Smokin’ Fateez with Bond and Bentley
Bond and Bentley
Rolling in the Good Times
By M. Alberto Rivera
Bond and Bentley are a one of a kind American rock, jazz-funk, and soul band from Baltimore, Maryland with jam band touches. With a strong emphasis on 
songwriting, the band is an unlikely jigsaw puzzle of players who work well to compliment one another. With musical styles spilling over one another, the sound is a melting pot of influences, including ‘73 era funk, soulful guitar leads straight out Macon, classic pop, Stax soul, all of it lending itself to a syncopated sound.
Fronted by guitarist and songwriter Ray Wroten; he commands a voice that swings from sugar sweet whispers to a robust roar, the song writing focuses on good times, tinged with misfortune.
The music often changes gears effortlessly. Much of this owed to the exceptional jazz stylings of drummer Alex Watts, who almost never plays anything expected, trite or cliché, instead coloring the songs with subtle and sophisticated touches, where other drummers would be content to ham fistedly drive a back beat. Using this as a counterpoint to the dramatic leads of Kevin Cooper, whose inspired lead work comes from a place so nearly forgotten, as to sound fresh and new. Coopers guitar playing is reminiscent of Dickey Betts and Les Dudek’s finer compositions, where an emphasis is placed on the steady weaving of a story, rather than oversized histrionics. “Dreams Don’t Pay the Rent” affords Cooper the opportunity to let his chops hang out, as the solo rises, fall, and drops in on itself to build once again.
Add in to all this the rock steady bass of Stan Wetters to hold the whole thing together and you have a fine and flexible band, whose swings and grooves freely, while always keeping an emphasis on the songs, and never becoming indulgent.
“Smokin Fatteez” is an unexpected delight. More than another paean to cannabis sativa, there’s a sense of nostalgia and escape, not only in the obvious, but in creature comforts, “In the back of my Caddy/It’s an ’82El Dorado” and later on “If there was better place to be/We’d be there.”
“Sweet Intoxication,” is another track that leads to somewhere less obvious. “1st time that I met ya, like Heaven in your eyes /Never could forget ya, couldn’t if I tried.”
Bond and Bentley gig extensively and should be seen live. Their CD’s are a fair representation of the band, but pale in comparison to seeing this 4 cylinder machine firing in perfect order.
