California’s Benny the Jet Rodriguez have a lot more going for them than just their great, Sandlot-inspired band name. The self-proclaimed “pot-punk” band from San Pedro put out one of the catchiest debut albums with 2012’s Home. Run. Similar to the baseball flicks the band references — the album opens with the infamous “There’s no crying in baseball” quote from A League of Their Own — Benny’s music blends together the past and the present, with head-bobbing, fuzzy, lo-fi punk that spans multiple decades. There’s both an urgency and a sense of nostalgia that permeates their album, as well as in the video for “Alley Cat.”
“The video started at the Redwood Bar where the punk show took place,” Guitarist/Lead Singer Lauren Freeman tells Flavorwire. “Then we chased after my straight-girl crush along the Venice Boardwalk — which was the place I used to ride my bike to go get weed.” The video is a mixture of performance and Freeman pursuing her unrequited love like an alley cat with no luck. “The heart will suffer chasing endless desire,” the band says of the video’s influences. “We can only hope to catch up, smoke some weed, and dream a lil’ love daydream.”
Benny the Jet Rodriguez have a split 7″ with UK band Martha coming out in spring 2015 on Drunken Sailor Records. They’re currently recording their second LP, which will be released on Recess Records this summer.
Photo credit: Paul Silver