Olaf Growald
Michael Bennett plucks a tune on his bass at Ridglea Theater.
Touring the globe. Making big money. Living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. While that destiny lands on the laps of some musicians, others opt to keep their talents at home, gigging on the side of a day job. Sometimes, that day job turns out to be a success all on its own.
If you’ve hung around long enough in Fort Worth’s business community, chances are you’ve shaken hands with Michael Bennett — the architect behind downtown landmarks like Sundance Square and Frost Tower. Or Andra Bennett (no relation to Michael) — the PR maven of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Or Matthew Avila — CEO of the construction company behind projects like Texas Wesleyan’s Martin University Center and the renovation of the Sinclair Building.
While they’re oft-seen at business luncheons and community board meetings, not many know about what they do out of office — that is, their not-so-secret life as gigging musicians.
And, so we’ve come to discover, they’re really, really good.
Michael Bennett, Bass
Day Job: Principal/CEO, Bennett Benner Partners
Michael Bennett’s schedule is generally booked end to end, but on select Thursday nights, you can catch him on the bass at Lili’s Bistro, accompanying guitarist Chip Christ. The duo will play everything from jazz standards to Weezer, depending on who’s in the crowd that evening.
Bennett’s background was in music, having studied music theory and composition at TCU before deciding to switch gears and pursue architecture. While his playlist today includes rock bands like Radiohead and The Beatles, he also loves the intellectual challenge of classical music, particularly Romantic-era composers like Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.
“There’s a relationship, in my mind, of music and architecture,” Bennett says. “In both of them, you have the aspect of rhythm; that rhythm might be windows or columns on a façade … Musical pieces usually have some sort of form that they follow; the same thing in architecture. You may have ABA form; that also applies to music. In my mind, they start morphing into the same creative pursuit.”
So, don’t ask Bennett if he’s ever had wishful thoughts of the music career that could have been.
“I really love what I do in my day job,” he says. “I can’t ever imagine anything competing with that.”
Olaf Growald
Andra Bennett, Singer
Day Job: Vice President of Communications, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Andra Bennett never took voice lessons; instead, she grew up singing in church and attempting to mimic the techniques of contralto vocalists like Karen Carpenter and Sarah Vaughan. As she pursued a career in communications, she would find herself working for General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) and playing trumpet in the company jazz band, The Dynamic Swing Machine.
But the band didn’t have a singer — so Bennett, knowing the words to all the songs they played, volunteered to be vocalist. The gig stuck, and Bennett’s dynamic alto range and commanding belt eventually landed her in three different jazz ensembles: The Dynamic Swing Machine, Buddy’s Big Band in the Near Southside and the Southlake Swing Band. Three bands became a lot to juggle, so she dropped two but continues to sing for the Southlake Swing Band. She can scat, too, and does a mean impression of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.”
“I’m an audience pleaser,” she says. “They like to hear it the way they expect to hear it.”
She also sings in the choir at Good Shepherd Catholic Community in Colleyville. In June, they will be performing Johannes Brahms’ “Schicksalslied (‘Song of Fate’)” and Mark Hayes’ “Te Deum” at Carnegie Hall.
Bennett’s personal playlist lists the classics: Julie London. Ella Fitzgerald. And, of course, Sarah Vaughan and Karen Carpenter. She says she doesn’t listen to a lot of new music but loves the soundtrack to “A Star Is Born.”
While her busy schedule doesn’t allow her to sing as often as she’d like, she is open to doing more in music. “[My husband’s cousin] does his own recordings; he does country gospel. He’s like, ‘Come sing with me. Let’s record. Let’s do an album.’ I might just do that someday.”
Olaf Growald
Matthew Avila, Guitar
Day Job: CEO, Byrne Construction Services
Matthew Avila grew up wanting to be the next Eddie Van Halen — and for a while, he was serious about it. He delayed college to pursue a music career, playing in a rock band that opened for acts like Tripping Daisy and The Nixons.
But the grind took a toll. “[I] was the responsible one. I was the one that had a car that worked, who knew how to keep the books and book the dates and make sure we ended up in the right city on the right day. I was the one who kept the money and kept them out of trouble. I was like the band manager and mom … I basically got burned out and said, ‘You know, I think I’m going to go to college.’”
He didn’t play in a band again until about two years ago when he joined KYSER — an alternative rock group mostly comprised of, ironically, business executives: Drummer Andrew Harris is CEO of Gladiator Fence, bass player Sol Kanthack is president of Left Dial Entrepreneurial Solutions and Andrews Tool Company and frontman Robby Kyser is chief digital officer and digital director at Fort Worth Magazine.
“The only one who’s not a [businessman] is our keyboard player and backup vocalist [Antonio Thomas]; he’s our starving artist,” Avila says. “You’ve got to have one.”
At the end of March, Avila will take some time off work to travel with KYSER to Dripping Springs, Texas, where they’ll record their second five-song LP — something grittier, less polished and more rock ‘n’ roll.
“I love music; it’s very satisfying,” Avila says. “It doesn’t bother me that I’m not a guitar phenom.”
We’d have to disagree.