07-03-2020
Article rédigé par Thomas Marinello.
Voir cet article en français.
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Mandolin Mondays started in 2016, thanks David Benedict, when he decides to produce, every monday, the arrangement of an instrumental tune or song. He posts these videos on social media and on the Mandolin Cafe website.
The musical pieces by this young musicians become available to thousands of mandolin and other instruments players. David Benedict plays traditionnals, rock, film music or video games and catch a larger audience with his weekly happening. You will find tunes from the Beatles repertoire, Star Wars or Bill Monroe...
The Mandolin Mondays sessions show each week various music styles; mandolin players from Italy, Ireland, Czech Republic, America... This large opening shows new ways of playing, new mandolins and new ways to consider this instrument.
Vidéo : "Night and Day" Jazz Mandolin Duo - Don Stiernberg and David Benedict.
Vidéo : "Brejeiro" - Solo Brazilian Choro Mandolin by David Benedict.
Among others, David invites great bluegrass mandolin players and persons such as John Reischmann, Matt Flinner, Franck Sollivan ou AJ Lee.
After producing about thirty videos, David Benedict offers reknown mandolinists to play with him, then leaves them room. For five years now, the rendez-vous was never missed, offering today more than two hundred videos. Mandolin Mondays hosted many musicians and show a huge music styles variety.
Vidéo : Ondra Kozák "Born to Delight.
Vidéo : Mike Marshall and Artistworks Academy "Lonesome Moonlight Waltz".
Vidéo : Lauren Price "Monroe's Blues".
Originally from Clemson, South Carolina, David Benedict is an important character in mandolin and acoustic music. He graduated with a mandolin performance degree from Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, then offering music teaching. His carrer is constantly evolving : in 2014, he recorded his first album Into the true country, produced by Grammy Awards nominated Matt Flinner. One year later, he teams with teh guitarist Michael Moore for a new original and acoustic compositions album.
Leaving Boston in 2017, he joins the band Mile Twelve and they record two albums ; Onwards (2017) and City on a Hill (2019), the later being nominated for three IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) rewards. On the same year, David Benedict records his acoustic creations in a solo album The Golden Angle. This album comes with a score book of all the musical pieces and solos, with explanations on how he composed them.
Vidéo : Mile Twelve - "Down Where the Drunkards Roll".
An inspiring personnality, David Benedict keeps on improving his palying and compositions. In 2008 he won the IBMA award of the best player of the year. The French audience discovered him with Mile Twelve at La Roche Bluegrass Festival in 2019, where the band made a great performance, and also during the workshop before the festival.
Thomas Marinello : How did you start playing music?
David Benedict : I started playing music around the age of 11. The church I went to at the time, had a house Celtic music band, and I began to learn Irish fiddle tunes to play with them. Towards the end of high school I started really getting into bluegrass.
T.M. : Was mandolin your first music instrument?
D.B. : I wanted to start with the mandolin, but we couldn't find any instructors nearby so I picked the guitar first. After trying and failing for a couple years, I finally got my first mandolin at the age of 13.
T.M. : Why did you decide to create the Mandolin Mondays?
D.B. : Back in 2016, I decided I wanted to push myself to be more active online and be more creative with my music. So I started posting these weekly solo mandolin arrangements under the pseudonym #mandolinmondays. The Mandolin Cafe was kind enough to start hosting these videos, and things started to grow. After a year of doing the videos all by myself, I decided to branch out and ask other mandolin players to participate by sending in videos to feature on the series. Now nearly 5 years and 230 videos later, things are still going strong!
T.M. : How did you meet / how was your encounter with the other Mile Twelve musicians?
D.B. : I met most of the band members at this great music workshop called the Acoustic Music Seminar. It's a specialized program run by Mike Marshall that hand picks 16 promising, young acoustic musicians to get together for a week to play each other's music. BB and I went in 2013, and then I went back in 2014 and met Nate and Brownyn. At the time, they were all living in Boston, MA, and I was in Nashville, but we stayed in touch afterwards and would meet up at festivals and other gatherings. In 2016 Mile Twelve was started originally as a 4 piece with Evan on guitar, but they were looking for a mandolin player. The next year, they came to Nashville to play a show with Tim O'Brien at the Station Inn and they asked me if I would join the band--and the rest is history.
T.M. : We saw you recently with a banjo. Does it mean we'll have "Banjo Tuesday" soon?
D.B. : Haha! I don't think I'm quite good enough at the banjo to try something like that. But it is a good idea! I think Five String Fridays has a good ring to it!
- Bel article, Thomas ! Félicitations ! Et avec une interview, s'il vous plait !
Nous aussi, on aime les mandolin mondays. C'est une bien bonne idée d'en parler. 
