Ben Bonham: Ben's Bands

Now this is a much better outlet for my western swing tendancies. I get to play an old (1945) 'double 8' Rickenbacher (yes it was 'ch' in those days) with Bob and Barney Connolly - veterans of the Northwest scene and fine voacalists - and to top it all we have Northwest Legend Buck Smith - a sprightly Octarian who has been playing this music his whole life - including years as Merle Travis's back up guitar player. Buck is a delight - and fitter and more able than most people half his age!!!

Look for a CD release sometime in the new year.

The Bohemian Social Club
{Bohemian - socially unconventional (person), esp. artist or writer, of free-and-easy habits, manners, and sometimes morals}

Spawned from the fertile musical broth of the Columbia Gorge, The Bohemian Social Club, (once seen as the Library Blues Band) are set to become the Gorges favorite good time swamp blues party band. This 7 piece aural and visual extravaganza features local lads from local bands thrown together into an exciting, new and highly danceable chaotic mix!

The 'Club' features: Rick Hulett (Cascade Trio, Djangos Cadillac), Ben Bonham (Trashcan Joe, Stillway & Bonham), Victor Johnson, Larry Wyatt (Westside Uke Orchestra), Jeff Minnick (Paul deLay Band), Kerry Williams (Cascade Trio, Djangos Cadillac), Dennis Williams (Cascade Trio, Djangos Cadillac),

Hawaiian flavored swing from 4 of the Gorge's finest musicians - Ben Bonham, Dennis Williams, Rick Hulett & Larry Wyatt.
Featuring vintage Hawaiian Swing, Swinging Country and Hot Jazz tunes.

The CD - 'The Hapa Hillbillies, Bootleg in Paradise' is now available - see recordings for more info and how to get one

Ben Bonham and Cap'n James Cook (Trashcan Joe, The Wags).
Delta Blues and Ragtime on slide guitar and Trashcan Bass.

“Stillway and Bonham cut through the
clatter of pop music with a package that’s
part Django Reinhardt and part Rev. Gary
Davis, tied up with a ragtime bow....
Jamie Stillway not only comps big, fat, swinging and expensive jazz chords but picks with a ferocity that would make Django proud....... her technique is commanding and artful.....Ben Bonham devilishly evokes front-porch picking sessions and Hawaiian luaus with his liquid strokes but can cop a nasty swing on demand.....both guitarists are supremely accomplished”
DON CAMPBELL - THE OREGONIAN

"Top of the PDX Pops, 2004
My favorite local album this year is quite literally beyond words. The instrumental acoustic guitar duets of Stillway & Bonham won me over from the very first spin. Far from mere roadmaps for jams or collections of riffs, Ben Bonham and Jamie Stillway write real, solid, honest-to-goodness songs that just happen to have no lyrics; the duo's individual talents and sympathetic interplay are lyrical enough".
JEFF ROSENBERG - WILLAMETTE WEEK

"Certain set-ups are so simple, you know they were meant to be.......tasteful licks and solid compositions make Stillway and Bonham a guitar pickers' feast." - SING OUT MAGAZINE

"Trashcan Joe is a marvel, a wonder that defies categorization in any sort of contemporary setting. " Don Campbell, The Oregonian

Welcome to the world of Trashcan Joe...Where the sounds of homemade instruments fashioned from trashcans and washtubs are manipulated by master musicians in all their galvanized glory to work their wicked alchemy on your ear. Join us on our journey down this steely path to where the music is bold and pure, the garbage is good, and the goods are in the can. - Joe

Cap'n James Cook, inventor of the Trashcanjo (a four string banjo made out of a trashcan) needed an outlet for all the old-time jazz and folk songs he'd learned over the years. It didn't take much to rustle up some friends willing to take on this oddball assignment. Extraordinary trumpet stylist Jason Wells (March Fourth Marching Band) and slide guitar master Ben Bonham (Waikiki Steel Works) signed up to form the core group, Jason adding the flowing melodies with his vintage cornet and Ben painting the rich textures with his own home made "Trash Steel" slide guitar. Trashcan Bassist Arthur Parker completes the band with his dazling one string technique. Sometimes joined by "Squish" the musical saw player, and Jazz Accordionist Mike Danner (Belmont Street Octet), Trashcan Joe has a well rounded and always exciting sound, that appeals to everyone.

Along with two CD’s - “Trashcan Joe” and “Wrong Side of town”, TCJ scored the music for the OPB special "Zig-Zag" which explored the stories of several Portland area commuters. The motion picture "Lipstick and Dynamite" also includes TCJ music as part of the soundtrack.

REVIEWS:

Don Campbell, The Oregonian
"NOW WE'RE TALKING TRASH - Duke Ellington drew a major line in the musical sand: You either swing, or you don't. Trashcan Joe swings. Like nobody in town.....a quartet of inestimable talent, humor of the tongue-firmly-in-cheek variety, and a certain preservationist quality for the string swing that found favor in the 1920’s and ‘30’s.........Their new CD (2004), “Wrong Side Of Town”, has 15 delightful songs that jump and swing and tickle a musical funny bone. There's nothing deep or ponderous here. It's all about sweet little melodies, relaxed harmonies, and the deft execution of that darned swing music....... Trashcan Joe is a marvel, a wonder that defies categorization in any sort of contemporary setting. The one word that seems to cover the band is charm".


5 out of 5 stars
CD Baby
I couldn't be more excited to announce Trashcan Joe on CD Baby. I first heard these guys at a rooftop cocktail party in downtown Portland, Oregon. Literally having made their instruments out of trash can remnants, their unique jangle is one that stands out from its roots of dixieland, ragtime and early swing jazz. Let me tell you, as soon as these guys start thunking, picking and plucking on their modest instruments, everyone in the vicinity shuts up and dances along. Throw in some kazoo and vocals for the distinctive touch of humor and wit. There is an unmistakable genius in this catchy mix of 1920's style jazz, folk and blues that leaves all the others in the dust.

Kelly Clarke, Willamette Week
METAL MUSIC MACHINE....“folk 'n' old-timey metal music machine romps...... the dumpster-diving foursome treads lightly upon the decades......... It's as if someone is playing an old gramophone record in surround sound”.