Photo by Emily Sevin
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About the Band
Laura Benitez and the Heartache use the three chord tools of country music to tell the simple, unvarnished truth about love, too much whiskey, and the call of the road. Their new album, "California Centuries," finds the band delving deep into themes of collective denial ("Bad Things"), gaslighting ("Invisible" and "Gaslight") and romantic lessons learned ("I'm the One" and "Are You Using Your Heart"). Their twangy honesty shines through in straightforward arrangements, crystalline harmonies, and spare instrumentation. Beware their catchy hooks and sweet melodies - these stray puppy tunes will follow you home and become your most steadfast companions. Laura Benitez, songwriter, lead singer and founder of Laura Benitez and the Heartache, has been making her mark on stage and screen since 2000. She spent several years appearing in soap operas and commercials in Los Angeles before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004, diving into the region’s rich Americana and Roots music scenes. Taking her musical cues from the heavily rock influenced Bakersfield sound, and her lyric inspiration from her favorite songwriters Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, Laura began writing songs in 2008. She released her first album, "For Duty or for Love" on her own label, Copperhead Records, in 2010. In 2012 she recruited the multi-talented singer, songwriter, and drummer Michele Kappel-Stone (Kirby Grips/Tippy Canoe/Heartache Sisters) into the band, and was lucky enough to secure the talents of Bob Spector (The Spectones) and Ted O'Connell (The GoldDiggers, Moonshine Maybelline) on twang guitar and bass. These four joined together with Ian Taylor Sutton (Vincent Neil Emerson, Logan Ledger, Jesse Daniel) on pedal steel to record their critically acclaimed full length album, "Heartless Woman," which was released in 2014. 2015 saw the band touring to festivals in Southern California and Nashville, but also saw some changes in personnel, with Michele Kappel-Stone and Ted O'Connell turning their full-time attention to other projects. Members of The Heartache in this time period included Steve Pearson (Secret Town, Kate Burkart Band), Mike Anderson (77 El Deora), Jim Goodkind (Whiskey Pass), Patti Maxine (Island Breeze, Henhouse), Chris Weinress (Mojo Mix), and Russell Kiel (Secret Town, Crying Time, Muddy Roses). Benitez won an honorable mention for the song "Our Remember Whens" in American Songwriter Magazine's lyric contest for January of 2016. The band released the much-praised album "With All Its Thorns" in 2018. Laura took time off of recording and touring for the birth of her daughter, Ada, in 2019, and the global pandemic shut down any hope of touring in 2020 or 2021. The band spent the pandemic working on demos of new material, and those demos became the album "California Centuries," recorded at 25th St. Studios in Oakland and released in September of 2022. The end of the global pandemic saw more personnel changes to the band, with Bob Spector and Russell Kiel leaving to pursue other projects. New bandmembers Ian Michell (Bitter Diamonds) and Jamie Duncan (Aaron Burnham and the Brushfires, Dogweed String Band) have reinvigorated the Heartache with their talent and energy. The band is hard at work on new music and shows for 2024! |
Praise for Laura Benitez & the Heartache ---- "The album has a larger-than-life sound, with bedrock rhythms complimented by washes of steel guitar and reverberating electric guitars that take up an immense sonic space." --j.poet, EAST BAY EXPRESS "A fresh classic country remains her bedrock, to which Benitez has added layers of rock and bluegrass. While never shirking from tough subjects, she is drawing more on personal experience here. Ranging from the joyous to the somber, Benitez is always completely frank. California Centuries is a tight sounding and complete album.", --Lyndon Bolton, NO DEPRESSION "Completely written and produced by Laura Benitez, California Centuries features some classic country Golden Era selections indicative of Patsy Cline, some vintage folk and rockabilly textures for variety, quality songwriting that gets feisty in spurts, and excellent lead and steel guitar trade-offs throughout, courtesy of Bob Spector on electric guitar, and Ian Sutton and Dave Zirbel on steel guitar." --Trigger, SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC "Benitez sings real country songs in a voice reminiscent of some of the best voices in the history of country music."--Gary Schwind, AMERICANA HIGHWAYS "That initial assumption of a fundamentally up-tempo slice of country music isn’t entirely misplaced but the sharp edges to the songwriting make this something more. By refusing to respect genre boundaries, in singing of topics many are afraid to even discuss in public, in challenging her own industry and other powerful lobbies, Benitez deserves huge respect."--Peter Churchill, AMERICANA UK |