is that?

JC: Well, like everything else it is related to the economy. Bands that used to play the Vic and the Riv are now playing Martyrs, Schubas, and The Beat Kitchen, and that means that the bands that used to play Martyrs and The Beat Kitchen aren’t going to play there anymore. It is part of a domino effect. If people higher up on the food chain drop down a level, everyone below drops down too. Going to a live show requires people to spend money on a chance. Will I enjoy it? Will I be moved and entertained? It is a gamble, and under the current economic conditions, people aren’t willing to take that chance as much. That’s why even major superstars are having touring problems. There are also cultural changes that affect the way people listen to music. I’ve met guys in their early twenties who love music, but have never been to a live show. They have I-Pods and favorite bands, but they don’t value live performance as much as I did in Philadelphia 10-15 years ago, because now there is so much more readily available music than there was then. My friends and I lived for live music–seeing it, talking about it the next day. That was not only how we discovered new bands, and formed musical preferences, but also how we developed our own identity, and in many ways, figured out who we were and what mattered to us.

DM: Is that the value of live, original music? What would you tell those guys…What are they missing out by not seeing live music?

JC: The movement. They’re missing out on movement. Movement towards a greater emotional experience, one that is about the intensity of living and a community in the making. During the show, the music is emotive in both ways–from the band and from the audience. It is circular and that creativity and emotion becomes a catalyst for making these discoveries about yourself and gaining an understanding of what it means to become part of a moment, rather than just witness a moment. It is aesthetic and phonetic, obviously, but it is also about the movement that is created from movement. When people are moved to a deeper experience and deeper level of feeling, they can create a sub-culture when they are leaving the show.

DM: Given all the economic and cultural changes we’ve talked about, what is the future of the music “industry,” for lack of a better word, and what is the future for a young, up and coming band?

JC: The music industry is in disarray. It is in ruin. But, ruin is exciting, because the music industry was never good to begin with. All anyone ever did was bitch about it. Now the machine is breaking down, and it is more of a DIY industry. DIY is romantic, but it also carries more responsibility. You have to hustle, you have to work much harder to find an audience for your music, and you also have to be all things at once. But, all of this is exciting. Certain opportunities may have gone away, but there are now greater opportunities to define yourself as a musician, as an artist.

DM: And that’s why you do it…

JC: Oh yeah, the reasons you do it, the driving reasons behind creating and performing have always been the same, and the means of channeling your creativity and making a connection with an audience aren’t all that different. Whether it is an Mp3 or record single, we’re talking about the same thing. Rock ‘n’ roll started with singles–Elvis, The Beatles–their first releases were singles, albums came later. An Mp3 is essentially a return to that system of exchange. But, the larger point is that creativity and connectivity has to be what it is all about. Now, with the machine breaking down and promotional opportunities fading away, it has to be all about the process. If you’re not doing it for the right reasons, there isn’t a place for you anymore. There isn’t a role for you, because there isn’t much left to sell. That’s exciting. We’re going to begin to see better musicians, better songwriters, and a music scene that is more real, vibrant, and filled with people doing it for the right reasons. The musicians and the artists will have to search for new way–but their own ways–to survive. Our condition has become existence, rather than thriving. But, the increased global accessibility of music allows us to find new opportunities to reach new audiences, and in the process, again, define ourselves and our own music. We (John Condron and the Benefit) sold CDs in New Zealand recently. Not a lot of CDs. But, it is still exciting, because that’s something that even a few years ago, would have been impossible for a band like ours.

DM: What’s next for the band?

JC: We’re finding an audience for the new album, and playing as much as we can. We have shows coming up in Chicago, St. Louis, Champaign, Milwaukee, and Madison (Click here for tour dates and additional information). Through all the changes that we’ve talked about and all the challenges, the biggest thrill for me is still to have an opportunity to play my music in front of a live audience. Rock ‘n’ roll is a live vehicle, and I love being part of it.

—

John Condron put down his beer, grabbed another one, strapped on his guitar and played an acoustic set at Chicago St. to a lively, energetic crowd. Watching him play I kept going back to a comment he made over the course of our conversation–an insight that may contain the best expression of viable hope during a deadening economy and decaying culture:

“When Rome is burnt to the ground, the only thing left is going to be somebody with a guitar and somebody with a paper and pen.”