Incubus, Roots musician goes 'Deeper'

As published in The Eagle on 11.06

At a time when most college kids are struggling to pass final exams and finding a job, Ben Kenney, the bass player for Incubus and former guitarist for The Roots, was already a professional musician.

"It [beats midterms] ... until you have to carry a bass amplifier up four flights of stairs to your apartment," Kenney said, who will perform at the Black Cat Sunday. "Doing that night after night for 50 bucks here and there, playing covers ... that was my college." 

Kenney's musical education began at age eight, when his dad gave him a drum set. But Kenney didn't limit himself to the drums for long. His parents would host jam sessions where he, his brothers and cousins would play for hours, switching instruments and giving Kenney a chance to experiment with other sounds.

"Where I grew up, everyone played everything," he said. "It wasn't unusual at all. You'd get laughed at if you couldn't hold down a beat on the drum set."

Kenney put his childhood jam sessions to work on his newest solo album, "Distance and Comfort." Released earlier this year, it features Kenney on all of the instruments and vocals. He mixed and produced it in his living room.

Though Kenney praised his experience with other bands, noting the growth and new perspective he gained from his time with acclaimed hip-hop group The Roots as well as the past five years with Incubus, he said creating a solo album was a good chance to learn new skills and "exorcise his demons."

Kenney also noted the added bonus of efficiency when recording a project entirely on his own.

"I don't ever have to explain anything to anyone, there's no social aspect," he said. "It's strictly going in and working."

Though it was a hefty project, Kenney called it a "low risk" endeavor compared to creating a record with Incubus.

"Knowing that there's billions of people across the world who are going to judge that record? That's pressure," he said. "For me, [solo projects are] no pressure. A lot of people look at it like it's something extra."

Being a drummer on 10 songs is what ends up becoming exhausting, he said.

"The easiest thing to do is to pay for it," he said.

But Kenney's creativity rarely gets exhausted. He called his writing and recording process a constant in his life, whether in the studio with Incubus or on tour promoting his own record.

"The faucet never turns off," he said. "This year I toured a bunch ... and I already have music written for the next record. Hopefully I'll write 10 more."

Kenney said he would rather pen a melody instead of a set of lyrics. He praised the ability to make a statement without words. But Kenney also acknowledged the challenges unique to singing. 

"Singing is the most intimate," he said. "Playing drums ... you can do when you don't feel like it and you can get away with it. For singing, you kind of have to deliver emotion ... or it goes south fast."

Still, Kenney's comfort zone is in the instruments and sounds he's heard and performed since elementary school. But he doesn't draw boundaries between genres of music; Kenney said he doesn't see that much of a difference. He compared it to the difference between playing hip-hop and rock.

"To me, it's the difference between playing a slow song and a fast song," he said. "It's just music."