Ben Kenney Biography

Musical artist

Benjamin Lee Kenney Sr. (born March 12, 1977) is an American musician from Brielle, New Jersey. From 2003 to 2023 he was the b*ist for the band Incubus and had previously played in the Roots as a guitarist. He also records as a solo artist, usually recording every instrument and singing all vocals on his records.

Career

Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group the Roots before he joined Incubus in 2003 after the departure of the b* guitarist and founding member Alex Katunich (aka Dirk Lance). He had previously played with Incubus members Mike Einziger and Jose Pasillas in Time Lapse Consortium. By the end of 2023 he had left the band having spent most of the year in recovery from brain tumor surgery and thus unable to participate in their touring.

Kenney plays at least six different instruments and sometimes plays drum duets with Incubus' drummer Jose Pasillas live on-stage.

He has also done studio work for artists including Justin Timberlake, Faith Evans, Erykah Badu and Blackalicious, and producers Timbaland and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

26, Maduro, Distance and Comfort and "Burn the Tapes" were all released by Kenney's own record company, Ghetto Crush Industries. Ghetto Crush has also released music for the Division Group, Aleda and Root Valdez. Kenney helped the Smyrk to produce their EP, New Fiction.

Solo career

Kenney started in New Jersey band called Racecar in 1994 with Jimmie Muller and Sam Hofman. After this, he and Chuck Treece started a musical duo called Supergrub in 1996, with three CDs released: Norma & Thurselle, Communicator and Challenger.

He has five solo albums, 26 released on December 1, 2004, Maduro released on March 1, 2006, Distance and Comfort released on January 15, 2008, Burn the Tapes released on October 1, 2010, and Leave On Your Makeup released on September 17, 2013. Kenney plays guitar, b* guitar and drums while singing and writing every part on the solo records. When touring to support his solo records he plays guitar and sings, accompanied by Ashley Mendel on b* guitar and vocals and Sekou Lumumba on drums. Recently, Simon Harding from the band Fin has replaced Lumumba.

Equipment

His b* equipment includes Lakland b* guitars, Line 6 effects "(interview)". Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2008. and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. He has retrofitted several of his Lakland b*es with JBE pickups. His collection of b* guitars includes a seafoam-green USA Joe Osborn, sunburst USA Joe Osborn with a fretless fingerboard, sunburst Skyline Joe Osborn, red Skyline Bob Glaub, s*line gold Skyline Hollowbody, custom 44-94, light blue 44-94, cherry sunburst 55-94 with Gibson knobs, fiesta red 30" Jazz B* (44-60), 1975 Fender Jazz B*, Gibson SG B*, Fender Jaguar B*, and a Hofner 500/1 "Beatle B*". Most of his b* guitars have rosewood fingerboards and are strung with GHS flatwounds, with the exception of the Skyline Bob Glaub and the 55-94 which are strung with Thomastik-Infeld roundwounds. Kenny also plays Gibson Les Pauls which is seen in the DVD video for "Not Today". His live Mesa/Boogie rig consists of a pair of Big Block 750 heads and a Roadready 8x10 cabinet. In the studio and for solo gigs and small live gigs with Incubus, he uses Mesa Walkabout 1x12 combos and extension cabs.

Personal life

In January 2023, Kenney announced that he had a brain tumor removed, and that Tal Wilkenfeld would play b* for Incubus while he recovered from brain surgery. It was later announced that Incubus made a permanent lineup change with Nicole Row replacing Kenney as a full-time member of the band.

Discography

With Incubus

  • A Crow Left of the Murder... (2004)
  • Light Grenades (2006)
  • If Not Now, When? (2011)
  • Trust Fall (Side A) (2015)
  • 8 (2017)
  • Trust Fall (Side B) (2020)

Solo

  • 26 (2004)
  • Maduro (2006)
  • Distance and Comfort (2008)
  • Burn the Tapes (2010)
  • Leave on your Makeup – EP (2013)
  • Must Be Nice – (2019)

With The Roots

  • Phrenology (2002)

Guest appearances

  • Justified - Justin Timberlake (guitar on "Right For Me") (2002)

Notes

    External links

    Wikiquote has quotations related to Ben Kenney.
    • Kenney's website
    • Incubus' official website
    • The Division Group website
    • Supergrub website
    • Ghetto Crush Industries website
    • Ben Kenney interview with TheGrixer.com
    Live albums
    • The Roots Come Alive (1999)
    • Jay-Z: Unplugged (2001, with Jay-Z)
    Extended plays
    • From the Ground Up (1994)
    • The Legendary (1999)
    Songs
    • "You Got Me" (1999)
    • "The Next Movement" (1999)
    • "The Seed (2.0)" (2002)
    • "Wake Up Everybody" (2010)
    • "My Shot" (Rise Up Remix) (2016)
    • "You'll Be Back" (2016)
    • "Who Tells Your Story" (2016)
    • "It Ain't Fair" (2017)
    Related articles
    • Discography
    • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
    • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
    • Brooklyn Babylon
    • Okayplayer
    • Roots Picnic
    Ben Kenney