MINI FEATURE VOL I: MEET THE BEENS
MINI FEATURE VOL I: MEET THE BEENS
Pinto, black, soy, kidney.. or however you prefer them, there are beans for all flavors of life.
@jonasbaker_
7.25.22
Meet The Beens
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of sitting in with the crew at Bussin w/ The Boys from Barstool Sports. Thank you for setting that up @JHovey34.
At the time, the boys were shooting segments for their series, the Bus Stop Sessions. Acts including ERNEST, Nashville’s number #1 songwriter, and Breland, the viral country-hip-hop genre blender, made appearances. Unbeknownst to me, there would be another guitar picker that caught my ear that afternoon.
In between sets as I depleted their beer cooler and utilized as many dude wipes as humanly possible, I caught wind of another artist in the midst. Quietly strumming away, a long-haired vagabond was incessantly testing out a few chords for a prospective new track. His name was Addison Simmons, and at the time, he managed Barstool’s social media presence in Nashville.
After a few too many beers, and an overload of questioning I’m sure he wasn’t ready for, I was formally introduced to The Beens. The song Addison was so dutifully working through is now their latest single, “Down In Florence.”
I spent the next few weeks tagging along to studio sessions and live shows that Addison and The Beens held. Little did I know, one bean turned into ten, and I was thrown into the midst of Americana’s version of The Wu-Tang Clan.
As a purveyor of quality Hip-Hop, following The Beens and their craft was a new experience for me. While I grew up on the echoes of George Strait and Willie Nelson, the dip into Americana, and country music in general, felt like a cold shower. You know, one of the refreshing cold showers where you’re able to unlock the sliver of brain you’ve neglected over the years.
I spent months on and off dissecting their sound and making sense of every chord and bass line that bounced off the studio walls. While I might not have had an intricate understanding of what I was hearing, I was immersed in the ardor of the music from that initial meet on the set of BWTB.
Initially, the two Beens I had the most contact with were Addison and guitarist Ian “Rocky” Carnell. The connection between the two seemed to stem far beyond the sessions they held together. Similar to the sonic connection that Hov and Ye once had, their synchronicity was effortless. It was tangible. It was now time to familiarize myself with the other Beens in the garden.
What followed was an overwhelming understanding of community and how each member of The Beens played an integral role in the final product. While there are a total of 10 members of the Beens, 5 of them are actively recording and touching the music on a consistent basis. These include Addison Simmons, the lead singer, and guitarist, Rocky Carnell, the lead guitarist, Drew “Scooby” Kubinski on drums, Isaiah Long on bass, and Benny Jenkins as the lead engineer.
Through plumes of good weed smoke and a mountain of empty beer cans, I felt as if I had known the guys for a decade.
Fresh off of their latest single, “Down In Florence,” a down-home Americana anthem with soothing undertones, The Beens are here to make their stamp on the budding scene in Nashville.
“Man.. we have so much good stuff coming. We’ll have another single (or 2) dropping soon that’s leading up to our next EP and we’ll be hitting the road! More music, more shows, more Beens.” Addison explained.
Stay tuned with The Beens on social media @TheBeensOfficial, and click the link below to follow the band across all streaming platforms.