By Wade Coggeshall
INDIANAPOLIS — The Internet has opened a whole new world for many groups and professions, the music industry notwithstanding.
While it’s given artists new avenues by which to peddle their talents, it’s also drastically leveled the playing field. No longer can there be just one Elvis. As soon as someone of that stature emerges, a hundred others of like talent will follow in his wake.
Such diffusion also applies to the potential wealth a traveling recording artist can accrue. But for bands like Bent Left, it’s never been about money.
The Kansas City-based punk trio has steadfastly adhered to the principles the genre was founded on some 30-plus years ago. They self-release their own records, book their own tours, and play wherever they’re accepted. Bass player William Malott says the best show on their current jaunt was at an Ann Arbor house.
“The kids there were just incredible,” he said. “Everyone was there for the show, to support the band. The people who own the house are doing this for the kids. It was a great community effort. You run into that fairly often.”
It may not be sold-out stadiums and ridiculous riders, but it’s the life Bent Left has chosen. More and more, they’re finding kindred spirits in the do-it-yourself philosophy, less a pursuit of fame and fortune and more a tight-knit community in which to proliferate their raucous agitprop.
It’s still not always easy. Many larger venues remain hesitant to book punk shows or bands that don’t appear to have broad appeal.
“It makes it difficult when you’re trying to stay on the road and you need money for gas,” drummer Josh Nelson said. “The D.I.Y. effort is a safety net for the punk scene. Regardless of how venues want to treat bands, we can work around that. That’s what allows our survival.”
Having an education helps too. The members of Bent Left, all friends since high school, secured enough in scholarships to attend college without amassing any debt. Nelson earned a degree in biology and Malott studied political science. Guitarist Jeff Speak is expected to graduate soon with an audio engineering degree. They did this while managing to keep the band going.
“The support you get in school is kind of what made it possible for us to keep doing this when we weren’t making any money,” Malott said. “Having that college degree sort of gives you a safety net.”
But even with the exposure to higher education’s ivory towers, Bent Left isn’t ready to park the van just yet.
“We were best friends before we were in this band,” Malott said. “We’re not a band made of musicians; we’re friends that turned ourselves into musicians and a band. We’re just not ready to throw that away yet.”
wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com
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Online:
www.bentleft.com
