Fans of Ben Henderson might be surprised to learn that the soft-spoken graphic artist and musician has a soft spot for one of the most critically derided sub-genres of the past 20 years: rap-rock. “There was a lot of potential there,” Henderson says with a wry smile, though it doesn’t seem like he’s kidding. The San Jose native goes on to explain, recalling an early and formative musical experience from his youth—the time he saw Salmon play Music in the Park.

Looking back, Henderson recalls how he and his best friend—both of whom started playing together in their teens—would take mental notes whenever they went to shows. And then one day it really clicked.

“We’d go see other bands and be like, ‘We could do that,’” he says. “But then when we saw Salmon we were like, ‘Whoa. Those guys are legit.’”

Henderson remembers being mesmerized by the Gilroy-spawned rap-rock quartet. “I just remember the singer and the guitar player flinging themselves across the stage with dreadlocks and braids,” he says. “It was awesome.”

Of course, Henderson didn’t go on to find success mashing up hip-hop beats and nü-metal riffs. The singer and multi-instrumentalist first earned a following fronting the funk-soul outfit Good Hustle before paring down his sound in the indie-acoustic duo Brother Grand.

These days, he’s striking out on his own—with a little help from his friends. Henderson will open for Blues Traveler this Thursday at Music in the Park.

Billed as Ben Henderson & Friends, he will take the stage with members of Good Hustle as well as David Knight—who many South Bay alt-rock fans will remember as the former singer and guitarist for Day One Symphony. After the show, the crew will move their gear over to Forager in the SoFA District for the third installment of Henderson’s month-long residency at the recently opened venue. That show starts at 9pm.

At this point, Henderson says his only real ambition with music is to keep doing it and to have fun in the process. “I have no long-term goals with my music in particular except just to keep writing songs like I always do and to play them whenever I feel like it,” he says.

That’s not to say he is backing away from creating. In fact, in recent years Henderson has doubled down on his visual art. In the process he has become one of the most visible graphic designers and sign-makers in downtown San Jose.

His hand-painted handiwork can be seen in the street-facing mural at Good Karma Artisan Ales & Café, the logo for Café Stritch, the mural inside Be the Change Yoga, and the signage above Second Story Bake Shop and Park Station Hashery. He also painted many of the signs inside the San Pedro Square Market—Crewners, Little Chef, Robee’s Falafel, and Market Beer Co., to name a few. Henderson is even responsible for the “no smoking” and “trash” and “no alcohol beyond this point” placards.

“It’s all really glamorous,” he jokingly deflects.

But it’s hard to deny Henderson’s ingenuity. In addition to designing and hand-painting logos and murals all over downtown, he also created the three-dimensional sign hanging above Five Points on Santa Clara Street, which includes what resembles the large hilt of a knife plunging into the façade.

Henderson is part of a resurgent movement in design, which favors handcrafted artisanship over machine-produced uniformity. And while he notes that exposed bricks, distressed wooden beams and wrought iron fittings are “trendy,” it’s a trend he’s happy to be a part of—especially as someone who grew up surrounded by the sprawling beige of strip malls and vinyl printed signs.

“Things got cheap and ugly for decades,” he says. “All the signs and artwork and advertisements that you see out in world are made out of plastic and lights and stuff like that. As those cheap technologies proliferated, the hand-painted, handmade, hand-carved, hand-whatever went away. So, now that we’re older and we’re just inundated with all that cheap stuff we’ve seen for years, I think that when it comes to food, art, music, we all look back romantically when things were handmade or hand-painted.”

Ben Henderson & Friends
Jul 20, 5:30pm, $10+
Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose
sjdowntown.com/music-in-the-park

In addition to hosting more than 20 local musicians throughout downtown San Jose on Saturday, Silicon Valley Sound eXperience honored local performers who have helped shape the Silicon Valley music scene with the first ever SVSX awards.

Awards were presented at a VIP party featuring music from electronic music award winner Boy Friend Academy, appetizers from Little Counter and dessert from Treatbot, and wine from Vino Vino.

Best Band
Anya & the Get Down

Hip-Hop
Dirtbag Dan

Singer/Songwriter
Ben Henderson

Drop Dead Sixty // Photo by Jessica Shirley-Donnelly

New Band
Drop Dead Sixty

Pounders // Photo by Jessica Shirley-Donnelly

Punk
Jonny Manak

Blues
Blues Angel

DJ
Cutso

Electronic
Boyfriend Academy

Folk
Kavanaugh Brothers

Avant Garde
Corpus Callosum

Longliner // Photo by Jessica Shirley-Donnelly

Alternative
Color (formerly Bell Thieves)

Jazz
Contra Ville

Latin
Cumbia Tokeson

Metal
Shadow Beat Ritual

Funk
So Timeless

Cover Band
Sage

World Beat/International
Monkey

Curious Quail // Photo by Jessica Shirley-Donnelly

There was something instantly exciting about watching the eight-piece River City Extension play the tiny Blank Club this past Sunday, especially seeing them employed such atypical rock instruments as a banjo, violin and trumpet. They played passionate, heartfelt indie-folk that was sincerely fun to watch and different from any other bands currently wearing the indie-folk label.

With barely enough room to fit everyone on stage, River City Extension brought so much energy and talent they instantly took control of the crowd. I predict this relatively obscure New Jersey band will build a solid buzz in the indie rock world within the next couple of years.

With eight people, they were free to vary their instrumentation from song to song. They played keyboards, guitars, percussion, mandolins, you name it. All the different instruments and the fun that was driving their music, made the show feel like a jamboree, similar to the infectious live shows of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. But rather than Sharpe’s freaky, hippie vibe, River City Extension played folk music that was honest, working-class and pure New Jersey rock and roll.

At times, they drifted into the quiet intensity of Fleetwood Mac or the down-and-out guttural pain of Bruce Springsteen. Their songwriting was clearly influenced by Arcade Fire—though a much more complex version of the group. They utilize dynamics to its full extent. When they reached full volume with everyone singing in union, it was a downright hootenanny, without a shred of irony or pretense.

The end of the set brought smiles to everyone’s faces. The band jumped off the stage, carrying percussion, and singing a passionate acapella song. They danced around the audience taking all the pain imbedded in their music and turning it into joy.

Local Ben Henderson, is filling in on bass with the group on this tour, opened the show with a set of his solo material. His music was well-received, as usual. River City Extension’s violinist joined him for a few songs along with Good Hustle bandmate Dan McKee.

“It’s good to be home in San Jose,” Henderson told the crowd, “If only for a day.”

Ben Henderson, who’s been out of town since the beginning of May, will pay San Jose a visit by way of New Jersey when the band he’s been playing bass for, River City Extension, makes a stop at the Blank Club this Sunday. Henderson will also be opening the show with a solo set.

River City Extension, who are well known in their home state of Jersey, are trying to broaden their national fan base by touring in support of their new album, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Your Anger. It’s a well-crafted record that stands out in the sea of indie-folk, by not just incorporating elements of country, bluegrass and pop, but also delivering some heartfelt passion and bubbling joy, as opposed to the sleepy melancholy popular with a lot of the bigger genre names like Bon Iver, Iron and Wine and Fleet Foxes.

That doesn’t meant that River City Extensions songs aren’t drenched in every bit as much pain as the aforementioned artists. It’s just delivered in a more emotionally complex package. The music at times builds from sad acoustic openers to full out hand-clapping and sing-along foot-stompers. Some songs follow the standard pop formula, but with more sophisticated instrumentation, like a cello, trumpet, mandolin and a banjo. “Welcome to Pittsburg” is a delightful hit single waiting to happen.

The band has eight members, which in the wrong hands, could be musical overkill. But Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger shows restraint and dynamics. They have grown quite a bit since their debut album by emphasizing both the Americana and pop elements. According to the band’s press release, the two biggest influences on the album were Townes Van Zandt and Feist. It shows.

The range, both lyrically and musically is impressive, but what the album most has going for it is that it’s fun, full of joy and has plenty of working-class Jersey soul.

River City Extension perform at the Blank Club in San Jose on Sunday, June 17, at 8pm; $10.

Boboso (aka Bob Vielma) is known primarily as the go-to South Bay punk rock bassist. He’s played in Shinobu, Yulia, The High Sea, The Bears and several others throughout the past decade. But quietly over the past year, he’s recorded a killer hip hop mixtape that is at least as good as anything most of the other South Bay rappers have put out. He recently released a hilarious, low-budget video for the song “Ya Boy Boboso” to accompany the release.

What people may not know about Vielma is that is roots have always been in hip hop. Before he ever picked up a bass, he formed the hip hop crew, the Rap$callions back in high school. They openly flaunted their nerdiness and heir topics of choice were either too dumb for any respectable rapper (love for burgers and fries) or they went the complete opposite direction, as in an exaggerated, sarcastic version of “real” rap, with subject like money and ho’s.

This was all before nerdcore gained national recognition. A few years down the road they changed their name to the Chillin Dogs and improved their beats and rap skills to the point of being a legitimately good rap group, though no less silly.

Now that Vielma has returned to rap as a solo artist, he has refined his over-the-top lyrics, his flow, and his genuinely interesting production work. His upcoming mixtape features a lot of other non-hip hop South Bay musicians too—people like Ben Henderson and Mark Guerrero, from the pop punk band the Pillowfights.

“Ya Boy Boboso” is a simple hip hop tune with a cool piano loop and an instantly catchy chorus. The content is one big long brag about how every girl in the entire world “knows about ya boy Boboso.” The video only emphasizes the ridiculousness of the song by placing Vielma in front of a green screen while he raps over old black and white footage. Vielma mimics standard rap poses with ease, but throws in some goofy dancing to remind viewers what a ridiculous song they’re listening to—just in case in case they forgot.

There were so many different slices of San Jose’s nightlife present at San Pedro Square Market this past Saturday night. It wasn’t just because it was Save Alternative’s Daydream Nation’s kickoff show. Really, it was just the perfect venue for Saturday’s show.

There were different rooms for different people—a bar for people looking to hook up, a patio outside for friends wanting to hang out and chat, a place to eat for families and couples and of course a cozy spot to watch the bands. Everyone could hang out together under one roof and get exactly what they wanted. Since everybody seems to be hanging out at San Pedro Square anyway, hopefully they will be doing a whole lot more shows like this there in the future.

Ben Henderson was the main support for the concert. He put on yet another amazing show, performing most songs just him and his guitar, though he had the occasional accompaniment of a backing vocalist, a banjo player and a drummer on two songs. Henderson’s voice has gotten so fierce in the past year and a half that he can command a crowd all alone just as well, if not better, than a four piece rock band. This was Henderson’s farewell show before hitting the road for a month where he will be playing all over the country without a backing band, which explains the decision for him to not bring a full band to the San Pedro Square Market. He wanted to try his act out on a hometown crowd first.

The headliners, Dogcatcher, played a laidback blend of soul, jazz and melodic indie rock. When I interviewed them a few weeks ago they told me that they were a “rhythm section oriented band,” something not apparent on their folksy debut album, KILR, but live, it was crystal clear, this is a band that likes to groove. Even the songs on KILR were reworked to give it a dancey edge. The bass and drums locked into a solid groove while the guitar and organ layered sounds and harmonies over the top. Andrew Heine’s breathy vocals and introspective lyrics were the final touch, creating something artful and original.

Ben Henderson, one of San Jose’s most beloved singer-songwriters, is departing on an unexpected month long nationwide tour in June with New Jersey indie-folk band, River City Extension. The most unexpected part of it is that Henderson will be playing in River City Extension, filling in for their bass/banjo player, though he will get to open most of the shows with a solo set of his own music.

This was completely out of left field for Henderson, mostly because he only met the band one time. It was Billy O’Brien from Save Alternative that set this up. Originally from Jersey, O’Brien also manages River City Extension. When their bass/banjo player suddenly informed them that he couldn’t go on the road this summer, they weren’t sure what to do. O’Brien suggested Henderson. What really sold the band was seeing clips of his mastery of multiple instruments in his free-form funk outfit, Good Hustle. O’Brien told the band, “You guys need a bass player and Ben needs to go out on the road and promote his music.” It was perfect.

Henderson is playing his farewell show this Saturday at the San Pedro Square (a show that O’Brien just so happens to be putting on). He leaves for New Jersey this Tuesday so he can spend a month rehearsing with River City Extension (and maybe get to know them) before hitting the road.

River City Extension plays the Blank Club on June 17th. Ben Henderson plays solo at San Pedro Square on April 28th.

Ben Henderson – Summer Beast (live, in a living room)

River City Extension – Nautical Sabbatical:

Metro Newspaper’s Best of 2012 issue hit new stands today, highlighting a variety of local talent selected online by readers. From cutting-edge DJs, to old-school blues and cover bands, this is the best of Silicon Valley.

READER’S PICKS

Best Local Cover Band
The Peelers
Considering how long it’s been automatic for DJs, it’s remarkable how long it took cover bands to catch on to the mash-up concept. The Peelers were, in fact, the first ones we heard doing it, and according to our readers, they’re still the best. Whether it’s layering T.I. raps over Tim McGraw or sliding from ’80s pop to hip-hop, the Peelers are monster mashers.
Runners-up:
Joe Sharino
Sage

Best Local Original Band
JC Smith Band
It’s about time one of the South Bay’s most talented bluesmen got his due. What’s led to his jump in popularity all of a sudden? We’d be willing to bet it’s Smith’s profile-raising stint as leader of the all-star blues band that grew out of the Metro Fountain Blues Festival. Whether it is his fellow blues artists who sign on to play with him or the fans who vaulted him to the top of this category, the South Bay loves the group.
Runners-up:
Whiskey Avengers
Anya & the Get Down

Best Singer/Songwriter
Anya
Anya Kvitka’s rise in the South Bay scene has been a perfect storm. Her vocal gifts went fully operational at the same time she came into her own as a songwriter, brought together a killer band for Anya and the Get Down, and found the support of some of the most influential people in the hip-hop scene. The songs she has been working on for her album show her new level of confidence, projecting her voice across genre boundaries and creating a sound that’s both classic and electro-futuro.
Runners-up:
Ben Henderson
Justin Morales