Paragraph Slam Night
When he isn’t tending bar at The Casbah, indie-rock veteran Ben Johnson is playing in his band The Long and Short of It. That, or he’s spitting rhymes as hip-hopper Grammatical B. Or he’s working on his novel, which he describes as a “distorted-reality-shamanic-noir-murder-mystery.”
Now, he’s got a new band in the works: Wha? Composed of Johnson on drums, Beehive & The Barracudas member Traci Woolley on keyboards and Kaoss Pad and David Robles of The Marsupials on guitar, Wha? plays spooky, danceable post-punk with eerie vibes and hard-hitting rhythms.
Johnson, 42, is taking it easy with his latest project. Though they’ve recorded some demos, the trio isn’t in a rush to record an album. But they recently started making a video, using clay figurines and a green screen fashioned out of poster board.
Wha? will play at Tin Can Ale House on Thursday, Nov. 8.
Correction: Last week, we ran a photo thinking it was of the local band Montalban Quintet. Turns out it was a photo of The Moody Blues. Montalban member Chris Prescott sent it to us and says they’ve used it as their “official band photo” for a year. We’re sorry for the error, but we have to admit that it’s hilarious.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
