Benjamin Smoke

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Benjamin Smoke

Background information
Birth name Robert Dickerson
Also known as Benjamin Smoke
Born 28th January, 1960
Origin Flag of the United States Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Died 29th January, 1999 (age 39)
Genre(s) Punk Rock
Indie Rock
Instrument(s) Vocals, Bass
Years active 1970s–1990s
Website Benjamin Smoke Remembered

Benjamin (born Robert Dickerson) was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a homosexual, with a punk rock appearance.[1] He died on the 29th of January, 1999 due to AIDS at age 39. He was the subject of a documentary released in 2000 called "Benjamin Smoke" directed by Jem Cohen and Peter Sillen, filming for which took 10 years.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

Benjamin lived in Cabbagetown, a neighborhood in Atlanta, an "unsafe"[3] area peopled with hustlers and eccentrics.[3] There, he occasionally dressed up as a drag queen[2] from a young age. When he was just nine years old he would appear in public wearing woman’s clothing, "with a towel on my head like Whoopi (Goldberg), going to the Waffle House in a dress".[3] Locally, Benjamin was known as the "Mouth of the South".[4] In the late 1970s Benjamin moved to New York, inspired by punk rock and especially, Patti Smith, who he would later meet and perform for, as a support act.[3] In New York he found work at the famed club CBGB's, which he described as "the filthiest place I ever was". He earned $20 a day, his duties consisted of sweeping up broken glass left by performers and audiences the evening prior.[3]

Benjamin was a known character in the underground scene in 1980s Atlanta and participated in a number of Atlanta music experiments such as Easturn Stars, Monroe is Naked Again, Freedom Puff, Blade Emotion,and the Opal Foxx Quartet, though the group would often have up to 12 members. His bands played in such venues as 688, Celebrity Club, Pillowtex, Destroy All Music Festival, among others.[5] For the band, Benjamin donned the stage name "Miss Opal Foxx".[6] During this time his vocals received media attention and Tom Waits comparisons arose. His voice has since been described as "resembling the roar of a wounded lion".[5] After some of the musicians of the group died tragically, the band Smoke was conceived in 1992 with members Bill Taft, Brian Halloran, and Todd Butler. Coleman Lewis and Tim Campion later joined the band, followed by Will Fratesi. Benjamin was renowned for his on-stage banter, never shying away from provoking his viewers, "for a faggot, do I have a rockin' band or what?"[3]

Benjamin was addicted to the drug speed and he also had AIDS, though he claimed "HIV is not a death sentence".[3] AIDS brought him closer to his estranged mother, though he eventually lost his life due to Hepatitis C.[3]

[edit] Bands

  • Smoke (band)
  • Opal Foxx Quartet
  • Baby Weemus
  • Freedom Puff
  • Easturn Stars
  • Medicine Suite

[edit] Discography

Disc 1

  1. Overture - Dew
  2. Heaven On Their Minds - Michael Lorant
  3. What's The Buzz - Amy Ray/Emily Sailers
  4. Strange Thing Mystifying - Michael Lorant/Amy Ray
  5. Everything's Alright - Emily Sailers/Michael Lorant/Amy Ray
  6. This Jesus Must Die - Benjamin/Mike Mantone
  7. Hosanna - Mike Mantone/Amy Reed
  8. Simon Zealotes - Kelly Hogan
  9. Poor Jerusalem - Amy Reed
  10. Pilate's Dream - Gerard McHugh
  11. The Temple - Amy Reed
  12. Everything's Alright (Reprise) - Emily Saliers/Amy Reed
  13. I Don't Know How To Love Him - Emily Saliers
  14. Damned For All Time/Blood Money - Michael Lorant/Mike Mantione/Benjamin

Disc 2

  1. The Last Supper - Michael Lorant/Amy Ray
  2. Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say) - Amy Ray
  3. The Arrest - Michael Lorant/Amy Ray/Matt Brown/Benjamin/Mike Mantione
  4. Peter's Denial - Anne Richmond Boston/Matt Brown/Jeff Jensen/Bill Decker/Emily Sailers
  5. Pilate And Christ - Gerard McHugh/Rob Gal/Amy Ray
  6. King Herod's Song - Dave Clair
  7. Judas' Death - Michael Lorant/Mike Mantione/Benjamin
  8. Trial Before Pilate - Gerard McHugh/Benjamin/Amy Reed/Rob Gal
  9. Superstar - Social Insanity
  10. Crucifixion - Amy Reed
  11. John 19:41 - Revelation String Quartet

(with Opal Foxx Quartet)

  • The Love That Won't Shut Up CD (1994, LongPlay Records)[8]
  1. Clean White Bed
  2. Frail Body
  3. Blue Exception
  4. Sleep
  5. Tub of Love Rumble
  6. Nightingale
  7. MTM
  8. Christmas
  9. Dirt
  10. I Don't Know How to Love Him/Strange Fruit
  11. Aliens

Track 1 written by Tracy Snow. Track 2 written by Grady Cousins. Track 4 written by Debbey Richardson. Track 5 is Deacon Lunchbox sleeping in the back of a truck. Track 7 is The Mary Tyler Moore Show Theme Song, "Love is All Around." Track 10 is a medley of the song from Jesus Christ Superstar and the Billie Holiday song. Track 11 written and performed by Deacon Lunchbox.

(with RARA Percussion and Horn Ensemble)

  • House of the Rising Sun 7" (1994)
  1. House of the Rising Sun
  2. Love Song for the Widow Paris

NOTE: Benjamin sang on the a-side. The b-side is instrumental. This record was limited to 300 copies.


(with Smoke (band)

  • Dirt 7" (199?)
  1. Dirt
  2. Pretend
  • Heaven on a Popsicle Stick CD (1994, LongPlay Records)
  1. Hole
  2. Awake
  3. Freak (Winn's Song)
  4. The Trip
  5. Hank Aaron (lyrics by Dana Kletter)
  6. Luke's Feet
  7. Beeper Will
  8. The Pond
  9. I Do
  10. Ballet
  11. Guilt
  12. Abigail
  13. Curtains
  • Another Reason To Fast CD (1995, LongPlay Records)
  1. Trust
  2. Friends
  3. When It Rains
  4. Clean White Bed
  5. Shadow Box
  6. Dream
  7. Fatherland
  8. Train Song
  9. Debbey's Song
  10. Chad
  11. That Look
  12. I Don't
  13. Snake

[edit] Compilation appearances

(with Freedom Puff)

Side a:

  1. Tinnitus - Seven Minutes or Less
  2. Cake (Tracy Snow) - Blue Moles
  3. Cake (Tracy Snow) - I Want to Sleep
  4. Freedom Puff - Visiting with the White Rock Girl
  5. Freedom Puff - 2 Dixie Cups and a String

Side b:

  1. Murray Reams & Paul Hoskin - The Dispossessed
  2. Murray Reams & Paul Hoskin - Submission
  3. I See the Moon - Somnambulist Waltz
  4. I See the Moon - Snellville
  5. Dairy Queen Empire - The World
  6. Dairy Queen Empire - Burning

NOTE: Benjamin played bass in Freedom Puff.

(with Smoke)

  • ? CD (1992)
  1. Smoke - Dog

The lineup on this song was Benjamin, Bill Taft, Brian Halloran, and Todd Butler. This CD was a benefit compilation.

  • Radio Oddyssey Volume 2: The Georgia Music Show CD (1997 Altered Records/Ichiban)[10]
  1. The Rock*A*Teens - Black Ice
  2. The Continentals - Please, Please
  3. Pineal Ventana - Dark Cloud
  4. DQE - Mermaid And The Sailor
  5. #1 Family Mover - Hey Soul
  6. Bob - Ants
  7. Velvet Overkill Five - Pillow Talk
  8. The Goodies - Live On WRAS-FM
  9. Tweezer - Sucking Midgets
  10. Marcy - Driver
  11. Heinous Bienfang - Stay Behind The Cones
  12. Babyfat - Redd Lobster
  13. Frontstreet - Scandinavian Pamphlet (Sex Book)
  14. 17 Years - Doing Wrong
  15. Smoke - Hamlet
  16. Benjamin - Big Daddy Story and Other Saucy Tales
  1. Susie Honeyman - Bus
  2. Schoolly D - This Old Man
  3. Smoke - Old Joe Clark
  4. Calexico - The Man on the Flying Trapeze
  5. The Waco Brothers - Them Bones
  6. Giant Sand - Blow the Man Down
  7. Anne Richmond Boston - What Can the Matter Be?
  8. D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces - J'ai Passe Devant Ta Porte?
  9. Zydeco Elvis - The ABC Song
  10. Sally Timms - Hush Little Baby
  11. New Orleans Klezmer All Stars - Nokas for the Kinder
  12. The Chiselers - Playmate
  13. The Rock*A*Teens - She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
  14. Moonshine Willy - Skip to My Lou
  15. Kelly Hogan - The Great Titanic
  16. The Black Mama Dharma Band - A Frozen Road
  17. Mekons - Oranges & Lemons
  18. New Kingdom - John Henry
  19. Rob Gal - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  20. Blacktop Rockets - Froggy Went A-Courtin'
  21. Vic Chesnutt - Home on the Range
  22. The Grifters - The Muffin Man
  1. Kick Me - Arms
  2. Smoke - Midnight
  3. DQE - Ivytwine
  4. Parlour - The Cold Snap
  5. Kick Me - Black Coat
  6. Kick Me - Blue Midnight
  7. Parlour - Baby Doll
  8. Bill Taft & Neil Fried - Old West
  9. Smoke - Pretend
  10. Palookaville - Seventh Day
  11. Long Flat Red - Eighty-Six Days
  12. Railroad Earth - Keep Seeing That Soul
  13. Kick Me - Lucky Nights
  14. The Hollidays - Miles Away

(with Big Fish Ensemble)

16. Big Fish Ensemble - I Am Woman (Helen Reddy Cover)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Benjamin Smoke. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  2. ^ a b Benjamin Smoke (2000). Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Benjamin Smoke. Film Journal. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  4. ^ Benjamin Smoke (2000). Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  5. ^ a b Smoke: Another Reason to Fast. CD Baby. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
  6. ^ Benjamin Smoke. phase9tv. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  7. ^ Jesus Christ: A Resurrection. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  8. ^ The Love That Won't Shut Up;. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  9. ^ Compilation: Low life 17;. Borft.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  10. ^ Radio Oddssey, Vol. 2: The Georgia Music Show;. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  11. ^ Rudy's Rockin' Kiddie Caravan;. Bloodshot Records and Bloodshot Records Compilations. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  12. ^ Hidden Tracks;. Daemon Records. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  13. ^ Star Power;. FYE. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.

[edit] See also

Smoke