Benmont Tench Live in the Studio

Summary

All Of It - Episode Summary: Benmont Tench Live in the Studio

Release Date: February 21, 2025
Host: David Fuerst (in place of Alison Stewart)
Guest: Benmont Tench, Co-founder of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

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1. Welcome and Introduction

David Fuerst kicks off the episode by introducing Benmont Tench, renowned keyboardist and co-founder of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Tench is in the studio to perform tracks from his upcoming solo album, The Melancholy Season, set for release on March 7, 2025. Additionally, listeners are informed about Tench's debut performances at Cafe Carlyle in Manhattan, spanning two nights.

2. Benmont Tench's Musical Journey

Benmont Tench shares insights into his illustrious career, highlighting his foundational role in shaping the Heartbreakers' sound with his signature organ and piano work. Reflecting on his decade-long hiatus from solo projects, Tench expresses excitement about returning to the spotlight:

Benmont Tench [00:16]: "I'm here with us in WNYC's Studio 5 and at the piano. Welcome Benmont Tench."

3. Performance of "The Melancholy Season"

The conversation begins musically as Tench performs the title track of his forthcoming album, The Melancholy Season. The live rendition showcases his emotive piano skills and sets the tone for the album's contemplative themes.

Benmont Tench [02:11]: "This is called the Melancholy Season."

4. The Inspiration Behind the Title Track

Delving into the creative process, Tench discusses the genesis of "The Melancholy Season." Initially conceived as free verse, the lyrics evolved into a song influenced by his experiences in Tarzana, California, where the changing seasons and the visibility of the constellation Orion inspired profound reflections on time and emotion.

Benmont Tench [06:30]: "I wrote out a long form... a window into putting a melody to it... it's very evident. It was dark enough that when the seasons changed... Orion would appear in the sky."

5. Debut at Cafe Carlyle: A Special Milestone

Tench expresses the significance of debuting at the esteemed Cafe Carlyle, a venue known for its intimate and revered performances. Despite initial nerves and the looming pressure of live solo performances after a hiatus, Tench finds the experience immensely rewarding.

Benmont Tench [08:06]: "Absolutely. You know, when I found out that I could play at Cafe Carlisle, I was knocked out."

6. Overcoming Personal Challenges and Their Impact

A poignant segment of the interview touches on Tench's recent health struggles, including a severe fall and a battle with oral cancer. These experiences have profoundly affected his perspective on life and his approach to music, fostering a sense of resilience and humor.

Benmont Tench [10:53]: "I've been dealing with the cancer for like 12 years... it was a really big deal. So hopefully it's made me unafraid because, you know, plenty can happen and more can happen."

7. Reflecting on the First Solo Album vs. the New Release

Comparing his first solo endeavor to The Melancholy Season, Tench highlights the differences in production and creative approach. His debut album was produced by legendary engineer Glen Johns, fostering a comfortable and collaborative environment. In contrast, his latest work with producer Jonathan Wilson emphasizes a minimalist, tape-based recording technique that brings a fresh sound to his music.

Benmont Tench [13:44]: "It's very different... he's got the old analog tape, does that. It makes a huge difference in the sound."

8. Collaborations and Choices in the Music Industry

Tench reflects on his extensive collaborations with iconic artists like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and Stevie Nicks. His reputation as a sought-after musician stems from his exceptional talent and the memorable performances that have become synonymous with classic tracks.

Benmont Tench [16:13]: "People say, get me that guy. Get me that guy."

9. Live Performance Insights

Discussing his live performances, Tench emphasizes the versatility required when transitioning from a full band setup to a solo piano arrangement. He explores how major songs like "American Girl" can be reinterpreted to fit a more intimate setting without losing their essence.

Benmont Tench [25:45]: "A really great song usually doesn't need anything. So if I have just those chords and just that melody and just those words, then I can play it any way I want to."

10. Upcoming Album and Future Performances

As the episode nears its conclusion, Tench performs additional tracks from his new album, including "Like Crystal" and "Under the Starlight." He expresses immense gratitude for the opportunity to release his music on George Harrison's Dark Horse Records label, aligning himself with a legacy of remarkable artists.

Benmont Tench [21:31]: "They always put out great stuff, you know, they always put out really great music."

11. Conclusion

David Fuerst wraps up the episode by reiterating the release date of The Melancholy Season and encouraging listeners to attend Tench's live performances at Cafe Carlyle. The heartfelt interactions and moving performances leave both the host and guest visibly touched, underscoring the emotional depth of Tench's musical journey.

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This episode of All Of It with WNYC offers an intimate glimpse into Benmont Tench's artistic evolution, personal resilience, and the soulful melodies that define his latest work. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to his music, Tench's heartfelt storytelling and captivating performances make for a compelling listen.

Transcript

[Benmont Tench]

Listener support WNYC Studios.

[David Fuerst]

This is all of it. I'm David Fuerst in for Alison Stewart, live from the WNYC studios in soho. On today's show, Eddie Chacon joins us for a listening party for his most recent album, Lay Low. We'll talk with Andy Gosnell, assistant food editor at Food and Wine, about great meals to cook when it is cold outside. And we'll speak with the curator at the New York Historical about a new exhibit about Flocko, the Eurasian eagle owl who spent a year living above Manhattan. That's the plan. So let's get this started with the man behind this band's signature keyboard sou. Benmont Tench is a co founder of the Heartbreakers with Tom Petty. And when I think of keyboard players in rock bands, I probably think first of Benmont Tench and his organ and piano work that helped define so much of the music from that incredible band. And this week, he made his debut at Cafe Carlisle in Manhattan. He's performing there through Saturday, so you can still catch shows tonight and tomorrow. And he's gearing up for a new solo album out March 7, called the Melancholy Season. It is his first in over a decade and he is here with us in WNYC's Studio 5 and at the piano. Welcome Ben Montinch.

[Benmont Tench]

Hi. Thanks for having me.

[David Fuerst]

It is so great to have you here. And can we just get started with some music? Maybe something from the new album?

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah. I'll play the, as they say, the title song.

[David Fuerst]

Okay.

[Benmont Tench]

This is called the Melancholy Season.

[Eddie Chacon]

Adjusting to the fading light My eyes dilate in the hollow Sit out light in falling night so still against the shadows the constant tribulations rise and spin the planets start their courses Orion's on the threshold now the melancholy season is upon us Eternal way within yourself A place forbidden to me I'm jealous of the air that you breathe the claws that wrap your body the eucalyptus creaks and sighs the wind whips round the compass Orion holds his arm up high the melancholy season is upon us.

[Benmont Tench]

I'll.

[Eddie Chacon]

Hold her now but live further on than one long day we're given.

[Benmont Tench]

Between.

[Eddie Chacon]

The opening of our eyes and the last time that we close them what would I give to turn the track of time to match our traces Orion cries out from the black the melancholy season is upon us Orion cries out from the black the melancholy season is upon us.

[David Fuerst]

Ben Monte and the Melancholy Season, the title track of your soon to be released album coming out March 7th. And we begin gazing up at the heavens Orion cries Out from the black the melancholy season is upon us Striking image. Can you talk about the writing of this song?

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah, I wrote out a long form. Not really a poem, just some kind of free verse. Just spontaneous whatever was in my mind at one point. And a couple years later, I looked at it and I found a window into putting a melody to it and completely rewrote it as one does. And at the house I used to live in in Tarzana, California, it was very evident. It was dark enough that when the seasons changed and it became colder and moods changed, the constellation Orion would appear in the sky. And sometimes as a friend and sometimes as a warning, you know. But that's what goes on in the song. I told somebody it was about this, that, and the other. And then I thought about it and I realized not every time I play it, it's about something else.

[David Fuerst]

Well, there's some very specific images in the song, but there's also just the power of that feeling. The melancholy season is upon us.

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah, it can be a pretty powerful feeling. It can be. Well, it always affects me, but it's not a song about seasonal affective disorder.

[David Fuerst]

It's beautiful.

[Benmont Tench]

Thank you.

[David Fuerst]

Thank you for playing it today.

[Benmont Tench]

Thank you.

[David Fuerst]

I want to talk about you making your debut at Cafe Carlisle on Tuesday. This is a pretty revered space. Does this feel like a special moment in your solo career?

[Benmont Tench]

Absolutely. You know, when I found out that I could play at Cafe Carlisle, I was knocked out. And I found out several months ago. And I've been kind of trying not to freak out because I haven't played solo since October of 23. I haven't played any shows. And so, okay, let's go to New York City and play Cafe Carlyle. No pressure.

[David Fuerst]

Jumping off the deep end there.

[Benmont Tench]

Obscure little dive in, like, some town nobody's ever heard of. So let's go in. It has been wonderful. Just wonderful.

[David Fuerst]

You begin the night in an interesting way with a little Gilbert and Sullivan reading the lyrics to I Am the Very Model from the Pirates of Penzance. Can you talk about that choice and its meaning to you?

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah, I don't always start like that, but I was looking up some exercises for diction the other day, and there was, like, Betty Bottleworth bashed some bottles into, you know, whatever. And then there was I am the Very Model of Modern Major General. And I'm like, wait a minute. And I started saying it. I. In 2023, I thought I'd had a rough enough year. Right before New Year's Eve. In 22, I slipped on the ice at the Woolman Rink, ice skating, thinking, I can do this. I hadn't ice skated in 50 years. I don't recommend it. I broke my pelvis, I broke my hip. I thought, okay, this is it, great start to the year. I had some oral cancer, return a month later, they got rid of that. They say, you're fine, you're good to go. So I go to Florida, see my family and friends, come back in August and they take a look at me and go, oh, by the way, we're taking you in in October and taking half your jaw out. I'm like, you got it. They said, yeah, you got cancer in your jaw. So they took my jaw out October 23rd, the same week that this record was going to come out. And my wife and my doctors and my daughter were champs and got me through it and I'm fine. I've got a little bit of a lisp and sometimes if I don't practice, I am the very model. I sound like suffer and succotash, but you know, it's getting better.

[David Fuerst]

That's nice that you have a sense of humor.

[Benmont Tench]

Well, hey man, I mean, I'm here. My daughter, the other day, the other night I said, geez, Katherine, why did this happen? Not self pitying, just Katherine, why did this happen? She looked at me and went, so you would live, papa. And she was on to the next thing. It's like out of the mouths of babes. Yeah, I'm here.

[David Fuerst]

Has that changed your outlook at all, the experience of this past couple of years?

[Benmont Tench]

I think so. I've been dealing with the cancer for like 12 years, but this time was a really big deal. So hopefully it's made me unafraid because, you know, plenty can happen and more can happen. But hey, you know, there's no reason to be afraid of anything.

[David Fuerst]

Well, it's great to have you here with us in the studio today and performing in New York City this week. Your last solo album came out over a decade ago, right? Did you expect a full 11 years to pass before you put out another one?

[Benmont Tench]

No, I didn't. I was hoping I would be able to make it about five years afterwards because I had a lot of the songs, not all of them, but a lot of them. But, you know, life intervened. Tom passed away and Tom Petty, of course.

[David Fuerst]

Yes.

[Benmont Tench]

And Alice and I had our daughter Catherine and that changes. Both of those events were within three months of each other and that changed everything. And then when my daughter had just turned 2, the pandemic happened. So everything Got shook around and we had to wait.

[David Fuerst]

Yeah, that's a lot.

[Benmont Tench]

That's a lot.

[David Fuerst]

You have so much experience in the music industry. You've made and played on so many albums. But I want to go back to that first solo album. What was that like? This was your first solo album after all those years? Was that a new learning experience for you, or did this just feel like making any other album?

[Benmont Tench]

No, it didn't feel like making any other record, but it was very comfortable. The producer was Glen Johns, who's a legend as an engineer and producer.

[David Fuerst]

Absolutely. You name it, he's produced them. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the who, Led Zeppelin.

[Benmont Tench]

He's engineered or produced them all. And he was the recording engineer on the Kings. He really got me. And on My Generation for the who.

[David Fuerst]

Wow.

[Benmont Tench]

So you can go on and on and on. Give Me Shelter by the Rolling Stones, all of this stuff.

[David Fuerst]

So this was a comfortable.

[Benmont Tench]

And he's an old dear friend of mine. We can't even remember where we first met. It's like that. So when he said, if you'd like to make a record, I'm down for it, I took him up on it. And the musicians were all really, really good friends of mine who had come over to the house and played the songs a few times, some of them just for fun, not intending to record. It was very comfortable.

[David Fuerst]

Well, your new album is produced by Jonathan Wilson.

[Benmont Tench]

Yes.

[David Fuerst]

Who's also worked with Father John, Misty, Roger Waters, the Dawes. How did the process compare when you look at those two producers and their different styles?

[Benmont Tench]

Well, it was very different. The most important thing to me was that he's a great producer, Jonathan, as is Glenn, but he works on tape, he records on tape, and to me, that's a big difference.

[David Fuerst]

As opposed to just recording everything digitally on computer. And he's got the old analog tape does that. That makes a huge difference for you in terms of just the sound.

[Benmont Tench]

It makes a huge difference in the sound. But also, you're limited. You can't do endless takes of things.

[David Fuerst]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah. And so you have to do it right. You don't have a net to fall back on and you run out of room to do overdubs. You can't go, I want to put five more guitars. It's like, you can't. Sorry, buddy, we don't have five guitar players here. You can't. Also, the first album, you should be so lucky. I had about eight musicians, sometimes at once. This one, the most we had were me, one guitar, bass, and Drums and that. That makes it different.

[David Fuerst]

Did you feel it like a different space in that recording with the minimalist approach?

[Benmont Tench]

Very different, though. Glenn Johns gets a lot of space out of with even eight instruments. But in this case, since there were so few, we went back and put some overdubs and layered it a bit. But some of these tracks are just piano or just piano and upright bass.

[David Fuerst]

You have played on so many albums, and I know I was doing some name dropping there with Glyn Johns, but you've recorded with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, so many more. I imagine your Rolodex is impressive. There are some names in there. So how do you pick who you want to work with on an album?

[Benmont Tench]

I've been so ridiculously fortunate and I just. If a friend of mine is producing it and I trust them on the choice of the artist, if it's somebody I haven't heard of, or if it's a friend of mine making the record or. It's crazy. I get phone calls to play on a Rolling Stone song, or a phone call to play with Bob, or a phone call to do this. If I didn't keep my head straight, it wouldn't give me a big head. It would freak me out, you know, because I'm a giant fan of all of those folks. And what happened for me was I loved Tom Petty's writing and voice from the first time I saw him in a band called Mud Crutch. He and Mike Campbell and Tom Leddon and Randall Marsh. I followed them around Gainesville, Florida, like a fan. And eventually I joined the band that I was a fan of. And he was such a good songwriter that the key was when the time came, people heard me playing. We had a producer who turned me up. People heard what I was playing, but they associated me with great songs. So they went, I want the guy that played on Refugee. But I feel like anybody who played on Refugee would have been great because it's such a great song. How can you go wrong? But I'm the one that played on it. So people say, get me that guy.

[David Fuerst]

Get me that guy. Well, we're so happy to have that guy with us here. We're going to hear some more music in just a moment. We have to take a quick break. We're speaking with Ben Montinch here on All Of It. This is wnyc. This is all of It. I'm David Furston for Alison Stewart. We are here with Benmont Tench, co founder of the Heartbreakers with Tom Petty. He has a new solo album coming out March 7th called the Melancholy, and he's playing at Cafe Carlisle in Manhattan this week. Still another couple of shows left. One tonight, one tomorrow night. And Benmont, can we hear another piece of music? Something else from the new album?

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah, I'm gonna play a song called Like Crystal. Oh, excuse me. It's like Crystal, as in clear as crystal, not like crystal meth.

[David Fuerst]

Okay.

[Benmont Tench]

Unless that's your poison.

[David Fuerst]

Okay. Like crystal.

[Benmont Tench]

It's about poison.

[Eddie Chacon]

Hello, stranger, don't I know you from around? It's been a little while. Yes, it's been a while but it's like crystal now. Should have known you come around to raise my blood again Drag me down again down those ancient halls the paint peeling off the walls and falling on the ground Littered on the ground broken promises should have known they wouldn't stand the lie they're kicking round now you're back around. Oh, let your tresses down Come and fly into my arms I've missed you oh, so much. Oh, throw your ways around Level me to senselessness ashamed and whimpering. You dainty little things how much sorrow can you bring? Oh, let your dresses down. Come and fly into my arms I've missed you oh, so much. Oh, throw your weight around Level me to senselessness ashamed and whimpering. You dance here, little thing. How much sorrow can you bring? But I've been wondering on that incandescent stuff, which inside the spring which inside us sings such a little thing but of consequence enough it bears a recollection, it bears a reckoning. It bears a reckoning. It begs a reckoning. It begs a reckoning and I hear one beckoning.

[David Fuerst]

Ben Montench and Like Crystal performed live in the studio here on wnyc. The actual studio performance of that will be on your new album, the Melancholy Season, coming out on March 7th. And thank you for performing with us today. And I have to mention, this is coming out. Your new album is coming out on Dark Horse Records.

[Benmont Tench]

Yes.

[David Fuerst]

Which. This is the label that was founded by George Harrison back in the mid-70s. How does it feel having this come out on George Harrison's label?

[Benmont Tench]

I'm knocked out. I am just knocked out because they always put out great stuff, you know, they always put out really great music. And to be among the folks that they put out and have put out, and to be with Danny and Olivia and David Zahnshein, all of whom are.

[David Fuerst]

Friends of mine, George's wife and his son.

[Benmont Tench]

Yes. And also to be on a record label that has George Harrison's Vibe on it is remarkable.

[David Fuerst]

There's this incredible video of you. I have to mention this because I just love watching stuff like this, where you're showing all of the gear that you were using on the Heartbreaker's 40th anniversary tour. You've got your Wilitzer Wurlitzer keyboard, the Hammond C3 organ, a modified rotating Leslie cabinet, a Steinway piano, a Vox continental organ. I mean, this is just. You're surrounded by the stuff.

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah, it's gone.

[David Fuerst]

And now in these performances here in the studio today and at Cafe Carlisle, all of that stuff is stripped away. Right. You're with your piano, of course, but how does it feel to be on stage without all of that gear around you?

[Benmont Tench]

Well, to do this stuff, it's to play solo, you just need a piano. I used to play a little bit of guitar sometimes because some of the songs I thought were really suitable to the guitar, but it was awkward, so I'm just playing them on piano. I like it, but the reason I had all of those set up, you can easily get something digital that evokes all of those. And if you want to play a different instrument, you program it into a different part of the keyboard or you push a button. But I always admired Garth Hudson, who was the organist and accordionist and saxophonist for the band with Levon and Robbie and Richard and Rick. And he was surrounded. And my friend Steve Naive, who plays with Elvis Costello, is also often surrounded. And what it is is that. That way, if in the middle of a song, I have an idea, I just reach over to the right and I go, well, I wonder what it would sound like with this texture. I just reach over and there it is, like by my right hand. Or I turn around and there's a Vox Continental behind me and I sit down and there's a grand piano. It's like. It's all there. It's wonderful. It was really. It was a privilege. Most people can't do it. They don't have a room or whatever. But from day one with the Heartbreakers, we asked the promoter to provide us with some kind of a real piano.

[David Fuerst]

It's even better if somebody else is the one who's carrying all that stuff for you.

[Benmont Tench]

Well, yeah. Well, yeah, you know, I mean, I almost didn't wind up playing with Tom and Mike because the first time they asked me to sit in, after I'd followed them around, I went into the garage at my parents house and tried to pick my portable organ up and put it in the station wagon. It was so heavy, terrible. I looked at it and I went, eh. They say they want me to sit in, but they're just bored. I can leave it here and just go watch them play. And there was a split second decision. I remember it absolutely. Of looking down at the far FISA organ and going, ah, what the hell. And hoisting it into my mom's station wagon.

[David Fuerst]

We are all happy that you did.

[Benmont Tench]

Well, I'm happy I did because I wouldn't be here, you know, my life would have been entirely different if I had. If I'd gone, that's too heavy.

[David Fuerst]

It's incredible, those little moments.

[Benmont Tench]

It's wild.

[David Fuerst]

Those little moments you remember. And, oh, what if I didn't make that decision that day?

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah. A split second decision.

[David Fuerst]

I read a review mentioning that you played American Girl at Cafe Carlisle. This is. Do you still enjoy playing Heartbreaker's material?

[Eddie Chacon]

Yes.

[Benmont Tench]

He's such a wonderful songwriter and so is Mike Campbell. They wrote a lot of songs together. A lot of the best known songs were written with Tom and Mike, our guitar player, who also has a band called the Dirty Knobs. And they're really good. But to play those songs, they're so good and I love playing them. I really love playing them and finding a different way into them and looking for a different meaning in the lyric.

[David Fuerst]

I mean, how do you keep it fresh? How do you approach playing American Girl when it's just you at the piano? This is obviously a huge band production on the album.

[Benmont Tench]

You know, it's such a good song that if he played it for you on the guitar and shows you the song, you just go, what a great song. It doesn't need anything. Like, a really great song usually doesn't need anything. And so if I have just those chords and just that melody and just those words, then I can play it any way I want to. Boogie Woogie or as a really slow, quiet piece, which is how I've been playing it.

[David Fuerst]

Can you give us maybe 30 seconds of the kind of feel that it has some.

[Eddie Chacon]

Well, she was an American girl Based on promises she couldn't help thinking that there was a little more life somewhere else after all it was a great big world with lots of places to run to yeah. If she had desire trying she had one little promise she was gonna keep oh, yeah all right. Take it easy, baby. She was an American girl.

[David Fuerst]

Wow.

[Benmont Tench]

What a song.

[David Fuerst]

Oh, Ben Montench, thank you so much for being here today. Can we hear one more song to wrap up?

[Benmont Tench]

Sure.

[David Fuerst]

You're going to be playing at Cafe Carlisle in Manhattan tonight. And tomorrow, you've been having a residency there this week. Your new solo album, the Melancholy Season, is out on March 7th. And woof. Ben Montage, thank you so much for joining us today on all of it. I'm trying not to cry over here after that.

[Benmont Tench]

Yeah, me too. Every night. Thank you.

[David Fuerst]

What are you gonna play here?

[Benmont Tench]

I am going to play a song called under the Starlight. And I'm looking for the first page because I know these words, but I.

[David Fuerst]

Know I won't under the starlight. This is one of the pieces on your new album, the Melancholy Season. And look for it coming out on March 7th so you can hear the full band takes of these songs.

[Benmont Tench]

Thanks for having me, David.

[Eddie Chacon]

Bring me your sorrows. Bring me your troubles. Bring me the devils that howl at your door. Bring me your wishes and all that you long for. All that you run from and all you adore. Let them fall away. Fall where they may. You can walk away from it all. There's nothing to hurt you and nothing to help you. Under the starlight the cradles us all. I had a lover. The kindest of lovers. She brightens my hours with laughter and light. And when it was over as all will be over. I gather the ashes up to the night. And let them fall away. Fly where they may. Just follow the way they fall. There's nothing to help you and nothing to hurt you. Under the starlight that cradles us all. And when comes the hour? The terrible hour? The wonderful hour that comes to us all? May I wake from my slumber and rise without terror. To stand at the gateway. There once was a wall. As it falls away Becomes what it may. Just follow the way it falls. There's nothing to hurt you and nothing to help you. Under the starlight that cradles us all. No, nothing can hurt you. And nothing can help you. Under the starlight that cradles us all.

[David Fuerst]

Ben Montene, Your new solo album, the Melancholy Season is out on March 7th. You're at Cafe Carlisle tonight and tomorrow. Thank you so much for joining us on all of it.

[Benmont Tench]

You're very welcome again. Thank you for having me.