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Pine Hills Ska

by The Knee Benders

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1.
Eat It 02:56
I've got a thing or two to say About our progression To tell a lie and to be afraid Are nutrients for digestion And I could hardly look away On this precipice I sit From the carnage I relay Why should I even think of it? In the end, like all the books I've read I will feed your head And no matter what is right I will make you fight So give it up now Give it up you're failing Don't try to be something that you're not You're a thespian with no training Well I'm just gonna call it out, all facts are just the word of mouth And I will never shed my doubt of anything I hear about Said who the fuck is gonna make me? In the end, like all the books I've read I will feed your head And no matter what is right I will make you fight
2.
Leo 02:48
I've seen the dark embrace Of a man with no disgrace I've known what's become my own And lived as my scars have shown Still I've run like a lion Charismatic, brave, and strong Still I've battled my demon Even if my mind was wrong I've felt the burning flame Of a heart with all the blame For a boy with eyes so blue Held your hand as you came to Still I've fought like a lion Charismatic, brave, and strong Still I've beaten my demon Even if now you are gone Oh God, where have you been? Can't you see what a mess I'm in? All I ever wanted was to be free But what's free when I've lost me? Still I've died like a lion Charismatic, brave, and strong Still I've walked with my demon Even if this is my last song
3.
Not on the job Ain't ready to go Is there something there? Said I don't know Sometimes I catch myself thinking aimlessly My friends and I we play this game Send our emotions up in flames let's watch them burn Just you and me You won't get scorched if you're lucky Na na na na, It's in the distance Na na na na, Appease the needs of the resistance Na na na na, It's who I am Na na na na, And that's not so bad And how I feel and what I see What I can't get is what it means to me My friends and I We stagger home Sit strung out waiting by the phone Just let me laze the day away By nightfall I'll be wide awake Driving around this nowhere town Na na na na, It's in the distance Na na na na, Appease the needs of the resistance Na na na na, It's who I am Na na na na, And that's not so bad
4.
Everything we built is riding for a fall And everything we're building has broken down and stalled This fire has reached the wall So who wins after all? Well I'm too lazy to change my frown The sins of our father reek in this town So sit back or lie all the way down And watch the blood drip down her gown Still one question lingers as the session suspends Why a knife is concealed in the hands of our friends To me, this system is worse and pretend Like a stab in the back is a means to an end Will the strength of the mass and the crass and the wise Step out of the blacklight and out of disguise Lean to the side you'll get a surprise Don't lean at all and you'll break your ties Even so who can know which path is good And we're burned again like I knew we would Lights, bites, pipes in the hood The one on the stand never understood What's the accomplishment of fame? Stupendous, the interdependence of pain For shame, you broke the rules of the game But be warned, you have still one beast left to tame We must prepare for a two front war These next few years can redeem the past four But first the dead must finish their tour And the suits must come back from the shore Everything we built is riding for a fall And everything we're building has broken down and stalled This fire has reached the wall So who wins after all
5.
Strike me with lightning Reignite these slowly fading embers Send sparks right through me Give me hopes for a warm December Give me a moment on this issue Give me the words, Can I kiss you? Give me pleasure, and give me pain Now let me hear you call out my name Emancipation Let me feel those silly things for me Tune to that station We'll find a song on which we both agree Bring me out of my seclusion I have reached my next conclusion Give me pleasure, and give me pain Now let me hear you call out my name Mind is clear, my eyes are wide I'm taking a step on the outside The Boy Wonder is now a man Who's the first to take my hand I've moved along Let's sit with blankets sipping on some tea Two voices one song Bust the lock, throw away the key Here our paths are intertwined Will you be the one at my side? Give me pleasure, and give me pain Now let me hear you call out my name!

about

From The Knee Benders,

This EP has been years in the making, with Pleasure and Pain having been recorded in 2011, followed by the other four tracks starting in Fall 2012, continuing into Spring 2013. While half of the band headed west to set new roots in California during the of Summer 2013, final vocals were recorded during Fall 2013. Mixing started shortly thereafter, continuing into early 2014.

These five songs are by no means a comprehensive exploration of a sound that constantly evolved over the years as we played show after show in Albany. However, they each formed the roots of which the began to branch and were fundamental to each set we played, each song offering a distinct flavor of what developed into the complex palate The Knee Benders would satisfy night after night.
The Knee Benders as you knew them are no longer. The core of the band, Sam Pine, Tom Casey, and Kyle Hanson, are now living and performing in California under a new name, The Hectic Eclectic. Alex Gallina is pumping out funk all over New York with Ladies Drink Free. Jeff and Greg have uncertain musical futures, but have worked hard to keep this project alive when it could have easily fallen by the wayside.

Ultimately, these tracks are not a promise of an upcoming reunion tour, or the first of more to come. We won’t be seeing you at the Hudson River Coffee House this weekend. But we do hope that while you are there enjoying an egg sandwich and a large coffee after a crazy night down on Lark Street, you can plug some headphones in and always have a part of The Knee Benders anywhere and everywhere you would like.

From Sam Pine,

When asked as a child, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", the response has changed over the years. It went from fireman to a New York Ranger to an aerospace engineer to "something in the realm of politics" to a writer. There was always the humorous answer that I would lead off with though: "I want to be a rock star". This dream that I am living in California was always just a dream; I never took it seriously because of the realities of society, until recently. In the fall of 2012 (when most of my peers were graduated and entering the workplace) I took a long look at my life. In the midst of withdrawing from college, fighting my parents, being broke, twisting up my romantic life and suffering the emotional peril (or numbness) of being a millennial, I discovered that performing my songs with The Knee Benders was the most fun I could think of. To me, being on stage was better than sex, better than any experience with drugs and alcohol, even better than the two combined. As a rational thinker with irrational passion, it only made sense to change the dream into something tangible. These past five years have been filled with strife, discovery, and achievement, and it has all led me to where I am now.

This EP is not a culmination of those years. It is a reflection of those years. These are five old songs (relative to my entire catalog) that were pieced together much like the aspects of my being were pieced together. It is a mechanism to saturate the brain with nostalgia so that we never forget where we started, and to see just how far we have come. It is for the fans that loved us even when we were too drunk, for my parents who gave me that white Ibanez RG that I was too inept to handle when I first received it, and all those who played alongside me: Chris Vergara, Sean Case, Adam Robinson, Rulon Feeney, Chris Bernal, Matt O'Neil, Tom Casey Blane DiGiacamo, James Kiernan, Greg Halzack, Alex Gallina, Jeff Brauner, and Kyle Hanson. Most of all, it is for this message:

Do as much as you can until you find what you love more than anything else, then do THAT as much as you can. You will have to make sacrifices just as I have sacrificed time, money, and relationships. But if you're doing that one thing, it's all worth it.

Special thanks to Dan Bokser, Anton Pasquil, Tony Potente, Will Schuster, and Dylan Watton.

Shout out to Ryan Muncan, John Small, Vinny Giandalone, Connor Heid, all the 146's, Nine Votes Short, Eva Petkanas, Chris Towler, Gang of Thieves, Ladies Drink Free, Krack Rock Krew, Bountiful Bread Crew, Justin Wax Jacobs, my Aunt Penni, and my brother, Jacob Pine.

credits

released March 3, 2014

Personnel:

Sam Pine: Lead Vocals, Guitar
Greg Halzack: Vocals
Tom Casey: Drums
Kyle Hanson: Bass (For all except Pleasure and Pain)
Jeff Brauner: Trumpet, Gang Vocals
Alex Gallina: Lead Guitar, Trombone, (Bass on Pleasure and Pain)

Crowd Vocals on Colour By Numbers: Dan Bokser, Dennis Syzmanski, Liam Gordon, Ben Breiten

Recorded at WCDB Studio, Albany, NY with Dan Bokser

Post-production mixing and mastering by Crazy Daisy Productions- Beaverton, Oregon

(Post-production mixing and mastering for Pleasure and Pain by Dan Bokser and Blane DiGiaccomo)

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The Knee Benders Albany, New York

Our music? Ska, punk, funk, hip-hop that got the bodies moving on the dance floor all night long. Made Albany, NY our home from 2010-2013. Unrelenting energy that never quit.

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