We recently connected with William Benton and have shared our conversation below.

William, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My father was the hardest working and reliable man I’ve ever known. He mainly raised us but he never fully understood the creative impulses that my bother and I had and what drove us most. This Vietnam vet who drove a truck, had a race car, chain-smoked, and could never understand something is improbable as a vegetarian meal — he ends up with two sons who are left-handed, musicians, book nerds, whose lives were altered forever by punk rock. But he always supported us to the best of his abilities. I learned work ethic, decency, and compassion from him.

Then there’s mother.

She had five kids, all of whom she left. I believe she collected 6 marriages…? Very prolific in this department. While we have hardly spoken in the past ten years, I have gathered that she is of the MAGA nonsense cult which sits harmoniously with her racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and various other phobias about “those people”, whoever they might be.

Yet- her appearances in my early life are precisely who and what made me who I am. Early memories of crawling on the floor and seeing records by Glen Campbell, Patsy Cline, Dusty Springfield, Johnny Rodriguez, The Commodores, and others is my earliest musical memory as she sang along. By toddler age she had put a stereo in my room with a stack of 8-tracks that included Queen, Blondie, Devo, The Doobie Brothers, Joan Jett, and others. MY childhood is a blur of old B-movies, sc-fi, and other not obvious selections for rural Oklahoma When she left my father, she would return now and again with a few 45’s that were the current hits of the day, sometimes before I had even heard these songs on the radio. Years later she would try and appeal to my musical and “vintage” interests by showing us “this crazy new movie called Hairspray” which led to a lifelong love of John Waters, Another visit she decided to show us a movie because we liked old horror movies and musicals and that turned out to be Rocky Horror Picture Show. She had no idea the effect she was having or the seeds she was planting but this information provided a cocktail of inspiration that still drives me to some degree.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Since I have involved myself in a few different “industries” and endeavors…I will try and do as much of an economic drive-by/revisit as much as is possible, being this jack of tirades that I am.

My involvement in music was completely organic, remaining passion-driven as much as ever. Discovering punk rock and especially the inspiration provided by- among many- Mike Watt (of Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges) didn’t just enable me to leave home to pursue music, it made it an imperative in my life. I started playing in bands in Orlando and eventually settled in Louisville, Kentucky, for many years but not before I had visited New York and fallen in love with the city.
Some of my proudest achievements in music would be sharing the stage with some of those heroes who provided me so much inspiration: Mike Watt, Meat Puppets, Luna, Fugazi members Joe Lally and Brendan Canty, supergroup The Baseball Project, and many others.
I am just as proud to have backed and collaborated with legendary artists such as guitar hero Ivan Julian, my New York singing and songwriting hero Shilpa Ray (with whom I appeared on an EP released by my punk rock Elvis, Nick Cave), Steve Shelley, Steve Wynn and his dear wife Linda Pitmon and others.
I have also been fortunate enough to have played in a few bands with my younger brother. One of those bands, Bodyhammer, reunited last year and it was absolutely transportive. We had such a great time that we did it again this year.

I found that working in hospitality sat harmoniously with my musician lifestyle, enabling me to come and go as needed but also providing inspiration via the people I met and meet. I really love travel and touring so, when I cannot go and see the world, a hotel brings the world to me. The first hotel I went to work at- nearly by accent- was the flagship 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville. It was an exciting whirlwind and that has led to being on the opening teams for The Marlton Hotel and- where I remain- the recently reopened legend that is The Hotel Chelsea, where I have emerged as the on-staff historian and tour guide.

I also have recently been able to fuse those two chapters of my life into one lovely bundle as I was interviewed for a new documentary called Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (And Other Rock & Roll Stories) where I provided some historic stories and anecdotes which resulted/culminated in my providing the soundtrack as well. Absolutely mind-blowing.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’ve only recently come to the conclusion that the absence of a goal IS the goal. The cliche line about it being about the journey proves to be the case for me over and over again.

However, I have also become more and more aware of how important it is to inspire younger people which makes me think pretty much anything that I do is more for “who comes next” than it is for me. There was a near absence of creative and intellectual role models for me as a kid in working-poor middle America. I want to do everything I can to make sure that any of my friends’ kids and complete strangers as well know that they aren’t alone in their pain, confusion, excitement, etc. I don’t really think about posterity much but in this regard it is important to me, I suppose.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The only resource I regret not full accessing earlier in life was youth itself.

There is a magical spell and explosive energy in a person between 15 and 27 or so and it is irreplaceable. I spent many of those years shedding my childhood traumas, overcoming the residual self-esteem issues that are attendant in anybody who grows up the way that we did, and basically catching up to my peers in a myriad of other departments as I had been so cut-off from the world, I wish I would have tried to live in Chicago and New York and wherever else many years before I did. Among other things.

I’m still a very energized and driven person but I feel the absence of that long-expired self.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://noisepollution.bandcamp.com/album/terrorboss
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catcasual/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catcasual/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williambenton-is-catcasual/
• Other: Bio: Cat Casual is William Benton, a guitarist/bassist/vocalist based in New York. Together with his band, The Final Word, Benton writes and performs psyche-inspired rock that ranges from dark, furious experimentalism to haunting, melodic melancholia. Frequent collaboration with disparate instrumentalists – including bassoon, synthesizer, and pedal steel – is a hallmark of the Cat Casual soundscape. The music of Cat Casual and the Final Word is featured as the soundtrack for the 2023 documentary Ghosts of the Chelsea Hotel (and Other Rock & Roll Stories), in which Benton also appears. Benton has previously performed & toured with artists such as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Shilpa Ray, The Phantom Family Halo, and Ivan Julian (Richard Hell and the Voidoids). He has collaborated with legendary musicians Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple), and others. His own past bands have included the Louisville-based (and Noise Pollution alumni) Tyrone, Bodyhammer, and Lucky Pineapple. In addition to performing his own music as leader of The Final Word, Benton DJs regularly in multiple venues around NY (DJ Cat Casual). He has hosted radio shows in Brooklyn and in Louisville. Benton was born and raised in Oklahoma.

Image Credits
Photo by Robert Downs Photography