A&E

Onetime Vegas mainstay Slow to Surface gets back together—for a night

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Slow to Surface.
Courtesy
Deanna Rilling

After a five-year absence from the Las Vegas music scene, Slow to Surface will reunite for one night only, August 11 at Vinyl. Known and respected for sticking to its sound and refusing to sell out, the band has three albums up on Spotify, all of which still hold up thanks to their timelessness and creative, emotive rock.

“When came back and listened to the CDs, I hadn’t heard them in a long time,” says singer Benwood. “I think we were a pretty great band. We stayed true to ourselves, and that makes me feel good.”

The mononymed vocalist, who will be joined onstage by Zach Saucier and Jeff Basso (guitars), Mac Purdy (drums), Adam Handley (bass) and Josh Herzog (keyboards and samples), concedes that the industry took its toll during Slow to Surface’s original run. “Speaking just for myself, I got depressed. It’s rough to spend that much time putting your heart and soul into something and getting so close to making a career out of it, then have it fall apart, then getting so close again and have it fall apart. After a while it’s like rock ’n’ roll turns out to be a mean bitch.”

Slow to Surface also lost its original guitar player Stephen Penhall to suicide. “We would have loved to have him [with us] for the reunion show,” Benwood says.

Mostly, Benwood sees Friday’s show as a way to “get out of my rut. Just going back to practice, just the adrenaline rush, when you get those endorphins going, it’s the best thing you can do for depression. And I know the rest of the guys miss Slow to Surface.”

Could the reunion continue? Benwood’s not ruling out new music if the support is there. “Right now we’re just excited [to play] these songs that used to be stale to us. Now all of a sudden they’re brand new again.”

Slow to Surface with Jesse Pino & The Vital Signs, DJ Day Won. August 11, 9 p.m., $10. Vinyl, 702-693-5000.

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