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Alan K. Stout
The big buzz this week has been on Breaking Benjamin. The most successful rock band to ever come from Northeastern Pennsylvania is, according to numerous published reports, in deep turmoil. There are lawsuits. It appears two popular members are no longer with the group. And some have speculated that the band is completely done.
The controversy stems over an internal feud involving material set to be included on the band’s new greatest hits CD. The dispute is now in court and court filings also indicate that vocalist and principal songwriter Ben Burnley has fired bassist Mark James and guitarist Aaron Fink. The crux of the snafu involves the greatest hits album, scheduled for release on Aug. 16, which is set to include a new remix of the song “Blow Me Away.” Court documents filed by Burnley suggest James and Fink approved the use of the new version of the song without his consent. James and Fink, in a separate court filing, deny the claim.
On Tuesday, I spoke with Burnley, who I have known for about 12 years. He was pleasant. Said it was good to hear from me, which kind surprised me, considering I'm sure he knew why I was calling. But he couldn’t discuss the legal actions. Nor would he confirm nor deny that Breaking Benjamin was breaking up.
“Unfortunately, at this time, I can’t comment on anything,” he said. “Not confirming or denying. No comment.”
On Wednesday, Mike Rubinkam of the Associated Press, who worked at The Times Leader for a while back in the ’90s, reported that Breaking Benjamin will continue on with new members. According to the AP, Ben’s attorney stated, “Mr. Burnley intends on moving forward using the name Breaking Benjamin, and the band will continue. It just won’t continue in its prior configuration. He’s not retiring.”
So those are the facts. There was clearly a very big blow up over, ironically, “Blow Me Away.” Mark and Aaron are out. Ben plans to carry on. Whether or not he’ll still be on Hollywood Records, I don’t know. But I do know this: Breaking Benjamin has changed the face of music in NEPA. And they’ve changed it for the better. And while I don’t think anyone that really follows the band at all was really surprised by the events of this week, that doesn’t mean it isn’t disappointing. Think about it this way: the only band from this region that’s even capable of releasing a “Greatest Hits” album seems to have imploded over that very album.
If truth be told, it seemed to me that the members of Breaking Benjamin were always walking on eggshells around, well ... Ben. I bumped into Mark last week at the Motley Crue show at Montage, and we chatted for a while. A week prior, I saw Aaron at a “Jam In The Park” show at River Common, and we talked. They’re both good guys and are always up for a chat, but neither had much to say about the band. And I thought nothing of that. They rarely had much to say about the band. And I often thought that what should have been the greatest 10 years of their lives often seemed somewhat joyless.
I don’t know if it was always that way. The first time I met Breaking Benjamin was in 2000. I did the first story on the band for “Music On The Menu.” It was the original lineup at the time, and they didn’t even have a band photo. We took one for them on the roof of The Times Leader. I recall, at that time, seeing them perform at the old Voodoo Lounge in Luzerne to about 30 people, though in retrospect, those days didn’t last long. Within a year, they were starting to pack them in everywhere.
Breaking Benjamin’s history here in NEPA is well documented. (Hell, I did 14 stories about them.) Mark and Aaron actually left a band that was already signed, Lifer, to join the project. And even at the very beginning, some of the people that I respect the most when it comes to local music — such as Lyn Carey of Media Five Entertainment and Bret Alexander of Saturation Acres and The Badlees — were among the first to get excited about the band. Freddie Fabbri, a former DJ at 97.9X, put his career on the line to help the group. And he did.
Alexander produced their debut EP. Fabbri played it. Thousands of people bought it. Hollywood Records came knocking. Millions of albums were sold. They appeared on all of the big late night talk shows. They toured arenas with the biggest bands. Breaking Benjamin was the right band at the right place with the right sound on the right label at the right time. And that’s a very difficult thing to pull off. Amid all of this, my own experiences with the group were always positive. In early 2002, while still unsigned, they came back down to The Times Leader for another photo. This time we were in the basement, not on the roof, and the photos ended up looking like they were taken in a New York subway station, not downtown Wilkes-Barre. They are still, to this day, my favorite pictures of the band.
Later that same year, Breaking Benjamin was on the bill for our annual “Concert For Karen” charity show but had to pull out after being signed to Hollywood Records. The label wanted them in the studio to work on their first national release, which was totally understandable, and we wished them well. In 2006, however, the band came back and played the show. By that time, they were a multi-platinum act. It was an extremely kind gesture, mostly put together by Aaron, and it’s something I will never forget. I still recall getting a note from Mark after the show thanking us for the opportunity to give them a chance to play. How ironic was that? His band helped raise thousands for charity, yet he thanked us. Like I said, good guys.
Even Ben, who was the Howard Hughes of the group and was rarely seen in the area — even though he also still lived here — could sometimes be sentimental about his hometown.
“You had us first,” he told me for a Weekender story back in 2005. “You kind of raised us and nurtured us like a child, and put us out on the world. We’ve always loved where we’re from, and we’ve always embraced it.”
Today, unfortunately, it’s quite a mess. I don’t know where all of this leaves drummer Chad Szeliga. But like his predecessor Jeremy Hummel — who, by the way, also ended up in court with the band — Chad’s a monster player and will land on his feet. I’m sure Mark and Aaron will be just fine, too. Don’t be surprised if some big bands start calling all of them right away. And Ben? His well-documented health issues aside, he’ll always be able to write good songs. And he owns the Breaking Benjamin name, so its future is in his hands.
Feuds in rock bands are common. Lennon/McCartney. Jagger/Richards. Townshend/Daltrey. Perry/Tyler. In those cases, harsh words were often said. Sometimes, punches were even thrown. But I don’t know if any of those cases had as many lawyers involved as we’ve seen in the saga of Breaking Benjamin. It’s unfortunate. But I guess what they all have in common is the only thing that matters to most people: music. And no matter what happens next, Breaking Benjamin has given us some great songs.
I’ve included a few photos here that some fans of Breaking Benjamin might enjoy seeing. One is that first band photo taken on The Times Leader rooftop back in 2000. Another is from that basement photo shoot we did in 2002. And another was taken outside the Wachovia Arena in 2006 to accompany a Weekender cover story. The photo, to me, says it all: “From the Voodoo Lounge to the biggest room in town.” After the photo appeared in the paper, Mark’s dad called and asked me for a copy, and of course I had one printed for him. He was a proud dad.
His son’s band, I think most would agree, made us all proud.
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About the Author
Alan K. Stout is the music columnist at The Weekender and has been covering rock and pop music in NEPA for more than 15 years. His column, "Music on The Menu" appears every week in The Weekender.
Alan has won a Keystone Press Award for Excellence in Journalism for his music coverage and has been voted Northeast Pennsylvania's "Favorite Newspaper Columnist" seven times.
Alan's interviews include conversations with Billy Joel, Steven Tyler, Eddie Van Halen, David Bowie and Ray Charles. He also wrote the liner-notes to the entire Motley Crue catalog, he is the host of the monthly "Weekender/Mountaingrown Original Music Series" and is the founder of NEPA's annual "Concert For A Cause." He also hosts a weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu Live," which can be heard every Sunday night at 8 p.m. on 102.3-FM, The Mountain.
In addition to his work with The Weekender, Alan also serves as the Newspapers In Education Manager at The Times Leader.
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