Album Notes

Bento, like most aspiring bands, began as a side project. Just a guy with an acoustic guitar, who liked to cover his favorite songs. Though cover songs made those around him happy, they were not enough to fuel Scott\'s ambition. A sense of urgency, spontaneity, and creativity was missing. So Scott did what seemed most natural. He wrote song after song and recruited a team to help fulfill a vision of making sincere music.



Angelito Mesina was a high school friend who Scott asked to play bass in the band. Drummer Jamie Quon was a childhood friend who played baseball with Scott when they were in grade school. Elvin Reyes, a co-founder of Classified Records and producer was the final piece of the puzzle. With this lineup, it seemed that this vision and dream was within reach.



After two years of touring their first album, Absent without leave, Bento is back with their latest studio album. As described by Scott Iwata, “I think this album is much more of a band effort. It was really exciting to make a record where all of us had input regarding the final structure of the songs. The first album was more like a singer song writer album, where I had written and demoed all the songs and then along with Ang, convinced Elvin and Jamie to join in to create the band. Everyone, for the most part, played to the demos I had made. This album represents Bento as a band. Though I did write the majority of the songs - I didn\'t have to figure out all the parts. I would just bring an idea to the guys and we would all get involved equally in putting the pieces together so that it represented Bento. This was an amazing process and experience that I\'ve never had. This is why I\'m so excited and proud of this album.”



Armed and ready, comfortable in their sound and its execution, Bento is ready for the world. \"Alternative, Modern, Indie\"...label them at your peril. These guys write songs, first and foremost. And after all the hype has died down, you\'ll still be quietly singing along to their sweet melodies.