The Gist
As a self taught musician from a small town, Benny hopes to inspire people to live a life they love and to chase dreams that may seem a bit out of reach. After being raised in a town of less than 600 people, he strives for his accomplishments to prove that when you apply hard work and dedication to your greatest passion, incredible things can come of it no matter where you are from. It takes a huge leap of faith. It often takes sacrifice of comforts and certainties, even if just for a while. It certainly takes consistent and persistent effort. The result, however, is beyond imagination.
He fights emotional and physical battles. He’s endured heartbreak. He encounters various difficult life obstacles. He knows well that everybody goes through hardship at some time, in some capacity. From seeing death firsthand to almost meeting it himself and so much in between, everyone has nightmares of their own, tragic events in others’ lives and parts of the world that are a reminder we ALL have stories of significance. If we can provide each other peace, love, and hope: THAT’S when we truly succeed.
The long story from Benny himself:
I was raised in Garfield. A small farm town in Eastern Washington State of less than 600 people. As far as staying busy, there wasn’t much. We had a community pool open for a couple months in the summer and a very limited amount of sport options throughout the school year (Football/Volleyball in the fall, Basketball in the winter, and Baseball/Softball/Track in the Spring). I enjoyed participating in these options for as long as I was physically capable, but more on that later.
My parents gifted me my first guitar when I was three years old. I would get SO excited when the instructional cd said we would be playing "Old McDonald Had a Farm." Being so young though, the excitement quickly faded with all the distractions of whatever else a young kid could be excited for (such as a plastic sword and shield when crusading as King Arthur or a bow and suction cup arrow to impress Maid Marian at the archery tournament as Robin Hood). It wasn’t until a few years later when my mom started teaching me piano that my love for music began to grow.
By my second year in middle school I had become fairly proficient at piano and started learning trombone. It wasn’t until I was 13 that I found myself joining a small youth group where two other kids played bass and guitar, leading the music for the group. Between the inspiration to play guitar like my dad always did and to join the other kids playing, this was the moment of a sincere spark of desire for me to learn guitar. So, I picked up my dad's guitar and a chord book and taught myself how to play all the basic chords. Later that summer, I brought my guitar down to youth group and joined in with the “band.”
A couple years go by, all the while I’m honing my guitar and singing capabilities with constant practice at home and playing at youth groups and Sunday church services. I would work to learn any song, from worship songs to rock songs from my all-time favorite band, AC/DC. Learning Back in Black and Thunderstruck on my new electric guitar only fueled my passion for playing music even further.
When I was 15 years old, I auditioned for the Washington State FFA talent program. This opened up the first opportunity for me to perform in front of a real audience, and also led me to the solidification of knowing that music is my ultimate passion.
So here I am, Pullman Washington, Beasley Coliseum at WSU for the Washington State FFA Convention, May 2009. 2,500 high school FFA members looking down at me from the seats as I take the stage. The lights in my face transform them into a sea of silhouettes as I step up to the mic with my guitar…
I perform “Dream Big” by Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand. My first REAL performance. As I hold out the final chord, the silent pause for what seems like an eternity keeps me motionless and looking out into the crowd… then an eruption of applause. Nothing in my life has ever matched that feeling; that excitement and pride. That intensity of adrenaline coursing through my veins. It was my personal confirmation that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what I wanted to do with my life. Music.
The next year I returned for WA State FFA and performed again. I had been learning more and more songs and even started writing some of my own at this point. During my second time performing at the state level, I was encouraged to audition for the FFA’s National Talent panel for my senior year. I couldn’t pass it up. I auditioned, made it through, so in the fall of 2010 at 17 years old as a senior in high school, I travelled to Indianapolis where I performed on multiple stages set up around the city where FFA events were taking place. The biggest thrill came when I was invited to perform at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Conseco Fieldhouse at the time) as one of the top 13 National FFA Talent Acts of 2010. I chose to perform an original song which I sang in front of roughly 10,000 people. This is the largest audience I’ve performed for to date, and of course it remains a dream and goal to surpass that number.
Later on that school year in early 2011, I auditioned for a Disney Celebrity Acting Camp put on by Adrian R’Mante (Esteban – Suite Life of Zach and Cody) in Spokane, WA. I spent the next year after high school auditioning for small independent movies, recording music in studios, and meeting with small labels. I moved to Burbank, California in the spring of 2012, but couldn’t procure a job before my bank account hit $0 and had to move home to Washington. So, I moved back to eastern WA and got a job in Pullman with Schweitzer Engineering. As a last ditch effort to try and get some momentum and escape the feeling of failure, I auditioned for NBC’s The Voice for the first time. I figured it was a long shot, but I felt like I had to make one more attempt at breaking into the entertainment world. After not getting a call-back, I started trying change my mentality to accept a 9-5 career as my new life plan (well, 3-midnight career since I was swing shift.)
I worked there for a couple years, fell in love, got married and started rekindling my undying passion for music after I, of course, used the guitar to serenade my wife. She convinced me to really get back into music with intention. The idea of NBC’s The Voice surfaced again, so we took a little trip and travelled to Denver for an open call. Again, I made my attempt and didn’t make it through but still wanted to get back into music. Seizing a new career opportunity for my wife, we decided to move to the Seattle area. I started performing more and writing again, finding open mics and a couple of small gigs at coffeehouses, bars and breweries. I even ended up playing a battle of the bands which was a very cool experience, although it was certainly tailored more toward heavy rock bands. I decided to send in another music video submission for The Voice, but again didn’t receive any response back. Music was pretty stagnant, not really growing nor completely failing, but what wasn’t going well was my marriage.
With yet another career opportunity for my wife and the hope of a fresh start for us both, we moved to Missoula, Montana. While I was waiting to hear back from a job I was hoping to get, I sold my custom designed electric guitar to help ends meet and was once again in the growing mindset of leaving music behind. Regardless of all the changes to try and create a fresh start for ourselves, divorce happened regardless. I didn’t want to rent an apartment by myself, so I moved an hour north to Polson because I was fortunate enough to buy a small house, my first home (after taking out my 401k and using everything I had for my down payment). I was just trying to work through my heartbreak to find my peace and contentment with where I was at. Bank account back to $0 just like after California, at least I had a house and a job this time.
As a few months went by, I felt the remaining ember of my passion for music trying desperately to get my attention. I had so much emotion to express, but didn’t want to pursue it the same way as before. I decided to join the worship team at the local New Life Church. After a Sunday service when a particularly talented drummer and I were scheduled together, he approached me and asked if I was interested in playing some gigs with him. I was reluctant at first, remembering the bitter taste of failure and not wanting to experience it again. Even so, he convinced me to perform at a local restaurant for his wife’s birthday later that year, in August of 2020.
So early summer of 2020, I was practicing for 5+ hours. Every. Day. All my spare time. With all the practice I was putting in, I started building a new confidence that I never had before. Yet again I tried out for NBC’s The Voice. I didn’t make it. That didn’t stop me from getting ready to perform at gigs around town. David and I played our first show together in August of 2020 for his wife’s birthday, as he had hoped. We packed the restaurant full, roughly 100 people. At the end of the gig we received nothing but positive feedback and people were asking how many years we had been playing together. It came as quite the shock when our response was that this was our first gig together. Everybody wanted more. We started booking gigs at all local the bars and restaurants in town, eventually to secure a couple residencies and requests for parties and weddings.
I am still playing regularly, booking gigs around the Western Montana and the Flathead Valley, enough to provide me the opportunity to perform full time. I left my job of over two years as a postal clerk at USPS in the spring of 2022 and solely am working on music and performance. I’ve been working on recording an album and increasing YouTube content as well as building my social media presence to provide the opportunity to build a fan base and really make a great career out of this passion. I aim to spread my performing coverage as time goes on, excited to explore new locations and experience new venues, whatever that may look like.
Myotonia:
In 2017 I was diagnosed with Myotonia. In a brief medical description, Myotonia is a genetic neuromuscular disorder in which the skeletal muscles are unable to terminate contraction after being used. For a more easily understandable and quick explanation, this condition is nicknamed “Fainting Goat.” If you have ever watched a YouTube video of goats running around then stiffening suddenly and falling over, Myotonia is the human equivalent.
In medical terms, myotonia is due to a genetic mutation in the chloride sodium or potassium channel. This causes an abnormality in the muscle membrane leading to the muscle’s inability to terminate contraction after stress. If I were to stand up and try and sprint suddenly, my entire body would stiffen and I wouldn’t be able to move hardly at all until my muscles relaxed over the period of a few seconds.
To sum it up, my muscles are always tense and tight. This has made various activities and tasks in life difficult, to say the least. I’ve had to deal with this since early high school, preventing me from participating in sports throughout the years because of the inability to perform due to my muscles not being able to relax. I saw multiple doctors starting back in 2009 going through 2017 to try and figure out what was going on with me. The more dead ends I found, the more I was afraid it was all in my head. Finally, an incredible neurologist at the University of Washington Medical School listened to my explanation of what I was experiencing and did some mobility tests to see for himself and new right away what it was.
The way to officially confirm this was using a wretched medical test called electromyography, which is a microphone needle that has to be stuck into your muscles to hear how your muscles react to contraction. My thighs, bicep and palm had to all be “injected” with this microphone needle to listen to my muscles firing. The doctor would tap on the muscle a little ways away from the point of injection, then we would actually hear the response of the muscle firing. It sounded like a motorcycle. The problem was, the muscle was supposed to stop almost as quickly as it started but the firing of my muscles just continued.
After so many years of trying to figure this out, it was such relief just knowing it was something real. That is wasn’t in my head. I was just glad to know. I was glad to know why my hands and fingers froze up when I played guitar, glad to know why I was always so fatigued like my muscles had gone through extensive workouts all day every day, and glad to know that I wasn’t just mentally overreacting for no good reason. I was affected more than I ever let on, because it was too difficult to explain. I learned to hide it well.
I was beginning to struggle with playing the guitar because my fingers and hands would occasionally freeze, preventing me from performing full songs. I was losing my desire to try because I couldn’t fight against my body. With no real cure and no direct medication for Myotonia, the future of performing seemed grim. Fortunately, the doctor was able to prescribe to me the one and only medication that randomly happens to alleviate the symptoms of Myotonia. Mexilitine is geared toward the aid of an improper arrhythmic beating of the heart, but happens to have a “side effect” that helps the muscle fibers fire somewhat more regularly as it turns out. I was able to play the guitar again, run and walk a bit more normal, and not be stuck sitting down afraid to get up just to freeze and stumble. It’s not a perfect resolution and some days are worse than others, but I’ve had some relief and I am so grateful for that. It might not last forever so I’m playing the guitar as much as I can. If the day ever comes that I am unable to move as freely as I can now, I need to make sure I won’t ever look back and say “I wish I would have done more.” I’m going to take advantage of the time I have the best I can.