Ask The Benji’s about music and you’ll often find the conversation circling back to people.

Bandmates. Fellow artists. Audiences. Mentors. The younger generation of musicians reigniting their excitement for the craft. Again and again, their answers pointed toward the human infrastructure of creativity: collaboration, communication, community, adaptability, and the relationships that sustain artistic work over time.

Rhode Island-based grunge pop trio The Benji’s have spent more than a decade learning how to make music together and, just as importantly, how to navigate the creative ecosystem around them with a sense of resilience and wonder.

Over the years, the band – consisting of Maryssa Morse (vocals, synth bass), Philip Geronimo (guitar, vocals), and Adam Cargin (drums) – has evolved from bedroom demos recorded between friends into award-winning projects and a grant funded new album on the horizon. Along the way, they’ve weathered relocations, difficult living situations, shifting music scenes, and the countless challenges that accompany building a life in the arts.

Ahead of their performance at Bellforge’s Summer Sounds series, The Benji’s walk us through the forces they believe keep artists moving forward and holding onto their passion: creative adaptability, moments of delight, and relationships that remind them why they started creating in the first place. From discussions of work flow to unexpected artistic connections and the grounding influence of a beloved cat, their shares are woven with joy, humor, gratitude, and an abiding appreciation for the people who make creative work possible.

Bellforge: The Benji’s is a collaborative project. What have you learned about creativity, communication, or yourselves from making music together rather than alone?

The Benji’s: Our music collaboration started with Phil and I recording some demos in a Los Angeles bedroom and turned into a full live band when we realized we worked well together, eventually morphing into The Benji’s. Phil and I usually duke it out for what new songs make the setlist…It’s really freaking hard…hahaha…especially getting everyone on the same page.

Our process has stayed similar but we’ve gotten better at communicating. We use pro tools and voice memos to send ideas back and forth with our drummer, Adam, when we can’t work songs out in person. Being a trio helps in the deciding process as there are never any ties (kind of). We actually started off as a 4 piece, but I picked up the synth bass in order to cut down on having more people to manage. I love being a tight knit trio!

Bellforge: Every creative practice encounters periods of resistance, distraction, or self-doubt. When creativity feels distant, what tends to pull you away from it? How do you navigate those periods of creative paralysis? And what habits, rituals, or environments help you find your way back to the work?

The Benji’s: One source of resistance often comes from people in our lives who purposely try to slow us down and distract us from our goals. Financial hardship creates similar obstacles.

Our last living situation was unnecessarily volatile and a lot of everyday living felt like fighting a battle. When our old landlord, (who we affectionately called ‘Mommie Dearest’), found out we released a single called “Mean People”, they sneered at me because they thought the song must’ve been about them…in reality, Phil had written that song years earlier, haha! Our songs are not usually what people think they are going to be about.

So we don’t get too stuck in our “Benji’s” world, we save some of our juicy secret songs for our side project Murder Gloves. It’s a good way to release what doesn’t quite make sense for the band and not have to over think the creative process. It’s a fun way to still make music and help us get back to focusing on our deeper work!

Bellforge: Making music over the long term requires a different kind of mindset than simply chasing a breakthrough moment. How has your definition of success changed since you first started making music?

The Benji’s: Success for me now is enjoyment…simply stepping on a stage and having the privilege to play to an audience, even if it were for one person, makes me happy. We’ve won awards, and packed out shows and all of those moments felt huge and satisfying.

But now I get satisfaction in the smaller things like making a difference to just one person – at one of our last shows a local zine (Carrot Cake Zine) creator had sketched a live drawing of our band…that made me feel like SOMEONE got it even thought the show wasn’t a rager. It was cool to discover another artist via our music!

We actually found the artist who did the album artwork for Kitty Pills, Byron Olson, because he sketched a live drawing of us at a show…connecting in this way is what I consider success…well that and paying the bills would be nice.

Bellforge: What keeps you making music and performing in a culture that can undervalue the arts? What role has the community played in helping sustain your creative life?

The Benji’s: I love working with new people who aren’t jaded or tired on the scene – I like to keep a sense of wonderment in my Benji’s camp – it refreshes the soul and reminds me why I’ve sacrificed so much to be here.

Rhode Island is really great for artists and musicians, especially in the grant world. We’ve now received two grants from RISCA (Rhode Island State Council on the Arts) to write and record new music. Our last RISCA funded EP won “2023 Favorite Album” in the RI Motif Music Awards. This most recent grant gave us the creative freedom to spend time writing and arranging new music for what we hope to compile into our first full-length album.

Bellforge: Artists often talk about growth, but growth isn’t always comfortable. It can involve grieving past versions of ourselves, releasing what no longer serves us, and making space for new identities, directions, and possibilities. As artists and as people, what are your relationships to transformation? What parts of yourself are still becoming, and what are you forging toward that excites you?

The Benji’s: The past decade for Benji’s has been a crazy ride and transformation. From our living situation, relocation to R.I. from L.A., and the way we make music. The biggest transformation for us has been letting go…I tend to hold on, and hold on tightly…I’m now learning to let go of what isn’t working to make room for new things that do work.

Even though I still feel that momentum in the live music scene has gone down since the pandemic, there is still creative hope and I can feel a new movement coming from the younger generation. One of our first big shows was supposed to be opening for The Verve Pipe (how cool is that)?! After so many rescheduled dates it was canceled. We did, however, get to open at that same venue for The Motels. I’m so inspired by Martha Davis (The Three Most Important People in the World – Bill and Ted reference) and her talent and longevity in the music industry.

Music decorates time!

Bellforge: We know how powerfully a song can bring us back to ourselves and help us remember our joy. Joy can show up in many forms: a record, a piece of art, a home-cooked meal, a nightly ritual, a beloved pet, or a TV show that reminds us to laugh. In a world that often feels heavy, where are you finding light these days? What is nourishing your spirit?

The Benji’s: We actually have a strange relationship with cats – we tend to find ourselves with a new furry BFF that we did not seek out at the most peculiar of times. At our last residence, that BFF was Mufasa – a charming and vocal tuxedo cat who immediately felt like a bro to Phil and a baby to me. We used to have what we called ‘band meetings’ in the bathroom while getting ready for shows. He kept me grounded and reminded me what was really important in life. He didn’t care what awards we won or lost, it was just about love and living…and food!

Ohhhh, and since it’s the beginning of Summer, we are starting a new, interactive series on Instagram, “The Boys of Summer”, where we watch one classic baseball film a week with audience engagement- our Frenji’s (as some call it) have already been giving a lot of feedback and opinions- it’s going to be a fun and light way to connect with our audience over movies!

Bellforge: Who is a regional artist whose work people should be paying attention to right now? It can be a musician, visual artist, poet, etc.? What is it that you love about them and their work? What piece of theirs should we start with or where can we find them?

The Benji’s: I’m going to have to give a shout out to Jon Hope – I feel like he’s been doing really great things for quite some time now. His energy and personality are infectious! He’s not only a great hip-hop artist, but also an admirable father and outstanding contributor to the community and youth. Since it is the beginning of summer, I would start with his track “HND”. If you are from R.I., it is officially Del’s Lemonade season- this track will definitely get your summer started (Don’t come after me Mr. Lemon fans, haha)!