At the beginning of the summer Stevie Benton, bassist for Drowning Pool, returned to the block that launched his music career to reopen the bar the Boiler Room. The band got their start in Deep Ellum and Benton doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. FrontRow caught up with Benton to see how he’s handling juggling the bar, the band, and his dwindling bucket list.
FrontRow: You own a bar and you’re in a rock band. What else is on your bucket list?
Stevie Benton: My bucket list is getting short. I want to get it all out of the way now so that later in life I can just lie around on the couch and yell at the TV. You gotta dream big!
Here are a few items left on my bucket list:
1. Become a Jedi.
2. Go in for one play with the Dallas Cowboys.
3. Get a masters degree in something trivial.
4. Invent an official form of punctuation that infers sarcasm in sentences.
FR: You filmed ‘Let the Sin Begin’ at the Boiler Room. Was that your secret plan all along for having the venue? How was it having your own space to shoot a video?
SB: It all happened almost at once. I had the keys to the place for only a few days when I read the treatment for the video. I was excited that the plot centered around a bar and quickly volunteered the Boiler Room. It was a blast to be able to walk behind the bar and make my own drinks in between takes.
FR: You’ve had a few months to feel out your surroundings as a business owner. What do you think about Deep Ellum, and if you could relocate where would you move?
SB: I’ve always loved Deep Ellum and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The area has done so much for me personally and my band. Deep Ellum is where it all started for us. So many great memories. It was hard watching it fade there for a little while. But in the past two years it has really started to revive. Seeing the great things that Clint and Whitney Barlow did with Trees, inspired me to want to do my part to help bring the whole scene back.
FR: Has it been hard diving your time between running the Boiler Room, shooting videos, booking bands, and spending time with your own music?
SB: I think I’ve made it harder than it really should be. I go through phases and get passionately wrapped up in one thing and neglect the others. I need to work on my balancing act.
FR: What new plans do you have for the Boiler Room in the fall? Is there anything Deep Ellum should be warned or worried about?
SB: There are some things I’m really excited about but I can’t go into the details just yet. What I can tell you is that the Boiler Room and a number of other Deep Ellum venues are going to be working together to throw big block party style events in the future.
Drowning Pool will plays Trees on Friday, August 19.
