Album Notes

Heartfelt and humorous, life re-examined
Acoustic and mystic: the songs of Benjammin

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Imagine James Taylor crossed with Steve Martin and Deepak Chopra. That heartfelt/funny/mystical hybrid would sound a lot like Benjammin.

The award-winning singer/songcrafter is an ecospiritual troubadour and sly jester. A charismatic performer and sensitive balladeer. Impressive instrumentalist and tender love song singer.

In short, he's hard to pigeonhole. But that hasn't stopped the praise from fans such as acclaimed singer/songwriter Billy Jonas, who called "Shining From Inside" "amazing...a fine, well-crafted, inspired and inspiring work of art."

"I occasionally touch on serious issues," Benjammin said, "but above all I love to entertain. My music has plenty of humor, love songs and upbeat material, as well as a touch of the mystical. I like to leave my listeners with open hearts and big smiles."

Song contest judges have also been smiling: Benjammin won First Place in the OSCA Songwriting Contest, and was a finalist in two Flatrock Music Festival competitions.

Originally a classical guitarist - he gave world premiere performances at two national guitar symposiums - the silken-voiced baritone now uses his advanced fingerstyle technique on steel strings. But he's no traditionalist, as his work with altered tunings and partial capos demonstrates. His songwriting is also eclectic, with flavors ranging from folk, Broadway and pop to New Age, Middle Eastern and jazz.

Benjammin lists singer/songwriters David Wilcox, Peter Mayer, David LaMotte and Tom Prasada-Rao as major influences. The full-time musician lives in Asheville, NC, and is now touring to support "Shining From Inside". His critically acclaimed debut album, "The Beauty Within" - which he recorded as Benjamin Bernstein, and which is also available at CD Baby -- features meditative synthesizer instrumentals. His website is www.BJBmusic.com.

RECENT REVIEWS OF "SHINING FROM INSIDE"

"Exudes positive energy ... [Benjammin] has a beautiful, soothing voice." - Spirit in the Smokies

"Optimistic ... Benjammin obviously knows his way around a guitar ... great backing musicians ... the album's production quality is excellent ... a semi-spiritual, world-music-inspired kind of acoustic-folk ... ["Billions of Angels" is] perhaps the most-happy version of the apocalypse ever." - Mountain Xpress

OTHER QUOTES

"A clever songwriter, skilled guitarist, and highly entertaining solo acoustic performer." --Mountain Xpress

"A unique...singer/songwriter with a rich baritone voice and a humorous, intelligent bent toward life...." --Asheville Citizen-Times

"Heartfelt...an authentic and thought-provoking musical experience." -- Soul Infusion

"[Benjammin's] spirit shines, and yours will too!" -- Relaxed Reader

"Witty songwriting, good guitar accompaniment, and some powerful vocal cords!" -- WNCW-FM

ABOUT THE CD

"Shining From Inside" is a genre-jumping singer/songwriter CD - full of heart, humor, life-affirming energy and mystical beauty. Most of the songs feature full-band arrangements, and feature such talented musicians as Joe Ebel on violin and electric guitar, River Guerguerian on drums and percussion and Stuart Reinhardt on soprano sax.

Benjammin wrote everything except for one co-write, and the CD features his most-requested tunes. These include the utopian ballad "Peaceful", the ecospiritual "Billions of Angels" (his "apocalyptic lullaby"), the percolating guitar and tabla duet "Slaying the Dragon", and the upbeat comedy song "The Devil's Dog". The album blends numerous styles, including pop, contemporary folk, rock, blues and world music.