MySpace a place for friends

Please visit our gift shop: http://www.cafepress.com/thebentstore

Before there was BENT MUSIC in Monterey, California in the late 70s there was the Edible Garage Door Band in Stillwater, Oklahoma in the early 70s, it was then and there that Jerry Ford and Derek Dean formed a musical bond that would last even until today. Stillwater, Oklahoma the home of Oklahoma State University was the stage for the madness of the Edible Garage Door Band, a power trio with a truly mad lead guitar player, Ter Leslie, Derek on bass and Jerry on drums. The band did not play top 40 hits so gigs were far and few between and when the band did play in a local club it was always to a group of people with mixed emotions to what they were witnessing. When Leslie would launch into a full throttle rip roaring guitar lead right off the bat Dean would back him with a fever pitch of dedication and Ford would encourage the intensity with improvisational pounding on a drum kit that would frequently fly apart. To say the least the Edible Garage Door Band didn..t meet with a great response during a time of Crosby-Stills-Nash & Young, Carly Simon, and other acoustic "soft rock" performers but the band didn..t give up, private parties became their venues with little or no pay but enthusiasm for their music increased.

Growing tired of the small town response to their music Ford decided to "hit the road" in search of an audience worthy of the band..s talents, new ground had to be broken. After spending three weeks on the road living in a tent with his wife Pat, Ford found himself in Monterey, California with a broken down car, little money and very tired. The last of the money went to rent a very small apartment and Ford managed to obtain a job at Odyssey Records, a small retail record chain. Disappointment reared it..s ugly head when Ford realized the music scene in Monterey wasn..t that much different than in Stillwater, bands still were playing the "hits", little if no new ground was being broken. It wasn..t long before Derek made a visit to Monterey and agreed with Jerry that something had to be done, after all they had driven 1700 miles in a quest of a new frontier only to find what they thought they were leaving behind. Derek returned to Oklahoma University to get his degree in Film/Photography and Jerry remained in Monterey and began writing "songs" that might sneak them into local clubs.

Derek returned to Monterey and lived in Jerry..s garage and the two arranged the songs and enlisted the service of a fine drummer Michael Kainer, the three practiced and practiced and crafted not only their music but put together an entertaining show filled with laughs. Speed Coseboom (R.I.P.), a talented and inspired keyboard player joined the band about this time bringing with him an array of synthesizers and odd effects, the band was beginning to get really BENT! Inspired by The Mothers Of Invention (and Zappa) at a very early age, it was only natural when Ford picked up the guitar he would add phase shifters, Wa-Wa, etc. and inject a musical sneer into the music. Songs like "Dead Slugs", "Aint I Neat", "Strip Search" and "Rubber Lady" highlighted BENT..s set. Costume changes, cheap props, and Derek..s expert films became a staple to the band..s originality, soon the band became the house band for a local nightclub opening for such acts as THE CALL and other mainstream bands.

Things were looking good! BENT was performing at least every weekend and during the week at times, it became hard to get the guys together to practice or work on new tunes, soon Ford gave up on conventionality and had had enough of trying to hold a band together. Improvisation became the name of the game; Derek had been playing with Ford for so many years that he had a mind melt with Ford. Inspired by such artists as Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and San Francisco..s most underground band THE RESIDENTS, BENT took a new turn.

During most of this time Ford had been producing a weekly radio program on a Pacific Grove public station, KAZU, called "IN PROTEST OF BOREDOM", it was a celebration of improvised and non-mainstream music. BENT often played live on the air accompanied by local musicians, most who chose to remain anonymous as not to blow their position in Monterey..s elite bands (the ones who got gigs), but one new member of the band was found. Brian Leach, also a DJ on KAZU and a guitarist inspired by "new music" found a home with BENT; his original guitar licks were a perfect offset for the improvisational performance of Ford and Dean. A "band" was once again beginning to form.

Ford found a friend who he made when he first hit town and was working at Odyssey Records, Bob Gamber, they had often talked about playing music and Bob was a drummer in search of drums but was not a "joiner", you might call him a lone wolf, you might call him nuts, just perfect for BENT. Ford put a set of drums together and invited Bob to drop by and jam and before long he became "the drummer who refused to join the band". He..d show up at the gigs and play his ass off, who could ask more? Another great drummer who donated his talents about this same time was Jeff Smith, he was in the Coast Guard when we met him but I am afraid we were a bad influence on him, that..s another story.

In October of 1981 Ford had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing his long time idles, founding members of The Mothers Of Invention, Don Preston, Bunk Gardner and Jimmy Carl Black. They were about to embark on a mini tour of the San Francisco area as The Grandmothers, Ford had a truck and a strong back and talked his way into becoming their equipment manager for the tour, it would change his life for ever. Ford spent a week living in a little cottage type thing behind Don Preston..s house in L.A. getting ready for the tour, getting aquatinted with the equipment and the band. This provided Ford with a wonderful opportunity to visit with Don and they soon realized they shared many ideas and feelings about music and performance art. Don shared many stories about "the old days" with Frank and experiences he had had with many legendary artists such as Lord Buckley, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix. Don also opened the door to true improvisation, presenting many examples of artists who had found new ways to communicate their art.

Ford returned from the tour with a new perspective, he had seen what it was like to be "on the road" living in cheap hotels and playing in some of the strangest places (damn promoters). He had witnessed true musicians who had honed their craft to a razor edge, playing some of the most innovating music of all times, often to a crowd that just "came to pick up chicks". Was it time to give up music and performing? Don had said, "If money is what you are after get a job driving a bus", but he also said when asked why he was so dedicated, "It..s all I know how to do". The realization of doing something because you HAD TO set in strong, a new driving force took hold and BENT became a mixture of everything its members were being exposed to.

Sadly about that time a senseless slashing of Brown Pelicans on Monterey..s beaches were taking place, locals were upset that such a needless thing was occurring so Ford and Dean organized a collection of local bands and artists and produced the first PELICAN BENT-A-FIT BALL. The evening was not only unique by offering a multitude of bands and acts in one night but each act were completely different. A Punk band followed a Classical act, a Magician proceeded one of Monterey..s top rock bands to be followed by a Jazz Fusion band with a Heavy Metal band waiting in the wings. Of course BENT hit the stage at the end of the evening with an explosion of raw "in your face" improvisational madness (you had to be there).

This first PELICAN BENT-A-FIT BALL provided 4,250 pounds of frozen Mackerel that fed the sick birds for some time and went on to be one of the most anticipated annual events on the Monterey Peninsula for the next 10 years. The Ball gave BENT the chance to cultivate an outstanding collection of musicians and performance artists that performed in art centers in Monterey, Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz as well in "New Music" clubs in Berkeley, San Jose and San Francisco.

Always wanting to keep BENT different and never excluding anyone who wanted to get involved and demonstrated a true desire to perform Ford began to cohort with many unique individuals such as The Lizard Man who played synthesizer in a giant cage with fog emitting from beneath his chair, he had his head shaved and ate green Kool-Aid and had a very green tongue! Then there was Elephant Man (sorry) who had a delightful British accent but insisted on always wearing a paper bag over his head. Also enlisted into the ranks of the BENT ones around this time were Z (R.I.P.), Bettina and Reverend Roger C. Henderson. Z made the keyboard cry, actually he made the audience cry when he played the keyboards, Bettina played percusion items and always looked great and Reverend Roger C. Henderson was always trying to talk people out of their money and playing video games, (he still is).

Other musicians and artists collaborated at this time too numerous to mention here but appreciated none the less.BENT had indeed become a force to reckon with in the Monterey area, creating new venues and inspiring many mainstream musicians to experiment and discover new vocabularies for their instruments, suddenly it was alright to be different. However BENT had also created a reputation they had to keep up, "BENT-Serious about being crazy", and it became tough to always top themselves. One December 7th BENT announced they would be reenacting the attack on Pearl Harbor, in reality the band obtained balsa wood gliders and painted red dots on the wings, set them on fire and tossed them at the audience as Ford did the "Jimi" explosion trip on his guitar.

BENT actually played at the Monterey County Fair once but the county officials parked a garbage truck between the band and the audience. On one occasion BENT was joined on stage by the infamous Barry Cowsill (R.I.P.) and did a way "underground" version of "Hair", Barry said it was the last time he was ever going to do it. BENT went through drummers almost as bad as Spinal Tap but one very special drummer went on with Derek and Jerry to form another great band, his name was Dale Bright and we called the band B.F.D. (Bright, Ford & Dean). This band gave us the chance to take some of the things we learned from improvisational music and fuse some very rehearsed material into it. B.F.D. only performed one gig at the last PELICAN BENT-A-FIT BALL, but what a way to go! The future isn..t here yet...... ( Or Is It? )

THIS JUST IN: 11-26-06 11pm CST THE FUTURE IS GETTING CLOSER!!!

Just released by BENT MUSIC "Fresh Fish" by Jerry Ford and Derek Dean! Almost a lifetime of collaboration has finally come down to this. Derek Dean still living in Monterey, Ca. and Jerry Ford returning to his original stomping grounds in Oklahoma ( Indian Teritory ) have managed to combine their artistic, cultural and inspirational surroundings via computer technology and cyberspace magic to produce a truely original soundscape that evokes all the original maddness of BENT of yesteryear while introducing a new phase of the BENT sound; you could call it....... BENT MUSIC OF THE 21st CENTURY!!! ( or not).

BENT and B.F.D. did have a reunion of sorts in February of 2004 when Ford returned to Monterey for a brief visit. Dale Bright, blood brother, BENT brother, and B.F.D. ( Bright-Ford-Dean) drummer opened up his heart and his home to what was unofficially and affectionaly called BENTSTOCK 2004. As with WOODSTOCK we were immediately forced to make it a "free show" but unlike WOODSTOCK that DID mean "anything goes", but we didn't have any brown acid.

Jerry and Derek have been keeping in close touch with The Honorable Reverend C. Henderson as well ( now enduring witness protection somewhere in his homelands of Paw Paw, Michigan ) who has been participating in many of Ford's Radio and TV shenanigans over the past few years via computer and has been perverting the unexpected citzens of his community as a key administrator and performer in the Paw Paw Community Theatre. Derek, Roger, Dale and Jerry have aspirations for many future projects including releasing some vintage BENT video footage on DVD.

So keep tuned and KEEP BENT!

J.F.

More info on Jerry Ford at: http://www.myspace.com/davidfoam

More info on Derek Dean at: http://www.myspace.com/derekdean123