The Bennies were an Australian ska punk band from Melbourne, Victoria. Self-described as "Psychedelic Reggae Ska Doom Metal Punk Rock From Hell," the band are known for their high-energy live shows and their mix of genres including dub, punk rock and heavy metal. To date, the band have released four studio albums and two EPs.
History
The band originally formed in 2009 under the name Madonna. Under this name, the band released a self-titled collection of demo recordings on CD in 2010 before changing their name to The Bennies the following year due to legal issues concerning the use of the name. Under their new name, The Bennies would release their debut albumParty Party Party! on 3 September 2011 via Jackknife Music. In 2012, the band underwent their first line-up change after guitarist Steve Lavery departed from the band and was replaced by Christos "Souv" Salaoras. Following a tour of Japan later that year, Salaoras also left The Bennies. His replacement was Jules Rozenbergs, who had previously played in Melbourne punk bands Kimbo and The Gun Runners. This line-up would remain intact for the next six years, with their first release being 2013's Better Off Dread EP on April 20, 2013. This was followed by Rainbows in Space, the band's second studio album, which was released in November. It marked the band's first release with Poison City Records, who would put out every Bennies release until 2017. In 2014, the band released their second EP, Heavy Disco. To promote the release, the band appeared on triple j's Like a Version segment in February 2015. The band performed a stripped-back version of "Heavy Disco", as well as a cover of TISM's " Ol' Man River." Damian Cowell, who was a member of TISM, gave his approval of the cover to the band and performed the song with them live in 2016. The Bennies themselves would later contribute to Cowell's second studio album as Damian Cowell's Disco Machine, 2017's Get Yer Dag On!, featuring on the song "365 Lemmys." In 2015, a new single titled "Party Machine" was released. The song ended up being their most successful single to date, and was voted into the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015 at number 88. The song was the lead single from their third studio album, Wisdom Machine, which was released on 25 March 2016. The album spawned a further three singles – "Legalise," "Detroit Rock Ciggies" and "Corruption" – with music videos being made for the latter two. The band released a single, "Get High Like an Angel", in late 2017, and toured Australia in support of it. It would serve as the opening track on The Bennies' fourth studio album, Natural Born Chillers. The album was released on 2 February 2018 and was the band's first release through Pool House Records. In March 2018, it was announced that bassist, vocalist and founding member Craig Selak would be departing from the band following two remaining festival shows. His replacement was Nick Williams, who the band had met years prior from touring with Williams' band Foxtrot. Selak would go on to form LOSER, alongside former Apart From This frontman Tim Maxwell and former Smith Street Band drummer Chris Cowburn. The band continued to tour in support of Natural Born Chillers throughout 2018, releasing music videos for "Dreamkillers" and "Trip Report." In January 2019, the band announced that longtime friend Graham Leach – AKA DJ Snes Mega – would be joining the band on a permanent basis. The band's first release as a quintet was a single, "Waiting for Dave", which was released on 11 January 2019. The band announced their indefinite hiatus in March 2020.
