Monday, June 20, 2016

Matt Bennett turns pain of his parent’s divorce into debut album where each song is based on the Robin Williams films he loved growing up.

Just-released “Terminal Cases” includes “Fisher King,” “Jumanji,” single “Hook Pt. 1,” “Doubtfire,” feat. sax solo by Angelo Moore of Fishbone.

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Matt Bennett as photographed by Robyn Von Swank

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Hear “Hook Pt. 1” from “Terminal Cases” by Matt Bennett, one of the most slimed people in Nickelodeon history.



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WNYC’s John Schaefer on “Fisher King” by Matt Bennett

“Suggests that the lessons of Lou Reed’s Berlin did not go unnoticed: the lyrics are simple and affecting, lovely but tinged with regret, and the electric guitars are graceful and melodic… except for when they explode into Velvet Underground/My Bloody Valentine violence, and Bennett’s voice takes on a desperate edge. Dark beauty indeed.”

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Matt visits the Zach Sang Show to perform “Jumanji” and “Hook Pt. 1,” and discuss his years as a co-star of Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” series.

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Matt Bennett discusses Terminal Cases in-depth with Northern Transmissions

“I first got the idea for Terminal Cases one afternoon while watching the movie ‘Jumanji,’ Matt Bennett recalls of the beginning of what would become his debut album Terminal Cases, a collection of ten songs, each titled after, and based on, the films of Robin Williams.  “I wrote a song based around it that told the story of a man revisiting his childhood home and not recognizing any of his surroundings.  I decided to structure the project around the album Berlin by Lou Reed,” Bennett explains.  “I had been fascinated by Berlin since I was in high school, especially the song ‘The Kids.’

Bennett then spent the next year watching and re-watching Robin Williams films, writing and re-writing.  And in his viewings he noticed that in Williams’ movies, there is often a character named Jack (see: “Jack,” “Hook,” “Fisher King”), and that the films often deal with aging – either too slowly, too quickly, or with the reticence of a man child to “grow up.” They also often dealt with divorce.

“That last realization came at a crucial time for me,” Bennett explains.  “My parents had just announced their plans to divorce.”  Around the same time, Bennett’s dream job, as a co-star of four years on the Nickelodeon series “Victorious,” ended. “With no job and very little structure to my days, my life seemed directionless,” he recalls.  Bennett worked on Terminal Cases every night for nearly two years with the intention of somehow getting it into Robin Williams’ hands, and he had most of it written when the legendary actor unexpectedly and tragically passed in 2014.

 “There’s no way I can release this album now,” Bennett thought.  “It’s dark and strange and completely wrong.”  Bennett sat on the material for much of the following year.  “But there was something in these songs that lingered with me,” he recalls. “I needed to get them out of my head, and completing this album has been very therapeutic for me. It was a great experiment to write these songs, to record them, and now to release them.”

Terminal Cases by Matt Bennett is out now.  Matt Bennett is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Matt Bennett is a comedic actor and musician best known as a co-star of the Nickelodeon series “Victorious” and recently seen in the award-winning film festival hit, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” He recently appeared as a guest star on the hit show “The Big Bang Theory” and can also be found hosting his monthly variety show “This Show Is Your Show” at The Nerdist Showroom at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.

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Matt Bennett – Terminal Cases
(Fanatic Records – Out Now)
  

Track Listing:

01. Fisher King (STREAM | MP3)
02. Moscow
03. Jumanji (STREAM | MP3)
04. Hook Pt.1 (STREAM | MP3)
05. Birdcage
06. Bicentennial
07. Hook Pt. 2
08. Doubtfire (STREAM | MP3)
09. What Dreams May Come
10. Garp (Terminal Cases)

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Matt Bennett Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


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