Victoria is known as a hub for music on the West Coast and one of its latest exports is musician Jessica Benini.
Although not originally from the B.C. capital, the folk musician and music teacher has found inspiration in the musical culture in the area.
“I feel like everyone I meet here is a musician,” said the bubbly songstress, as she was getting set to head to Alberta for a few shows.
Benini described how she finds music everywhere she goes in Victoria, saying she has had the chance to play with artists from all over Canada, who are attracted to the little musical hub.
“It has a great scene and is pretty accepting,” said Benini.
And she should know, having moved there only six years ago after she was attending the Rosebud School of the Arts in Rosebud, Alta.
Benini is originally from Surrey, but chose to go to the school in 2001 and take the acting program. She remembered seeing the play The Miracle there and becoming hooked to the idea of going to the school.
She said that a lot of her live performance as a musician was enhanced a great deal by her time there. Benini said she is comfortable on stage and her personality comes through – she said she owed a lot of that to Rosebud.
“When I’m on stage I actually never know what is going to come out of my mouth when I’m playing,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a surprise. I just go with it.”
In other words, Benini said she has no regrets when she is on stage – making No Regrets an appropriate title for her latest six-song EP. She described the latest release as being about coming into her own and she said she is excited about the journey she is on.
“Each song is a different exploration of finding out who I am as an artist. I feel like this album for me was about not regretting anything anymore and just moving forward,” she said. “Leaping out there and not so much relying on other people and taking responsibility and being OK with that.”
Benini recorded the album with producer Chris Michel who has worked with the Canadian Tenors and Barenaked Ladies.
She said this album has more of a full band sound then her first release, 2010’s EP Express Yourself. She said it this one has a banjo, mandolin and more beats compared to the first one.
“It is still folky. It still has that organic sound. It has a different sound than I normally would play and I love it,” she said.
Part of experimenting with a different sound is something Benini said she owes to her students as a music teacher.
She said her students force her to open her eyes and try different things she normally wound not do – causing her to break things down in music and really understand them.
“I watch my students and they need to know the answers and if I don’t know the answer, it forces me to get out of that box and look for the answer,” she said.
“My students are really inspiring. They blow my mind. They are so young and so not hindered by the world yet. It is a good reminder for myself.”
You can catch Benini at Legacy on Saturday Aug. 30 at Legacy Guitar and Coffee House.
For more information on Benini visit jessicabenini.com.
