Music & Life with Dub Apocalypse and Tommy Benedetti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dub Apocalypse and Tommy Benedetti.

Dub and Tommy, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I moved to Boston in 1991 to attend Berklee College of Music and to continue studying drums. After I finished at Berklee, I joined The Tribulations, a Reggae Rock band out of Ithaca, NY. I toured with that band for about a year and a half, then out of that band breaking up, John Brown’s Body was formed. I have been with JBB since then (over 20 years), touring all over the world and releasing 11 records. Dub Apocalypse formed initially as an outlet for my friends and I to get together and play, experiment, and knock some ideas around when we all got back from tour. We started with a weekly residency at Matt Murphy’s Pub in Brookline.DA has always been kind of like a collective of players. We have core members, but also a circle of some of Boston heavy hitters who join us often, which can give each show a unique vibe depending on who’s in the lineup. Some of our frequent collaborators are Dana Colley (Morphine), Tucker Antell, DJ Mister Rourke (Club d”Elf) and Amy Bellamy (The A Beez).

We have become a pretty full on working band in the last few years, playing all over New England, releasing 2 records, holding down a Sunday night residency for eight years at Bull McCabes in Somerville, and winning a couple of Boston Music Awards. The core lineup that writes and records the music is me (Tommy Benedetti) on drums, Van Martin on guitar, Johnny Trama on guitar, Timo Shanko on tenor sax and Aaron Bellamy on bass.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I guess Dub Apocalypse’s music falls under the umbrella of Reggae/Dub. Although if you come and see us live, you’ll also hear improvisation, experimentation, and maybe even some Zappa.or Sabbath.or Funkadelic. Our music draws inspiration from the great Reggae and Dub music from the 1970s and 80s out of Jamaica and the UK. When I mention dub, I’m speaking of a specific style of Reggae that focuses on the drums and bass, is stark, and very expansive. So, we put an emphasis on thick heavy drum and bass but also are really into the compositional side of music. Melody, harmony, and arrangements are also very important to our sound, especially since we are mostly an instrumental band. We all spend a ton of time listening to and playing music. Music of all kinds. Bartok, Coltrane, Hendrix, Dub Syndicate. Even after being professional musicians for over 20 years, we are still learning, still discovering new music and trying to bring that excitement into the music of Dub Apocalypse

Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I think the conditions for the most part, are the same that they’ve been for a while now. Musicians don’t get paid vacation, sick days, insurance, raises.etc. And it seems like every month or so, another venue that supports live music is closing. That’s pretty discouraging. But it makes me appreciate places like Bull McCabes and the people who come to see us week after week, year after year, even more. It’s not easy to be a small business owner. So, I give huge props and support to those places that manage to give a platform to musicians on top of all of the other things that they deal with. I’ve lived in Somerville/Cambridge area for a long time, and we are lucky to still have a bunch of killer venues here. Bull, Lizard, Toad, Atwoods, The Plough, Sally’s and a bigger venue like The Sinclair, which we’ve played a bunch of times. I’m thankful to have the scene that we do.There are so many killer players in town,and we’re hustling and making it work.I think it’s important for people to go out and support local,live music when they can.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Dub Apocalypse plays all over New England. You can find our dates at www.dubapocalypse.com or find us on Facebook. We have a long-running weekly residency every Sunday night at Bull McCabes in Union Square, Somerville. I highly recommend coming out to Bull. It’s a really special place and the owner, Brian Manning, has been incredibly supportive to us and the local music scene in general. We play from 10:15 to 12:45. We also have a new record that came out on June 1 called FROZEN PLANET. It is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon Music and streaming on Spotify. We very much appreciate the support!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dubapocalypse.com
• Phone: 6177972263
• Email: Sign up for our newsletter! management@dubapocalypse.com

Image Credit:
Band photo-Mike Spencer, Album Cover-Doug Sirios

Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.