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Ben Kenney.Sr
Background information
Born	March 12, 1977 (1977-03-12) (age 32)
Genres	Alternative rock, hip hop
Instruments	vocals, guitars, Bass, drums
Labels	Ghetto Crush Industries
Associated acts	Incubus The Roots Time Lapse Consortium The Division Group Supergrub
Website	www.benkenney.com

Benjamin Lee Kenney, Sr. (born on March 12, 1977), is a musician from Brielle, NJ United States, and the bassist for the band Incubus.

Ben Kenney played guitar for the hip-hop group The Roots before he joined Incubus in 2003 after the departure of bassist and founding member Alex Katunich aka Dirk Lance. He had previously played with Incubus members Mike Einziger and Jose Pasillas in Time Lapse Consortium.

The introduction of Kenney into the group marked a shift in the band's sound. His tight grooves and hip hop influenced sound replaced previous bassman Dirk Lance's funky bass lines. Apart from changing the groove and the style of Incubus' work, he also added backing vocals to their songs (Mike Einziger used to do them), adding extra harmonies to each song, examples of which can be heard in the songs Agoraphobia, Pendulous Threads and Diamonds and Coal.

He also plays in his own band, The Division Group, (formerly known as Supergrub) with Neal Evans of Soulive and Ashley Mendel.

Ben is known to play 6 different instruments and sometimes plays drum solos with Incubus' drummer Jose Pasillas live on-stage.

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

Ben has three solo albums, 26 released in 2004, Maduro released on March 1, 2006 and Distance And Comfort released in 2008. Ben plays guitar, bass, and drums while singing and writing every part on the solo records.

Ben's website, benkenney.com, allows you to download two tracks from his solo work; Hoopdie from 26 and Wrong from Maduro. Towards the end of 2007 Ben added a link to a video of him playing each part of, Eulogy, a track from Distance And Comfort. In this video he also spoke about the tour he is doing with Chris Kilmore in early 2008.

His bass equipment includes Lakland basses, Line 6 effects "(interview)". http://www.bassplayer.com/article/ben-kenney-on/Apr-04/650.   and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. His collection of basses includes a seafoam-green USA Joe Osborne, sunburst USA Joe Osborne with a fretless fingerboard, sunburst Skyline Joe Osborne, red Skyline Bob Glaub, shoreline gold Skyline Hollowbody, and a Hofner 500/1 "Beatle Bass". All of his basses have rosewood fingerboards and are strung with GHS flatwounds, with the exception of the Skyline Bob Glaub which is strung with roundwounds. 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.

26 and Maduro were both released by Ben's own record company, Ghetto Crush Industries. Ghetto Crush has also released music for The Division Group, Aleda, and Root Valdez. Ben has also recently helped The Smyrk produce their latest EP, New Fiction.

Discography

26 (2004)

1. Breathe - 3:31
2. Hoopdie - 4:17
3. 4.2.3. - 5:23
4. Andrea's Asleep - 1:08
5. Creme - 3:41
6. You Won't Like The Sound - 3:16
7. So Hard - 2:47
8. Mr. Spader, I Presume - 1:28
9. Empty Handed - 4:30

Maduro (2006)

1. Wrong - 3:00
2. Inside Pt. 2 - 4:15
3. Skyscraper - 2:57
4. Nigeria - 1:12
5. The Ether - 2:52
6. Nepenthe - 1:15
7. Conception And The Funeral - 3:26
8. It's Not Too Late - 4:08
9. How Would You Know? - 3:49
10. Girl - 3:55
11. The Moment - 3:09

Distance And Comfort (2008)

1. Not Today - 3:27
2. Get It To Go - 2:14
3. 18th Avenue - 3:53
4. Eulogy - 4:20
5. Walking - 5:19
6. When We Are Both Cats - 1:51
7. Implants - 3:04
8. Fluorescent Yellow - 4:14
9. Some Days Are Better Than Others - 2:58
10. Comfort - 7:06

Three singles are available for download in Ben's webpage: Hoopdie, Wrong, and Eulogy

External links

• Ben's Website
• Incubus' Official Website
• The Division Group Website
• Supergrub Website
• Ghetto Crush Industries Website
• Incubus' #1 Fansite
• Ben Kenney Search on the iPhone
• Incubus Portugal
• Ben Kenney Interview with TheGrixer.com